Blue Pearl Sinks

[Sailor_Hutch]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

Too bad about this Benni sinking but fortunately all made it home which is fortunate indeed. All the bad mouthing of Beneteau's is probably not well founded as they are not a do it all ocean crossing boat, thats simply not what they were designed to do. Stay in the right season and don't venture too far from the trades like MarkJ sails and odds are going to be with you. Don't expect to buy a boat built down to a price to be a jack of all trades as its not fair. Personally I think the Bennies are great boats and meet the needs of 99% of todays sailors. They are a fashion leader and most of their boats sail well. They seem to hold their value reasonably good and their owners are generally happy with them. Are there better built boats, for sure. Are there boats much better designed and built for upper/lower lattitude ocean crossings, yes of course but for the money its pretty hard to beat the value they represent in the market place.

Agreed. This thread has, I think, via an averaged opinion come to the same conclusion as what you just wrote. I think the consensus is that there are Bene models that are stronger than the Rorke's 50. That company like other boat companies, has a selection of boats from which to choose. So, mebbie we should let go now. Not much more to add here, IMO. Different boats for different purposes. Now it's official.

[Cavalier]

There's a thick plate section below the engine mounts which tie the engine mounts into the frame. The "oil change pan" section of the inner hull under the engine is higher than the corresponding hull around the frame area. I believe that the engine mounts are purposefully detached axially and longitudinally from the frame to reduce vibration.


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[TeddyDiver]

Originally Posted by Cavalier

There's a thick plate section below the engine mounts which tie the engine mounts into the frame. The "oil change pan" section of the inner hull under the engine is higher than the corresponding hull around the frame area. I believe that the engine mounts are purposefully detached axially and longitudinally from the frame to reduce vibration.

Yes it looks a bit higher, hopefully having something sturdy to fast it to frame.
If there's reduction of vibration behind then it's the wrong place to do it between the engine bed and the frame. But who needs thrust bearings, CV joints and soft engine mounts if the same effect can be done with flexy fiberglass skin (sorry Bene)

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

Too bad about this Benni sinking but fortunately all made it home which is fortunate indeed. All the bad mouthing of Beneteau's is probably not well founded as they are not a do it all ocean crossing boat, thats simply not what they were designed to do. Stay in the right season and don't venture too far from the trades like MarkJ sails and odds are going to be with you. Don't expect to buy a boat built down to a price to be a jack of all trades as its not fair. Personally I think the Bennies are great boats and meet the needs of 99% of todays sailors. They are a fashion leader and most of their boats sail well. They seem to hold their value reasonably good and their owners are generally happy with them. Are there better built boats, for sure. Are there boats much better designed and built for upper/lower lattitude ocean crossings, yes of course but for the money its pretty hard to beat the value they represent in the market place.

I think this statement can be made for a whole classification of boats, Hunter falling into this category as well and a couple of others, and there is nothing wrong with that.
Given a nice light wind lazy Summer day in the bay and these boats will sail circles around a "blue water cruiser" and are a much better boat for that mission.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I think this statement can be made for a whole classification of boats, Hunter falling into this category as well and a couple of others, and there is nothing wrong with that.

Given a nice light wind lazy Summer day in the bay and these boats will sail circles around a "blue water cruiser" and are a much better boat for that mission.

In my view that 50 had pre-existing damage and possibly quite severe damage. That's means you cannot comment on beneteau as a whole merely that boat

In my experience there's no way a Benny 50 would struggle in those conditions

Dave

[sailorboy1]

I have a better lesson, don't smash your rudder on a rock, replace it in the water, never haul out the boat for inspection, then take it sailing across an ocean.

[a64pilot]

Do we know it broke up or had structural failures of any kind?
Could it have been something else?

[SaltyMonkey]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

I have a better lesson, don't smash your rudder on a rock, replace it in the water, never haul out the boat for inspection, then take it sailing across an ocean.

meow/\//\/\



and smaller is meower

[Prairie Chicken]

From the media report A64. It sure sounds like it.

The Rorke’s boat got in trouble last Thursday evening after mounting seas put strain on the aft bulkhead of the yacht, which acts as a support for the rudder.

The bulkhead gave way under the battering from the sea and the rudder cables snapped, leaving the yacht taking on water and at the mercy of the waves

“Within a couple of hours, she was gone and we were leaping for our lives into a life raft,” said Mr Rorke.

I'm with others that believe the rudder damage done by a previous owner was substantial, and either concealed or not missed in the purchase survey. The Rorke's certainly had ill luck with that boat. I read thru both the previous thread re loss of his rudder, and this one, and believe the man is a capable captain and took the reasonable steps most of us would take in his circumstances.

[sabray]

Is the supporting bulkhead tabbed to the structure? If it's taking rudder load I would hope its more then just bonding goop? Good for all of us to look at the load points of our rudders and question the engineering.


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[Tx J]

Originally Posted by Prairie Chicken

From the media report A64. It sure sounds like it.



I'm with others that believe the rudder damage done by a previous owner was substantial, and either concealed or not missed in the purchase survey. The Rorke's certainly had ill luck with that boat. I read thru both the previous thread re loss of his rudder, and this one, and believe the man is a capable captain and took the reasonable steps most of us would take in his circumstances.

I agree Mr. Rorke is a nice guy and probably a pretty good skipper, even obtaining additional crew for a long passage beyond the watchkeeping range of he and his wife.

However, the choice to be 900 miles NE of Bermuda in early-mid April aboard what is still a small boat is not a reasonable choice. Even the USCG picket cutters on ocean stations in that neighborhood years ago got their tails regularly kicked out there.
With today's incredible weather and satellite information freely available to anyone with an internet connection, and given this particular year's very strong and frequent WX systems marching across the continent every few days, and oddly enough, continuing on into the North Atlantic ocean itself clear to Europe (/snark), embarking on the chosen route just wasn't a very good decision. Inherently sound vessel or not.

Most likely another "schedule driven" decision, like so many before, that end not very well. You just can't mess with Mama Nature, nor her inscrutable timetable (note to self: do not trot out old PMS joke here or you'll get skinned alive...).

[robert sailor]

On an aside, just for discussion, many on this forum loved the new B38 raving about speed and good looks and to be sure it is a cool looking boat. One of the reasons it was cool looking was the almost absence of interior bulkheads which for normal coastal cruising is OK but who in their right mind would want to be out in seriously heavy weather for a few days on end in that boat?

[Andrew Troup]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

On an aside, just for discussion, many on this forum loved the new B38 raving about speed and good looks and to be sure it is a cool looking boat. One of the reasons it was cool looking was the almost absence of interior bulkheads which for normal coastal cruising is OK but who in their right mind would want to be out in seriously heavy weather for a few days on end in that boat?

Having only ever encountered authentic survival conditions once, and that was while coastal cruising (day sailing, in fact) with a perfect forecast -- much too close the coast for comfort -- I always have an involuntary clench reflex when someone talks of 'normal coastal cruising'

[robert sailor]

Sorry Andrew but my choice for words was limited to the typical sailor going for his 2 hour sail in semi protected waters with an up to date weather forecast...you knew what I meant.

[neilpride]

Originally Posted by robert sailor

On an aside, just for discussion, many on this forum loved the new B38 raving about speed and good looks and to be sure it is a cool looking boat. One of the reasons it was cool looking was the almost absence of interior bulkheads which for normal coastal cruising is OK but who in their right mind would want to be out in seriously heavy weather for a few days on end in that boat?

Flexible layout!!!

Beneteau has a new model about to come out, the Oceanis 38, and claims more flexibility than seen before on this size of boat before,

Lol!!!!!