Quote:
Originally Posted by wdemonye
I own Lagoon 46, hull 15. The dismasted L46, Karioca 2, left just a few days before us from Les Sables. We had sailed our boat to the Med with no problems in moderate winds (BF5-6 max, one reef in) and were near Ibiza when we received an email from Lagoon through our dealer not to use our sails due to mast issues. They referred to the accident with Karioca 2.
Our mast has been replaced in November by Lagoon for a shorter one with two spreaders; same mast (and length) as on 450. All sails have replaced. According to the new polar diagrams from VPLP this costs me 0.2 - 0.5 knots of speed. Haven’t sailed her yet with the new mast.
A compensation package has been offered to me by Lagoon to which I agreed.
Lagoon has been open about the issues and have taken the proper steps to correct the issue. I personally think they might have been too aggressive in trying to best their proven 450. Looking forward to the 2020 season in the Med! |
the official response in August 2019 following the demasting in the North Sea at the end of July. I have also attached the performance information from the naval architects VPLP highlighting the differences between the two rigs.
Dear Partners,
We wish to inform you of a technical problem that occurred on the
rigging of one of our Lagoon 46 yachts, and the resulting decisions taken to resolve this issue.
Last month on July 30, a Lagoon 46 dismasted in the North Sea. Nobody on board was injured, and the boat was able to reach the coast without further damage.
Subsequently, we organised the retrieval of the mast at sea, in order to understand the reason for this
dismasting. However, the technical
survey undertaken by our teams and our mast supplier's did not enable the direct cause of this
dismasting to be identified (no defective
parts or particular exterior event).
In case of doubt, so as to ensure our customers'
safety, we decided to restrain
navigation of the yachts already delivered, by asking owners not to use the sails, and to navigate only under
engine, in order to avoid any further incidents. The concerned retailers, in charge of passing on this message to their customers, were informed of the matter on August 9th.
The follow-up of our technical surveys, undergone since the beginning of August with our mast supplier, has led to the conclusion that the masts, fitted on board the Lagoon 46 series, required settings that were too complex and subject to potential loosening of tension in the
rigging.
Therefore, the decision has been made to replace these masts by new, more reliable and safer rigging. Notably, with new shorter profiles, on which our design office has worked with the supplier.
You will find below the details of such modification :
1. A new rig :
The new mast we will provide, will be of 20 meters in length and fitted with 2 sets of spreaders. This rigging is a similar design as the one fitted on our Lagoon 450, of which we have built over 1,000 units. The 2 spreader bars rigging has the advantage of being easier to tune, in comparison with a 1 spreader rig.
Additionally the new mast will be of a larger section (i.e. diameter) than the previous one fitted on the first LAGOON 46s. This will increase the stiffness of the mast, which, combined with the reduction in length result in a more rigid mast.
Finally, we have redesigned the position of the
genoa sheet in order to relieve the tension it could potentially generate in the rigging.
All these actions are implemented in accordance with our request to our mast manufacturer which is to provide our clients with a simple, safe and extremely reliable rigging on their boat.
Please find enclosed the characteristics of this new rig
2. Sail performances
This new mast design results in a reduction of the global sail area (see enclosed drawing). According to our calculation, the loss of sail performance in between the 20 meters mast and the 21,85 meters mast will be low. In order to help you understanding it, you will find enclosed to this letter a report from our naval architects VPLP design (who design all Lagoon models, and whose performances in competition make them the most successful title holders in the world), showing the speed difference.
Such modifications have consequences on our planning of deliveries (supply of the new masts, rig, sails), and we
work hard with our suppliers on limiting the delays. But there will be for sure delays on boats scheduled until january. We will of course let you know how the situation evolves.
Last but not least, we know that rumors are running around this rigging issue, with no other goal than hurting Lagoon. We count on your help and collaboration to help us supporting the message and giving confidence to our clients.
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