Maiden voyage on my new to me '77 OD25 tall rig-fin keel was from 18 miles north of Philadelphia on the Delaware River to the Middle River just north of Baltimore on the Chesapeake. Boat was in excellent condition, has original Vire 7 gas engine which worried me a bit but had been rebuilt 10 years ago. Sails new within last 5 years, running rigging, standing rigging, hull and deck in great shape. Spent a lot of time looking for soft spots and found none. No water stains on bulkheads and tapping on bulkhead and chainplates with hammer produced nice solid sounds.
She had been out of the water for 2 years while PO's estate was being settled. Did trip in two days. Motored and motorsailed 16 hours on day one. Engine purred like a kitty was making 6.5 knots through the water. Had knotmeter and GPS onboard to keep stats. Engine used about a gallon an hour which is what I expected.
Weather radio said day 2 would start to deteriorate around 2 pm with morning winds at 10-15 with 1-2 foot chop increasing to 15-20 and 3-4 foot chop by midday. She has a main and a 100% plastimo roller furling jib. Left early on day 2 and encountered the predicted chop but pulled out the jib and turned off the engine and the boat sailed great. Took on about a 10-15 degree heel and just cut through the chop beautifully. I tacked 4 or 5 times like this in bright sunshine and blue skies while eyeing a dark front way off to the west....but the sailing convinced me that this purchase of an older boat was just what I had planned for. When, without warning, while on a close reach the starboard chainplate shot up through the deck like a rocket and caused the mast to topple over the side and basically turtle with about a third of it sticking up out of the water suspended by the other three stays. Miraculously no one was hurt, I immediately checked the boat for water intrusion but found none, luckily had a portable radio since the masthead antenna was now 30' below water, donned a life jacket and called the coast guard since I was sitting in the shipping channel. Had towing insurance through BOATUS who responded within an hour. By the time they got there I had winched up the mast and had it alongside like a harpooned whale. The towboat captain towed me behinf Pooles Island to get out of the building chop and the two of us got he mast up on the bow and stern railing and secured for the 15 mile tow to my new marina. The marina hauled it out and did a quick look and thought the issue was water rotted bulkhead but needed to pull of the vinyl covering on the bulkhead to assess the damage. The mast was still in good shape. One section of the plastimo roller furler sleeve had snapped and looked liked it kinked the forestay but both sails were also undamaged. The yard felt they couldn't get to the full estimate for a week or so.
Thought the forum would be interested in the experience since everyone had been so helpful to my previous questions. I'll post again when I know more. Not sure how to have avoided this without tearing apart the bulkhead covering to determine the structural integrity of the underlying wood. Also looking for suggestions about the right way for this to be repaired in case the marina suggests some shortcuts or unnecessary replacements.
As always thanks for your ideas.
She had been out of the water for 2 years while PO's estate was being settled. Did trip in two days. Motored and motorsailed 16 hours on day one. Engine purred like a kitty was making 6.5 knots through the water. Had knotmeter and GPS onboard to keep stats. Engine used about a gallon an hour which is what I expected.
Weather radio said day 2 would start to deteriorate around 2 pm with morning winds at 10-15 with 1-2 foot chop increasing to 15-20 and 3-4 foot chop by midday. She has a main and a 100% plastimo roller furling jib. Left early on day 2 and encountered the predicted chop but pulled out the jib and turned off the engine and the boat sailed great. Took on about a 10-15 degree heel and just cut through the chop beautifully. I tacked 4 or 5 times like this in bright sunshine and blue skies while eyeing a dark front way off to the west....but the sailing convinced me that this purchase of an older boat was just what I had planned for. When, without warning, while on a close reach the starboard chainplate shot up through the deck like a rocket and caused the mast to topple over the side and basically turtle with about a third of it sticking up out of the water suspended by the other three stays. Miraculously no one was hurt, I immediately checked the boat for water intrusion but found none, luckily had a portable radio since the masthead antenna was now 30' below water, donned a life jacket and called the coast guard since I was sitting in the shipping channel. Had towing insurance through BOATUS who responded within an hour. By the time they got there I had winched up the mast and had it alongside like a harpooned whale. The towboat captain towed me behinf Pooles Island to get out of the building chop and the two of us got he mast up on the bow and stern railing and secured for the 15 mile tow to my new marina. The marina hauled it out and did a quick look and thought the issue was water rotted bulkhead but needed to pull of the vinyl covering on the bulkhead to assess the damage. The mast was still in good shape. One section of the plastimo roller furler sleeve had snapped and looked liked it kinked the forestay but both sails were also undamaged. The yard felt they couldn't get to the full estimate for a week or so.
Thought the forum would be interested in the experience since everyone had been so helpful to my previous questions. I'll post again when I know more. Not sure how to have avoided this without tearing apart the bulkhead covering to determine the structural integrity of the underlying wood. Also looking for suggestions about the right way for this to be repaired in case the marina suggests some shortcuts or unnecessary replacements.
As always thanks for your ideas.
The only thing to do is go down below and observe the plates some day in a breeze of wind while someone is at the helm. 
