Beneteau 55 sunk?

[Jon Eisberg]

Originally Posted by jtsailjt

Are you seriously saying it takes big balls to stay out in 18-20 knot winds and 6-8 foot seas? At what wind strength are you comfortable "beating uphill" in a modern 55' foot sailboat, 15 knots, 10 knots, or must it be completely flat calm?

No, not at all... What I am saying is that there is more than a slight difference between sailing downwind/Down the Coast , and sailing upwind/Up the Coast in the conditions reported... The former would likely be fantastic sailing, the latter perhaps not so much, and likely quite a bit harder on both boat, and crew... In other words, it would have "made a difference" which way they were headed :-)

I wasn't off the central California coast that day, and there have been a bit of variance in the conditions reported, and what the forecast called for. I simply cited the statement from someone else who was making the same trip, at the same time... Apparently, they were taking enough of a beating to call it quits, take a break in Morro Bay, and wait for a more favorable window...

[JulieMac]

Originally Posted by u4ea32

Boy, that was a beautiful boat, if it was the one at the San Diego boat show in January. Beautiful!

The ISO standards for hull windows includes required tests by the manufacturer/builder to show that the lamination fails before the window comes loose. So I do not suspect the hull windows.

I am also ALWAYS concerned whenever I sail a boat if I cannot easily and very quickly (a minute or less) inspect all areas where seawater is on the other side: the entire hull and deck.

Of course, nearly all production boats use hull and deck liners. Therefore, I am concerned when on nearly any production boat. I specifically search the boat to ensure I can access everything: tanks, their hold downs, where structure meets the hull, all holes in the deck (under winches, stanchions, hatches, mast partners, wiring access holes, etc), and so on. I want to know what I can see, and what I cannot. When I cannot easily see somewhere, I try to fabricate an approach, such as one of those wands with a mirror and LED on the end.

If I can see water anywhere, and it comes back when I dry it with a paper towel, then there is a problem. Track it down, be absolutely certain that you know for sure where that water came from, and why it is not longer coming in. If the water IS still coming in, DO SOMETHING TO STOP THE WATER COMING IN! There are always lots and lots of things you can do.

And remember -- when things start going wrong, be sure to consider the full slate of possibilities on causes and what you can do. Never, ever, get stuck on one approach -- say, ensuring the bilge pump works -- and then thinking the problem is solved, or that nothing else can be done. Something else can always be done!

Only the sealed bilge under old fashioned packing glads should ever have any water. You should be able to tell where any water inside the boat came from. Not guess, you should know.

A friend lost his boat because he did not consider that the tiny bit of water always around the keel bolts could have been due to one or more failed keel bolt: the keel fell off, and the boat sank completely within a minute or two. He and his wife were left treading water with their dog.

I think the problem will again come down to the most common reason boats sink: bad judgment caused by a low level of debilitation due to sea state (e.g., seasickness) combined with fatigue and/or diesel fuel odor.

Very well written, thanks!

[Polux]

Originally Posted by roverhi

The boat is still afloat. Was spotted by a fishing boat and location noted via GPS. Dealer supposedly trying to set up salvage. Boat was scheduled to be at the Oakland Boat Show. Supposedly delivery crew did there due diligence in finding source of leak before calling CG. Crew lifted off by helocopter. This from the electronic version of "latitude 38" today.

Those are just great news and Beneteau USA should take all the efforts to bring the boat to a port. if it is still afloat it seems not difficult to me, if the conditions are not bad: Just one or two big gasoline water pumps and they probably will be able to sail the boat to port. Determining what really happened should be very important to Beneteau.

The fact that several days after the boat is still afloat raises many questions: If that type of boat has a bad leak it would sunk. So why is it still floating?

That raises some suspicious. Many years ago I was sailing in a Bavaria 44, doing an advanced sailing program when I detected a lot of water inside the boat. It was at night, the visibility was bad and my first instinct was to start looking for a cove with a beach to ground the boat. That was not a bad idea, the sea was calm, it was on the Balearic Islands, with almost no tides, so it would not be difficult to secure the boat with ropes , preventing more water entering while searching for the leak. I woke up the more experienced skipper that tasted the water and determined it was not salty...and the rest was easy.

Two years ago while sailing close to the wind on a F7 at night offshore, on passage from Greece to Italy, my wife found a huge quantity of water inside the boat, so big that the floor panels were floating. We had been both on the cockpit for hours and we only noticed that when my wife went below for sleeping.

I was sailing on a F7 on 3 meter waves left from a previous storm, steep short period waves: a bumpy ride needing a lot of power to overcame the drag, so lots of sail and a lot of heel.

I tasted the water and this time was salty. Checked all the seacocks and found out that the one from washing hands basin on one of the heads was not closed...even if I had asked my wife to close them all before sailing out. On the previous boat, no matter the heel water would not enter from there so my wife got a little over confident about the need to close it. We learned better...and also about the huge quantity of water that can enter a boat by an unsuspected place. No problem taking the water out, both pumps worked efficiently and in 20 minutes we were sailing again with the boat clean...this time with a little less heel

At the time the boat was new (to us) and we were not sure all the water had come from there. Posterior investigations show also a small leak from the forward sail locker to the inside of the boat (in very nasty conditions with waves passing over the bow). Fixed now, but it was just residual comparing with the amount of the water that entered the boat by the washbasin. At the time I suspected also water entering by the connection from the deck to the hull and by the supports of lifelines but the suspicions were not founded.

