Did that just happen?!?!

[Elysium_Van_Isl]

Well here's one you guys won't have likely seen before....

I was having my C30 trucked to the house for the winter for an interior refit. We normally keep it on a mooring, and during the winter (up here in the PNW) it is such a PITA to go out and back in the dinghy that we just decided to swallow the cost and bring it in. Besides, I wanted to rewire the mast and do some glasswork at the base anyway, so it seemed like a win-win!
However... the best laid plans....
The trucking company's trailer collapsed while in the middle of traffic on a major city artery. I have to say it was one of the most crazy things I have ever witnessed. I saw it all happen in the rear view mirror.... the boat started to wobble. I thought he was just driving slowly over a pothole. But then BOOM SCRAAAPE, A weld on one of the supports broke and the rest just went like dominoes. One, or maybe 2 supports stayed intact and somehow someway that boat stayed upright. Sort of. It was sitting on the keel at an angle of about 30deg, balancing on the 2 remaining supports.
I slammed the car in reverse and spoke with the driver who was instantly on the phone trying to get a second trailer out to help. I blasted ahead to my house, hooked up a utility trailer, grabbed the jack-stands and raced back. The driver used the stands to stop the boat from going right over and I have to say - he had solid titanium balls! He got right under there while she wobbled and stopped it from collapsing.
The craziest thing out of all this was the lookie-loos... Cars in the other lane either just carried on or slowed right down while driving along side to look up at the boat. People stopped and wandered over to look and everyone who owned a boat wanted to talk about the situation. Cars would even stop literally right under the lee of the boat when there was a nearby red light. I tried to flag people over to the middle of the road or get them to stop further back when the light was red, but after being almost hit twice I said forget it!
The driver somehow managed to jury-rig the trailer (the others were apparently all in use) after getting the boat fully supported and cranked back upright. He re-loaded it, somehow, and got it to my house which was only 2 blocks away.
WOW....what a day.
The insurance adjuster and a repair shop have all been by to go over it. Amazingly they aren't going to write it off, but there is a >12 thousand dollar repair bill going to happen. I am grateful they didn't pull the pin on the boat. I know, it will never be the same again, but fixing it is the best of a totally shite situation...

 

[justsomeguy]

Cars would even stop literally right under the lee of the boat when there was a nearby red light.

Some people just don't think.

"You can observe a lot just by watching."
Yogi Berra.

 

[jssailem]

Bugger. Bad luck man. Great that you had the right equipment to stabilize the boat. Makes one wonder, why didn't the truck have extra stands... Probably because such things never happen.
What type of damage occurred? From the looks of things, $12K even if it is Canadian is a lot of repair money.
Not totaled... maybe the adjuster is as much of a boat lover as you are.

 

[weekendrken]

That’s one heck of a Catalina port list— probably not a candidate for adding more battery weight to correct it!

Is that a hydraulic trailer? It’s dificuk to make out exactly what’s going in and/or failed.

Is the estimate just physical boat damage or all inclusive?

 

[Justin_NSA]

Wow! You think you plan things, excited with the project possibilities and then something like this happens. I've been to the PNW. The opposite road traffic is just as affected as the one you're in because of all the rubberneckers! Most frustrating thing I've seen on the road!

 

[Elysium_Van_Isl]

It wasn't a hydraulic trailer, and was quite old which was why it failed. The unit was correctly rated and such, but just tired I guess. Driver decided on the smaller one - they also have hydraulic - because he was unsure of how much maneuverability there would be in my residential area. Just blind luck that it was me...
The repair tally of $12K was just an initial estimate and I spoke with my adjuster about the 'what-ifs'. He said not to worry as we had lots of room for cost adjustment before reaching a write-off threshold. So I feel pretty good I guess. I mean, it totally sucks....and it will take us a few years to build up confidence in her again. We sail off the West Coast regularly, so the boat certainly needs to be sound.

I just need to focus on the positives. It is a good opportunity for me to remove the plywood core in the keel stub for example....

 

[jssailem]

What type of damage occurred? Any pictures? Bent shaft etc?
As you step back, is now the time to do some of those other projects that may have been deferred for a while?
Like you thinking about Boat Soundness, for sailing on the West Coast of Vancouver Isl. Good seamanship.

 

[Elysium_Van_Isl]

I'll go out today and snap a few pics of the damage. Honestly it looks totally unimpressive. These boats are TANKS! Lol.. The smile opened up at the front and rear of the keel joint. Totally to be expected on that one. Then there was a small transverse crack at the shaft exit so they will be re-glassing the shaft log and re-trueing the shaft.
Once work starts, it sounded like they will also closely examine the strut. I think I will talk to them about replacing it with a new one anyway. Mine is pretty pink from years back...
The lead on the keel will need to be smoothed out from striking the ground and for that work I was also planning on adding on a re-do of the encapsulation for the whole keel. I have little spots here-and-there where the lead is corroding through the bottom paint so it needs to be done.
Apart from those obvious ones, the rest of the issues (and for sure there will be some) aren't readily apparent and I need to leave it to the pro's to find them. I have the best shop in town doing the work.
I spoke to the top guy at the shop about how the stress and twist to the hull could lead to problems down the line - even if they weren't apparent now. It seems to me like significant fatigue of the glasswork. His thoughts were that the polyester resin is amazingly good at rebounding. The issues come from gelcoat which is absolutely NOT good at rebounding. They will do a thorough investigation for hairline cracks once work starts, but he didn't think the stress would be an issue down the line.

 

[weekendrken]

So how was he dropping the boat without a hyd trailer? Crane?

 

[Elysium_Van_Isl]

No it was an old style trailer where you have sleeves for a shaft that has pads on the top end. The shaft gets manually raised to the correct height and then you use an impact driver on bolts in the sleeve to hold them in place. The failure point was in the weld of the sleeve to the trailer frame. It wasn't a custom-made unit or anything.... just old.

 

[Justin_NSA]

No it was an old style trailer where you have sleeves for a shaft that has pads on the top end. The shaft gets manually raised to the correct height and then you use an impact driver on bolts in the sleeve to hold them in place. The failure point was in the weld of the sleeve to the trailer frame. It wasn't a custom-made unit or anything.... just old.

That sounds like my trailer. I only use it to and from the crane and the boatyard.
I've often wondered about hidden damage and fatigue on nonmetal structures. Ever since we started building the composite 41 section for the Boeing 787. I'm no longer in Engineering so I haven't followed the new materials.

 

[garymalmgren]

Rust never sleeps!

Gary

 

[JimInPB]

No it was an old style trailer where you have sleeves for a shaft that has pads on the top end. The shaft gets manually raised to the correct height and then you use an impact driver on bolts in the sleeve to hold them in place. The failure point was in the weld of the sleeve to the trailer frame. It wasn't a custom-made unit or anything.... just old.

Old, & maybe also missing the heavy support that was supposed to be under the keel. Those square pads with the adjustable arm length may just be balance braces, that were never intended to carry the full weight of a boat like yours.

 

[BrianRobin]

Old, & maybe also missing the heavy support that was supposed to be under the keel. Those square pads with the adjustable arm length may just be balance braces, that were never intended to carry the full weight of a boat like yours.

Ya, that's what I was thinking after looking at that picture. The lack of braces on those supports didn't help either!

 

[Elysium_Van_Isl]

I feel like it did have that cross beam, but to be honest, when he was loading up I didn't pay attention if it was right under the keel.