The Blue Pearl Sinking

[hello sailor]

Perhaps the damage was done last August when they hit a rock
Still Here | The Three Captain's (Still Here | The Three Captain's)

The rudder broke off not long after and the boat broke up in a storm soon after - my guess would be that more damage was done then but not spotted - but then its just a guess.

[poiu]

It's like watching a horror movie, and all the more dramatic for being non-fiction. Thanks for sharing the videos and well done for getting out OK.

Clearly the rudder supports shouldn't have failed and I hope you find a non-disclosed collision that might help to explain it, but with or without that you still may be looking at construction defects or bad design or damage you did, you don't know about or a mixture of those reasons behind the failure. I can't see a way to possibly establish the cause of failure without raising the wreck - that might reveal a manufacturing defect and it would be helpful to rule that out, but if there is a influence of weakening by prior damage, it will be very unlikely to determine its extent.

Inspecting other boats of this series to look for construction inadequacies would be a good idea. I would take a close look at mine if I had one.

I agree with others that this area of the boat should be very strong and ideally be a watertight compartment. Boats do sink from losing rudders for many reasons and often from bad luck, such as whale or debris impact or grounding. On my boat the rudder is supported on three not two bearings - deck hull and skeg. I also have a watertight lazarette (where the rudder is).

Couldn't this area easily be sealed up on the Beneteau 50 or most boats for that matter?

[ReneJK]

As I am (re-)searching for a yacht myself I came across this post
It is roughly one year later now but I am wondering if the OP ever came to a conclusion what went wrong with such a horrible outcome ?

While researching I also came across this youtube clip , its from an Oceanis but might be a similar issue ? and I also found that Beneteau came up with a solution to strengthen that assembly with a metal brace ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7GYGlN_t2g

its in Dutch but clearly the rudder broke free to some defect (if you need I can translate what is said)

anyway , just wanted to see if there was a follow-up and/or conclusion

text from below the clip :

This video shows how the rudder is attached to the steady, a 2007 Beneteau Oceanis 43 from Lelystad. The construction is as strong as its weakest link..in this case one millimeter thin top layer of the plywood (plywood) in which the rudder with the rudder tube is attached. This is glued with polyester on the plywood. In force on the rudder may go tearing plywood as my boat is happening. On the Bay of Biscay with depths up to 4,000 meters was found that only the rudder was still stuck to a flange in the storage locker. The stirring of the fixing sleeve was torn so that the rudder could fall at any moment of the boat resulting in a trough hole in the boat so that it would sink in a few moments. Fortunately a French port location where the Steady could be lifted.

[neilpride]

I see the vid a year ago ,,,the metal strap is just a temporary fix..

[JPA Cate]

Rene,

I believe that since they lost everything, they have had to go back to work. I very much doubt that he's on CF any more. Losing a boat in any circumstances is traumatic; when it involves a rescue at sea, even more so.

Ann

[minaret]

This is the reason ply bulkheads on high quality builds often have the ply beveled at the outboard edges. So that bulkhead tabbing ties into multiple veneers instead of just the face veneer.

[DeepFrz]

Wow, I am shocked at that video. Even though I don't understand most of it I think I understood "Bull S**t". Thank you ReneJK for posting that information.

[Muckle Flugga]

Originally Posted by DeepFrz

Wow, I am shocked at that video. Even though I don't understand most of it I think I understood "Bull S**t". Thank you ReneJK for posting that information.

Me too. Yeesh!

[Steadman Uhlich]

WOW…shocking videos!

The way that rudder tube was glued/glassed onto the plywood? Amazing that it passes for construction on a large boat and in such a critical area.

[decktapper]

Originally Posted by Steady Hand

WOW…shocking videos!

The way that rudder tube was glued/glassed onto the plywood? Amazing that it passes for construction on a large boat and in such a critical area.

The thing that worries me is I think that Lagoon is built by the Beneteau Group. If you buy a Lagoon, can you expect the same "High design and construction standards"? Are they built in different locations by different groups of people? Are they designed by different groups of people or the same?
Is the same bean counter in charge?

[MarinerJo]

Wow! Is that really how modern production boats are built? Scary stuff.

[neilpride]

This is a specific problem in the latest Oceanis series, not in the doublé rudder config last series,, Lagoon is groupe beneteau , but the construction is quite diferent since one is a mono and the other a multi, the rudder post in Lagoons are fine , but i cant say the same regarding other aspects of the construction....

[Bluewaters2812]

Hi folks, to all of the good people who provided moral support and had kind words to say, this post is for you and to let you know that we never gave up. We have been fighting back every day and continue to cruise and live aboard. We now have a Catamaran, which we have sailed to the Bahamas and the Florida Keys already. Life is tough but we are survivors ... even if I say so myself.

To the armchair critics who jumped to all sorts of conclusions and made negative comments ... you are the reason we no longer visit this forum or any other for that matter.

This post is out of courtesy to the good people here, so thank you.

The good people know who they are; the armchair critics are too ignorant to know who they are.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Bluewaters2812

Hi folks, to all of the good people who provided moral support and had kind words to say, this post is for you and to let you know that we never gave up. We have been fighting back every day and continue to cruise and live aboard. We now have a Catamaran, which we have sailed to the Bahamas and the Florida Keys already. Life is tough but we are survivors ... even if I say so myself.

To the armchair critics who jumped to all sorts of conclusions and made negative comments ... you are the reason we no longer visit this forum or any other for that matter.

This post is out of courtesy to the good people here, so thank you.

The good people know who they are; the armchair critics are too ignorant to know who they are.

Hey 'Blue..'
Good to hear your getting your **** back together and your back afloat..
Sent you a PM..
Keep Smiling.. and its great fun winding up the armchairs n watch em go.. hang around n join the fun..

[Prairie Chicken]

Like Boatie says, hang around Bluewaters. I'd far rather hear from those who have been there & survived. Glad to hear you're back at it.