I hope something similar had happened with that Oceanis 55. The number of seacocks on that boat is huge and I don't know if a delivery skipper would find them all. Well, a experienced one no doubt, but sometimes they are not that experienced.

[Polux]

Some more interesting news:

"... the two-man delivery crew found eight inches of water in the bilge, and the level was rising rapidly. They reported having "performed all of the water-tight protocols" but could not find the source of what they perceived to be incoming water, so they decided to call in a mayday to the Coast Guard at about 4:40 p.m. Conditions were rough, with 20- to 25-knot winds and 6- to 8-ft seas...

Although the Coast Guard initially reported that, "The sailboat was not salvageable due to the amount of flooding," the luxurious Beneteau evidently did not sink. Late Sunday afternoon, it was spotted by a fishing vessel whose crew recorded its coordinates. Passage Yachts, the long-established Bay Area yacht sales business that had planned to display the boat at Strictly Sail, is currently implementing a plan to retrieve the brand new sailboat."

Latitude 38 - 'Lectronic Latitude

So, they abandoned a boat with 8 inches of water on the bilge?????
My impression that something funny on this accident was related with the crew gets reinforced. Can this be just an water tank with a problem?

On SA a delivery skipper that had delivered a Beneteau 55 said about the boat and delivery:

"I deliver one from Vancouver Canada to MDR,new boat,00000 problems for 1100 nm.We hit 45-50 knots winds South of Mendocino,30% main and no genoa,surfing 14-15 knots,max speed 19.9 / I know but I have pictures and video....
Like the boat,fast and stable out there,no problems beating against 30 knots, did this North of Newport OR for 40 hours."

[Finnsail]

Paulo - Thank you for the updates! Very, very interesting…

[goboatingnow]

very fishy. very fishy

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Polux

Thanks for your participation on this thread. it seems that you are on a unique position to shed some light on this affair. I agree that a brand new boat should be carefully inspected by the dealer and by the owner since a number of situations due to improper montage of pieces can happen. That's why it is very important to chose a very experienced dealer with lots of experience with that boat.

If possible keep us informed regarding the information the dealer provide. It is also on the best interest of Beneteau to clarify quickly this story. Nothing more damaging to a brand than the proliferation of speculations when nothing factual is released. Beneteau needs to come quickly with a release about this said affair to stop speculation.

i dont beleive I have ever heard Beneteau comment on a sinking

[Kenomac]

The folks in the video use the words "spacious, entertaining and storage" quite a bit in their description. Looks like a nice boat.


I suspect knuckleheads making the delivery and a freshwater system or tank leak. 'Just a hunch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKqKiox27yw

[deluxe68]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

i dont beleive I have ever heard Beneteau comment on a sinking

They would be very busy if they commented on every one.

[Polux]

Originally Posted by deluxe68

They would be very busy if they commented on every one.

I can't wait to hear about the many recent ones that you know about. Please tell us

[deluxe68]

Originally Posted by Polux

I can't wait to hear about the many recent ones that you know about. Please tell us

There was the 40.7 that had the keel fall off. A dealer in San Diego had one that nearly sank due to a thru hull or seacock leak. There have been a few stories on this forum this past year of sinking ship.

[Polux]

Originally Posted by deluxe68

There was the 40.7 that had the keel fall off. A dealer in San Diego had one that nearly sank due to a thru hull or seacock leak. There have been a few stories on this forum this past year of sinking ship.

You mean one Beneteau sunk last year? One of the 30 000 around? Regarding that one the accident was widely investigated by several parts and conclusions were made public.

[neilpride]

The MAIB report regarding Cheeki Rafiki is Public.
https://assets.digital.cabinet-offic...ort_8_2015.pdf

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by deluxe68

They would be very busy if they commented on every one.

ROFLMFAO...

[Steadman Uhlich]

Originally Posted by Polux

….SNIP….

Many years ago I was sailing in a Bavaria 44, doing an advanced sailing program when I detected a lot of water inside the boat. It was at night, the visibility was bad and my first instinct was to start looking for a cove with a beach to ground the boat. That was not a bad idea, the sea was calm, it was on the Balearic Islands, with almost no tides, so it would not be difficult to secure the boat with ropes , preventing more water entering while searching for the leak. I woke up the more experienced skipper that tasted the water and determined it was not salty...and the rest was easy.

….SNIP….

Polux,

Thanks for posting the detailed anecdotes. I found them interesting and I believe that those are good things to bring up in a thread like this, where much of the discussion is speculation.

As I see it, sometimes speculation can lead to reasonable discussion of possible problems and solutions that may not be the actual cause of an event, but discussion of them may help others understand future events or incidents or even avoid similar incidents. It is one of the things I most like about an open forum where the discussions can be open to possibilities.

Your good points about the seacocks and drains while heeling has shown up in some other cases I read about elsewhere, and I think mentioning those as possible sources of leaks or water (that can be overlooked by a crew) is good for all (as other readers of this thread may learn something from your experience).