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Blue Stocking · 02-12-2010, 17:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by s/v Moondancer

When we were seeking a boat 'saildrive' was one of the thing on our list of things not to have.

Stupid idea to cut that big of a hole in the bottom of a boat!

So--I guess you would not cruise on the Queen Mary 2. IIRC her "pod drives" apertures are 16ft in diameter.

rourkeh · 02-12-2010, 17:13

I'll guarantee the factory won't cover a nickel of that problem......

doocruiser · 02-12-2010, 18:59

i have been on this boat since the incident.there is no design problem with the lagoon.it was bought brand new for around 650 000 euro and delivered to the foreign owner in phuket by 3 foreigners where it was then turned over to a local captain.he was moving it a couple of miles to another location on the island and the dinghy rope which was non floating and very thick ( i think 25mm !!! ) wrapped around a sail drive.it started to take on water so he beached it on low tide.as the tide came in the hull continued to fill.he made more mistakes (details i cant remember) and water got into the other hull.both engines were lost and the damage was contained mainly to the rear of both pontoons.it did not sink and the last time i seen it, it was in a marina being repaired under insurance,in fact i think it has been completed.
what a magnificent vessel by the way.sitting up on that fly bridge you feel like king of the world !
the guys who delivered her are very experienced and said they hit some massive seas and she just rode straight through.

sww914 · 02-12-2010, 19:36

So it sunk like my 401K but not like the Titanic.

meyermm · 02-12-2010, 21:26

So if there did not happen to be a beach handy what would the result have been?

**roverhi** · 02-12-2010, 22:08

"So if there did not happen to be a beach handy what would the result have been? "

VERY VERY VERY LOW free board.

Almost all pleasure boats, be it mono or multi have no water tight bulkheads. Purpose built custom boats for extreme conditons may have water tight bulkheads. AFAIK, water tight bulkheads are not a requirement for a yacht classification. The flooding of the hull wasn't caused by a construction error or short cut but by crew error. Having said that, I'd never own a boat with a sail drive. That much aluminum covering up that big a hole is just plan stupid IMHO.

tsmwebb · 02-12-2010, 22:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by roverhi

"So if there did not happen to be a beach handy what would the result have been? "

VERY VERY VERY LOW free board.

Sounds right.

Quote:

Almost all pleasure boats, be it mono or multi have no water tight bulkheads. Purpose built custom boats for extreme conditons may have water tight bulkheads....

Well gosh, my fair weather multi has four complete water tight bulkheads and four partial ones... It's not that uncommon. If the designer draws water tight bulkheads and the builder punches holes in them that is a problem.

Tom

catty · 02-12-2010, 23:26

I'm not sure this is a lagoon 500, but it is a catamaran and the owner seems pretty convinced it sank.
Please read......Sinking of boat probed Tasmania News - The Mercury - The Voice of Tasmania

cat man do · 02-12-2010, 23:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by catty

I'm not sure this is a lagoon 500, but it is a catamaran and the owner seems pretty convinced it sank.
Please read......Sinking of boat probed Tasmania News - The Mercury - The Voice of Tasmania

Metal boats dont float very well with holes in them

stillbuilding · 03-12-2010, 00:16

While not wanting to hijack this thread I do think it important to note that watertight bulkheads are common on may yachts - coastal or offshore. Many yachts in the 50'+ range have 4 or more with ability to withstand flooding of one compartment. Very common to find collision bulkhead, one at each end of engine space and sometimes more. My own has 4 with ability to cope with flooding one space. Not unusual in offshore yachts built to survey. Know of several others. Not sure what code this Lagoon was built to and that would determine liability or not I suspect. Lots of glorious yachts are NOT built to any special code.

Sparohok · 03-12-2010, 00:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Erik C

If you read the reports it wasn't sunk completly because they managed to beach themselves thanks to the local area knowledge of the Thai crew.

Which reports? Link?

Everything I've seen on this thread indicates that it was beached to prevent it from flooding further. The fact that it was beached does not prove, does not even suggest that it would have sunk.

Many cored fiberglass catamarans are literally unsinkable because they contain enough flotation in the structure that they will remain afloat even with all compartments holed. I'm just as curious as the next guy as to how that theory works in practice, but in the case of the Lagoon 500 we'll have to wait for someone to tear out their saildrive in a bit deeper water.

Martin

Southern Star · 03-12-2010, 05:40

This is so tiring. NO ONE with a lick of sense has said that ALL mulithulls are unsinkable. The one reported from Tasmania was apparently a custom built boat and obviously did not have adequate flotation. But anyway, since discussion about what happened here (and how to avoid it) is once again being frustrated by multihull bashers, I say let them have their way: Without the beach the lagoon would have sunk - no, we don't need evidence, we know it to be true because mulithulls are dangerous garbage.

Now perhaps those with mulithulls can continue on the discussion of this incident, what led to it and how it can be avoided in the future.

Brad

SailFastTri · 03-12-2010, 06:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Southern Star

Daddle, when anchoring or using reverse on my current boat I always keep my inflatable on the davits. However, I still use a painter that floats based upon my past experience on boats without davits - and yes, even in reverse, I have never had my props foul a floating painter. I suppose it could happen in a power boat with outdrives tilted up part way, or with props close to the surface, or if accelerating quickly in reverse, but I have never had the floating line submerge so as to make contact with my propellers.

snip
Brad

Polypropylene line will go beneath the boat if the boat drifts over or the line is pulled under by things attached to it. No reason to assume it wouldn't get pulled into a spinning prop.

There are only a few ways to keep a dinghy painter from wrapping a prop:

Keep it short
Keep it out of the water
Encase it in rigid pipe over its entire length (e.g. PVC pipe).
Don't turn on the engine
This one is not guaranteed: Encase it in continuous closed-cell flotation over its entire length (e.g. pipe insulation).

I saw a neat towing arrangement a few years ago: The owner had rigged two painters to the dinghy, each encased in PVC pipe. Both painters went to the dinghy bow and one went to each side of the stern of the main boat (a monohull). Each painter/pipe was only about 8 or 10 feet long so the dinghy bow was up-close and held at a fixed distance so the boat could be maneuvered into a slip like that.

BTW I'm not a proponent of dinghy towing in-general for anything but short hops in calm or harbor conditions.