Cheeki Rafiki boss GUILTY!

[MarkJ]

Yacht boss guilty after Cheeki Rafiki deaths

Breaking news.


More to follow

Douglas Innes, who ran Stormforce Coaching, had been responsible for the Cheeki Rafiki

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/www.bbc...s/amp/40609661

[MarkJ]

"But trial judge Mr Justice Dingemans discharged the jurors at Winchester Crown Court after they were unable to reach a decision on the four manslaughter allegations, which they had been deliberating over since Tuesday lunchtime."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/pa/article-4696608/amp/Yachting-company-boss-convicted-failing-ensure-safety-Cheeki-Rafiki.html

[Jdege]

The court also heard the vessel, which had grounded three times in three years, had an undetected fault with the bolts which held the keel to the hull.

Which raises an interesting question.

How do you detect that a keel bolt has broken?

I mean, sometimes it will be obvious. But if it's not?

[boatman61]

Hammer and screwdriver..

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by Jdege

Which raises an interesting question.



How do you detect that a keel bolt has broken?



I mean, sometimes it will be obvious. But if it's not?

Maybe a better question is how do you determine that a keel bolt has gone through 99% of its fatigue life?
Or any other critical component like a chainplate or rigging?
Usual response is you change the component out well before reaching fatigue life limit, aircraft its common to set the life limit at 1/7 fatigue life, cause you will have oil liers

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by Jdege

Which raises an interesting question.

How do you detect that a keel bolt has broken?

I mean, sometimes it will be obvious. But if it's not?

Ultrasound (break or significant crack). I've done this many times during industrial inspections. Fatigue is a different matter.

[taxwizz]

Ideally you test everything every year.
Just imagine the cost.
Or...just buy a NEW boat every 2 years and scrap the old one.
Just imagine the cost.

[wjhutchings]

The vessel had grounded at least three times in the last three years if that doesn't tell a prudent owner/operator/manager what have you to get the keel attachments checked and NDT'd what on earth will

[sailorboy1]

So what crime did he get found guilty of?

[wjhutchings]

He and his company were found guilty of not ensuring the safety of their employees, an offence under the UK Health and Safety Act. The vessel was only certified to operate within 60 miles of a safe haven which she patently wasn't and her certification was expired, during the court case it was revealed that the operators knew that some of the keel bolts had broken before the vessel left the UK for Antigua

[sailorboy1]

That's the first I have read that the boat crew knew of broken bolts!

[GTom]

Originally Posted by Jdege

Which raises an interesting question.

How do you detect that a keel bolt has broken?

I mean, sometimes it will be obvious. But if it's not?

You don't. You buy a boat with encapsulated keel

Joke aside: Take the keel off and have a look after each groundings? Whoever steered the boat to the rocks pays...

[wjhutchings]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

That's the first I have read that the boat crew knew of broken bolts!

Don't think the crew did but according to evidence given to the court
the owner/operator/manager definitely did

[barnakiel]

This part of the bbc coverage:

"...it later emerged that some of the bolts had been broken "for some time" before the yacht left the UK in October...."

is just another newspaper guy put it wrong or a fact?

If a boat with known broken keel bolts leaves the UK for an Atlantic loop ... clearly someone is guilty of what ensues.

Cheers,
b.

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Maybe a better question is how do you determine that a keel bolt has gone through 99% of its fatigue life? (...)

I believe the case is (or at least bbc says so) of bolts known to be broken before they departed the UK for their trip to the other side.

A short reply to "how" is you make the bolts so that the NEVER EVER get even close to 99% in foreseeable use of the boat (say 100 years or so). Quite easy and inexpensive as the bolts are made of steel rater than gold.

Look at some 50 years old grp boats - their keels are still on. If building like that was possible before (before we had CAD and computer assisted stress calculations) it is clearly still viable today.

And it is not so much a designer or boatbuilder problem as it is the problem of the person who selects a tool for a job. That's you and me.

Here - 11 pairs of 12mm bolts, ballast slab 3000 pounds. Boat designed in Sweden 1967. These bolts live in keel pockets and can be easily accessed and replaced at any haulout.

So, this is the short and the long of it. There are many ways to build a boat. Nobody force feeds flimsy keels into our throats. We choose our boats.

Very sad lives were lost while the tragedy could have been avoided.

Big hug,
b.