Fixing a dangerous boat breaking fault | Ep103

This lift in Lagos, Portugal was our last lift before crossing the Atlantic and it was supposed to be a straight forward bottom job.
But I had been monitoring a possible problem with the mast where the cross member support seemed to be slipping. It was a small and very slow movement, but some measurements I made before our trip to Annapolis proved that by the time we came back something was going on.
So the decision was made to pull the mast and get a good look at what actually was lurking in our bilge.
What we found was a big surprise. Not in my wildest dreams did I think I would find such a reckless piece of construction on a boat like Fair Isle.
We’ve been on board sailing full time for seven years now and have never found a single detail about the boat that hasn’t been carefully and methodically thought through. You can just see the care and attention in every component and strength is just a given on a boat like this.
So what the hell happened?
Well it’s only conjecture of course as we have no evidence of what was done where. But it seems clear that this cannot be just a ‘bad design’ because it’s not a design at all. A twelve year old would take one look at a drawing that had a water tank as a support for a structure capable of exerting double digit tons of weight and say I don’t think that’s a good idea!
So my theory is a complete breakdown in communication between Thailand, where the structure is built, and the Netherlands, where the rigging, Mast, electrics etc are fitted.
The teak blocks obviously come from Thailand, it’s the reason the boat is made in the far East, you couldn’t afford the amount of teak these boats have anywhere else. But it’s pretty obvious to me that the cuts made in those teak blocks was done in Holland not in Thailand. Every bit of carpentry aboard Fair Isle is beautifully done. Precision like you would not believe even on things that are completely hidden from sight. If those blocks had been cut to accept conduit in Thailand they would have had perfect conduit sized holes in them, not rough wonky saw cuts!
So I think the teak blocks were shipped with the boat with the intention of them being used as supports that would be part of a properly engineered structure along the lines of the one we have just done.
Fair Isle was probably the first HC48T that had been sent over with full tanks and therefore no direct connection to the lead in the keel and it seems the yard putting the mast on somehow though the teak pads were to be glassed in on the edges over the tanks.
It seems pretty unbelievable that someone would be stupid enough to go ahead with glassing those blocks in knowing what was going on top. Just tapping the surface where they were mounting the blocks gives the hollow “arh this is definitely a tank!” noise that is pretty unmistakable, but the alternative is that someone actually put pen to paper and designed this pathetic piece of engineering and I just don’t think that is possible!
As I say though, just conjecture. What do you think happened?

You can follow Adam & Clare here : @sailing_aquila
and they have a boat tour of their Moody here:

——————————————————————————————————————–
PLEASE DO SUBSCRIBE – IT COSTS YOU NOTHING AND HELPS US OUT WITH THE YOUTUBE ALGORITHM
——————————————————————————————————————–

PATREON:
We couldn’t make these videos without the support of you, our patrons. You are our first line of feedback, our team, our support and our friends. We are really grateful and it means we can keep the videos coming! If you would like to join us you get to see (and comment on, which really helps us) the current videos with no ads at all before they get released to the public. There are also lots of extra videos available on Patreon and you can contact us directly on board. Ask us anything! We have regular ZOOM sessions and a WhatsApp group where we talk about boats, passages and life onboard. Join us!

https://www.patreon.com/sailingfairisle