[Public-List] Incline tests and size of boat

Tom Moffatt tmoffatt at xplornet.com
Sat May 8 15:35:42 PDT 2010


Just another quick note on stability problems. Size is not always the issue.

In the mid-1970s I met Miles Smeeton, who together with his wife Beryl,
sailed their 46-foot double ender in the southern ocean (and everywhere
else) in the 1950s and 1960s.

They were rolled and lost the mast headed for Cape Horn, and made it to
Chile. Insured by Lloyds, they repaired, then tried it a second time. This
time they were pitchpoled.

Miles apologized to the Lloyds agent, saying "I didn't think it would happen
a second time."

Response of the Lloyds agent: "Neither did we."

The moral: ultimate waves can cause havoc. But a well-found Alberg 30 is
high in stability - and may well survive an ultimate catastrophe better than
a larger vessel. Especially with its narrow beam.

Tom Moffatt



 1273358142.0


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