Why do Keels fall off and rudders fail?

[capt jgw]

Originally Posted by Cruiser2B

Given that peoples lives are on the line( being in the water and all) shouldn't builders build the fudge factor into these boats.
Are boats today over engineered to the point they are under engineered.... if that makes any sense? Basically engineered to the edge so much so that any mistake in any of the processes creates failure? if so, why is this being done? no data guessing, can't see that? They know what has worked for hundred of years of sailing....Is it money and cost of materials, the bottom line $$? I can see that.

Its cheaper to build 1000 boats as cheaply as possible and pay off on the one that had a problem than it would be to build the 1000 to a higher quality so that the problem would not have happened. Once in a while they get caught, like GM and thier defective ignition switches, but that was 100000, not 1000, so more likely to attract attention.

[Cheechako]

Too much faith in the numbers provided by manufacturers of products.
Like: "this carbon fiber layup is stronger than steel" (tell that to the crew of the Americas Cup boat that broke in half in light air in San Diego!)
"That Plexus bonding is stronger than weld" etc.
Even engineers seem to buy into this crap, but a lot of boats aren't really engineered.
Then there are the Bean Counters.... "is a keel really going to fall off if we make the layup thinner? No! If a sailor hits bottom hard that's not our fault!"

[deluxe68]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

The real engineering reason production boats can cost less is that they are designed from the start to use efficient construction methods, not because they are using less or lower materials in the construction. This is because they are designed for a higher volume production run when the extra tooling costs can be used to offset labor. One of the more expensive of boat building is building the molds and it makes a big difference if that mold is going to be used for 200 boats instead of 10 boats a year.

The other thing that makes a big difference is the bulk buying of components. Volume builders are going to get a lot better deal than the semi-custom builders.

This whole "crappy design" stuff is just make believe BS.

LMAO