------ Original Message ------ Received: Wed, 27 Apr 2005 11:16:36 AM EDT From: Georgs Kolesnikovs <georgs@trawlering.com> To: Power Catamaran List <power-catamaran@lists.samurai.com> Subject: Re: [PCW] Suitability for offshore service > Brian Eiland wrote: > >Look at what happened to this salty looking trawler in relatively moderate conditions in last year's Atlantic Rally: > ><http://boatdesign.net/forums/showpost.php?p=40386&postcount=71> > >a simple electrical problem with the stabilizer fins had these folks > >considering a vessel abandonment. > Georgs responded: That is a gross overstatement of the facts. I was on the rally as a > journalist and spoke with the owners at length. The electrical > problem was far from simple yet at no time were they "considering" to > abandon ship. > > If you're using my report in the the Fall 2004 edition of Power > Cruising as your source (That's where the photo seems to have been > lifted from, with permission, I trust), it's a sign of seamanship to > have life jackets and a ditch bag at the ready for any emergency, not > an indication per se that anyone is thinking about jumping ship. Brian replied: Yes that was the article I was referring to. I had not noticed that you wrote it. The electrical problem was not a 'simple problem' unto itself, but it was caused by a simple fact that some salt water soaked the inverter that was supplying power to the cooling water motors of the stabliizers which prompted their shut-down. To quote the article, "Uno Mas was not sinking, and she was not on fire. But without stabilizers in a brutal, beamy sea, the Fearless 40 was more than just uncomfortable; she was downright dangerous." "....but that had put them off course. Any farther afield and Uno Mas wouldn't have enough fuel to make the remaining distance to the Azores. Getting on course without stabilizers put her at the mercy of a savage sea." "Uno Mas perched on a crest, then dropped port side down toward the trough. As she reached bottom, crew member Chris Mather watched awestruck as the cold Atlantic climbed 18 inches up the saloon windows." "Only a few minutes had passed since the knockdown, The crew donned life-jackets and made sure the abandon-ship bag was at hand. John radioed the fleet to advise them of the situation...." Brian commented: To me that sounded as though they were VERY concerned that they could continue on for 'hundreds of more miles' with the ship in this sea condition. And in fact it was only after a factory crewman from another vessel swam over to this vessel and sorted out the problem that they were able to continue. The owner was unable to fix the problem. That's my interpretation of the article. I found the photo very interesting because it is SO VERY SELDOM that any manufacturer of a trawler vessel (nor Magazines promoting the same) EVER allow such embarrassing photos to be shown. Brian Eiland beiland@usa.net http://www.RunningTideYachts.com distinctive multihull expedition yachts

>That's my interpretation of >the article. Brian, please stop the armchair admiral routine because, among things, you are way off topic, the topic of this list being power multihulls of all makes and all types. --Georgs -- Georgs Kolesnikovs Power Catamaran World http://www.powercatamaranworld.com