Is this solid sunshade safe at sea?

[SaucySailoress]

Hey all.

To put things in context I am now divorced and buying back our boat which he got in the separation agreement.

Anyway... there are a few modifications he has made which I'm not sure about. The first I'll start with is our awesome sunshade... perspex and solar panels are mounted on a big metal frame (great for hammocks too), it keeps the cockpit dry in monsoons and cool in sunshine. I do love it.

BUT... I'm concerned that because it can't be reefed it might be a danger in very heavy wind or seas. At anchor the wind, when heavy, blows straight through.... but it hasn't been tested in a storm yet.

What are peoples opinions, please?

[donradcliffe]

Looks pretty stout. Should be good for at least 60 knots.

[SaucySailoress]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

Looks pretty stout. Should be good for at least 60 knots.

Do you mean 60 knots of wind?

And by stout, do you mean too heavy to tip over?

It's the logic behind it all that I'm after, if that's OK?

[rslifkin]

Structurally I wouldn't be too concerned about it based on those pictures. But if that were my boat there's no way I'd want that much weight or windage there from a sailing performance perspective.

[thinwater]

a. That goes in the ugly boat thread. A contender.

b. Imagine the windage once the boat heels and the wind gets under it. Whoa. Scary. Not well conceived.

Multihulls an suffer from better wind under the trampolines. Unavoidable, but this is also why they are nets (wind goes through). This catastrophe was self inflicted.

[SaucySailoress]

She actually sails very well with it. It counterbalances the weight of the chain at the front! As for weight, we also have a dive compressor and watermarked on board... but we compensated for some of that weight by redoing the old marine ply interior with honeycomb...

[Wolfe10]

Originally Posted by SaucySailoress

BUT... I'm concerned that because it can't be reefed it might be a danger in very heavy wind or seas.

Sorry, I am confused. What does the fixed structure have to do with ability to reef?


Looks like the boom/main sail is forward of the hard bimini structure.

[SaucySailoress]

Yes. This is my concern.

BUT in context.... the solar panels were there originally, and we HAVE been through heavy storms with them. Comfortably. But the surface area has increased by about double.

Now. Given the angme of the panels, basically 90°, how LIKELY do you think it would be to cause problems?

[SaucySailoress]

Originally Posted by Wolfe10

Sorry, I am confused. What does the fixed structure have to do with ability to reef?

Because its solid and screwed on, it can't be easily removed when stormsblow up.

But a soft cover won't be so effective against the rain...

[rslifkin]

At anchor the windage shouldn't be a big deal, and the little bit it presents should if anything help the boat sit better at anchor, as it's windage added aft. That wouldn't worry me much as long as the plastic is strong enough.

However, when the boat is sailing and heeled, there's far more surface area presented to the wind. That much windage WILL make the boat significantly slower when sailing upwind (and will cause the boat not to point as high). There's no way to avoid that, as sailing close hauled is strictly a lift/drag game.

[Franziska]

Originally Posted by thinwater

a. That goes in the ugly boat thread. A contender.

b. Imagine the windage once the boat heels and the wind gets under it. Whoa. Scary. Not well conceived.

Multihulls an suffer from better wind under the trampolines. Unavoidable, but this is also why they are nets (wind goes through). This catastrophe was self inflicted.

This, that's one of the most ugly contraptions I've seen on boats. Some Russian "Cope cages" even look better.


And yes, in a real blow with big waves it will be no advantage either.



Sorry.

[grantmc]

Looking around a marina here in Fiji (where almost all the yachts have crossed a very big ocean to get here) most have similar arrangements to mount things, especially solar arrays, and keep out the weather. I'm very doubtful it makes any difference to sailing height nor speed. Ugly but practical and normal for blue water.

I do find it interesting how the design has been taken down to the swim platform, sugar scoop or whatever you want to call the stern shape. It's not clear in the photo but I'm assuming some fold down steps?

As an aside I think your boat looks pretty cool.

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

Looks pretty stout. Should be good for at least 60 knots.

So at 61 knots of wind it will blow away? Is that true or apparent I'm left wondering.

Mmmm, yeah right, nah. I've seen a number of cyclones pass through Fiji here and never seen any of the towers fail. Winston and Yasa both had winds in excess of 100 knots. Winston was operationally estimated with ten-minute sustained winds of 230 km/h (140 mph/122 knots) and a pressure of 915 hPa (mbar; 27.02 inHg). The JTWC estimated Winston with one-minute sustained winds of 285 km/h (177 mph/154 knots).

[SaucySailoress]

Originally Posted by grantmc

I do find it interesting how the design has been taken down to the swim platform, sugar scoop or whatever you want to call the stern shape. It's not clear in the photo but I'm assuming some fold down steps?

Yes. Fold down steps and platform. Can swim straight into it even in dive gear.

Might be clearer on this photo.

[skipperpete]

Does the frame also act as davits for the tender?

[thinwater]

OK, the OP loves the boat. Sounds like they did some cool stuff down below.


Why was it built so tall? Is someone over 7 feet tall? It looks to be nearly 2 feet taller than needed. This adds weight, windage, and reduces the shade and rainfall protection to the cockpit. This is why Biminis are not 8' tall.


I notice the solid rails too. Was the other half a welder?