Helia 44 abandoned off Puerto Rico

[AllenRbrts]

A Fountaine Pajot Helia 44 was abandoned off Puerto Rico. The crew was safely recovered but the boat was lost. Was this another escape hatch failure?

https://coastguardnews.com/coast-gua...an/2019/12/07/

[donradcliffe]

Weather didn't look bad. Boat looks uninhabitable, but maybe salvageable.

[AllenRbrts]

Photo of the boat from a screen shot of the Coast Guard video.

[double u]

...so much for the unsinkability...
looking around here I wonder about the progress multihull design has made since my starting days in the early 80ies...

[StuM]

Originally Posted by double u

...so much for the unsinkability...
looking around here I wonder about the progress multihull design has made since my starting days in the early 80ies...

Still appears to be afloat to me

[double u]

...ok, after a fashion...
but I stil have to ask why “comfort“ seems to be pretty much the only parameter the multihull designers have been working on...
I know: charter-market driven!

[AllenRbrts]

The key question is whether this is another escape hatch failure resulting in yet another needless loss of a boat. Just a couple of weeks ago a lagoon had trouble in the Pacific when they lost their escape hatch, there have been other FPs that have had trouble as well. While it is not known what caused this tragedy, it should be a wake up call to all cat owners to secure or permanently remove their escape hatches

[tarian]

Originally Posted by AllenRbrts

The key question is whether this is another escape hatch failure resulting in yet another needless loss of a boat. Just a couple of weeks ago a lagoon had trouble in the Pacific when they lost their escape hatch, there have been other FPs that have had trouble as well. While it is not known what caused this tragedy, it should be a wake up call to all cat owners to secure or permanently remove their escape hatches

Pure speculation and scaremongering

Please wait for the full story from those that were there or rescuing , thousands upon thousands of Cats out there and you know of one factual issues with a hatch and know speculating on this on ,

[alansmith]

Please...let's not start another mono versus multihull diatribe. They both have their pluses and minuses. Each to their own choosing. No need to bash. Respect another person's choices...even if they aren't your own.

[Shrew]

It would seem both hulls are sitting at about the same depth and attitude. I doubt you had 2 hatches fail. I would assume that if a single hatch fails, one hull is flooded and the boat lists heavily to that side.

A single picture with limited information doesn't tell us whether the vessel sunk further or what the root cause was. Mono vs. multi comments only serve to inflame debate unnecessarily.

[Hoodsail]

good to see both aboard rescued w/o event...definitely not a "Dream Charter"..

[AllenRbrts]

You are correct that the cause here is unknown, which I acknowledged in my post. However many of the production catamarans have escape hatches which have been recalled. Those include FP (the make of boat of this incident), Lagoon, Catana, and Nautitech. My point was owners of those boats should insure their escape hatches are addressed even if this incident turns out not to be an escape hatch. That is not fear mongering... it is prudent. This fix pretty easy and not expensive; the potential downside of not acting is losing your boat. I have personally experienced how bad this can be

Originally Posted by tarian

Pure speculation and scaremongering

Please wait for the full story from those that were there or rescuing , thousands upon thousands of Cats out there and you know of one factual issues with a hatch and know speculating on this on ,

[captlloyd]

Originally Posted by double u

...so much for the unsinkability...
looking around here I wonder about the progress multihull design has made since my starting days in the early 80ies...

If it was sunk you couldn’t see it. I am wondering what progress you seem to be saying is missing ? The world is full of critics, especially ones who offer no solutions.

[AllenRbrts]

The pictures I have seen of boats with escape hatch failures look pretty much like this one. Once one hull takes on enough water, water floods the other hull from the salon. The engine compartments also flood. The bows have waterproof compartments which keeps the boat afloat, bows up

This is the same model boat with an escape hatch failure, sitting pretty much the same.

Originally Posted by Shrew

It would seem both hulls are sitting at about the same depth and attitude. I doubt you had 2 hatches fail. I would assume that if a single hatch fails, one hull is flooded and the boat lists heavily to that side.

A single picture with limited information doesn't tell us whether the vessel sunk further or what the root cause was. Mono vs. multi comments only serve to inflame debate unnecessarily.

[double u]

Originally Posted by captlloyd

If it was sunk you couldn’t see it. I am wondering what progress you seem to be saying is missing ? The world is full of critics, especially ones who offer no solutions.

Hull-& cabine side hights & displacement, gc height & windage have increased while bridgedeck clearance heights has deacreased, in some designs so much they should be called “tunnel hulls“.
No mistake : a say 45' cat could be the ideal cruising boat for our purpose (tradewind rtw) (apart from the cost)- but not one of those I see around here in the charter fleets