Good Reason #28 to have a Small Boat: Air Draft!

[CapnK]

Your average 20-30'er will fit under a 56' high bridge at high tide, unlike this 40'er.  :-\

That had just finished being commissioned. :-[ No insurance, yet, even.

Mast height above water for this Beneteau is listed at 53'. Literally less than 1/4" of the top of the mast hit the bridge. !!! The wind sensor at the masthead was snapped off (it pokes out forward, and up...), and the lens over the anchor light was broken. However, the bulb was still there, filament unbroken. The Windex was bent later, after the fall, I think.

Getting what was left of the rig off the boat was very tricky and took 3 hours; it was basically being held up by the tension on the vang and halyards. Once everything was good and ready, I cut those last lines at full arm extension  ;D, they were literally guitar-string tight, and popped like rubber bands. The tension they had been under was so great that it had partly solidified the core of the lines.

[CapnK]

I've recommended that the owner replace the *entire* rig, as he intends to take this boat TransAt. He told me today that he wants to reuse anything not broken.

Anyone care to take a crew position? ;D

In the last pic, you can see the brand new main in there on it's in-mast furler. That is what was holding the top of the spar from falling off; I think it would have popped the halyards were it not for the furler and dacron helping...

[Tim]

Make sure he signs you a release of liability ;)

[dnice]

Anyone care to take a crew position? ;D

Yeah me!! I need some experience with the 'when everything goes bad' situations!
sounds like a good opportunity!

[Captain Smollett]

Is that the brand new Benny that sat in the yard for so long waiting for the keel?

Wow.

[AdriftAtSea]

Capnk-

Please tell me this guy isn't serious about re-using parts of that rigging for a TransAtlantic passage... please... if not... I guess we can add his name to the list of Darwin Award nominees...

[CapnK]

Tim - There will be some wording to that effect. :)
dnice - lol! Good one. :)
John - This is a different boat. That one was a 46'. That said, I would *love* to see that 46' back in the yard...
Dan - Yes, and he is saving $3-4K by doing so. Sounds good, eh? Brand-new boat, tho', and that 3-4K is maybe 1-2% of the boats worth... I believe the saying is "Penny-wise, pound-foolish". :)

[AdriftAtSea]

 ??? ??? ??? ???  I really have to wonder about some of these people... especially the ones who buy the bigger boats and don't see a need to shell out the bucks for the basics—like a decent anchor and rode, good docklines, proper charts, proper repairs... etc...

[Bill NH]

I'm intrigued by the apparent 3 foot difference in clearance...    ???

Vertical bridge clearances on charts are referenced to Mean High Water, so spring tides could reduce this clearance somewhat at high water.

I also suspect that published mast height above water does not include wind instruments, tricolor lights, antennas, etc affixed to the masthead...

Was the boat not fully outfitted yet, with slack tanks - putting her above the design waterline?

Perhaps the boat was not in the center of the bridge span and the clearance was a bit less?

I guess I can see all these little contributions adding up, but 3 feet is still a lot!

[chris2998]

this is something I have wonder when I buy a sailboat someday is the bridges near me I know of 3 that swing open but the other 3 I am currious of how High they are and would the mast clear them.

[AdriftAtSea]

Chris-

Time to check the charts.  Even looking at the charts on the google apps demo site would probably have that info. :)