Cracked Hull/Deck

[sailaway78]

Iternet posting

I have a friend who had a pretty new Hunter a few years ago. Hunter had installed the fuel tank vent in such a way that in a heavy rain, or rough seas, the drain would collect water that was running down the deck. There was no loop of any kind in the vent line. At this time, all he knew was that he was getting water into the fuel tank from somewhere. One day, in really nasty conditions, the engine quit due to water, just as they were going under a drawbridge. A nasty collision followed immediately. Tore the boat up pretty bad. No one would accept any responsibility, and there was a lot of finger pointing going on between Hunter, Yanmar and his insurance company. Later he got a call from Hunter, agreeing to fix the boat, IF he would quit posting this up all over the internet. They sent a truck, and took the boat back to the factory, where it was fixed. Later there was a recall notice about the fuel tank vent from Hunter. So, I would say to blast them on every forum you can find. And continue to do so. They will not like the publicity.

 

[kloudie1]

I agree with N&E.. I Had an issue with a Saab automobile like that.. I talked to them a lot and they kept telling me that my observations were impossible.. then got the lawyers involved when it became obvious that they were not listening.. Problem got solved pretty quickly after that..
The problem that you have is that in the 10 years that you didn't own the boat, some structure may have been removed ..?? Another way to cause this damage would be to overtighten the shrouds to the point that the deck would have failed regardless of the wind speed.Both of these things could have been done in a boatyard by well meaning but ignorant workers. . The original Beneteau design/drawings and a complete repair history would have to be put together before pressing Beneteau.. Beneteau may have had nothing to do with this failure.

 

[Ron20324]

B323 toe rail

I found a pic of my B323, and it shows the shrouds running to the toe rail also.

 

[Joe]

Raul, are there any pictures of the damage? Have you had an expert look at it to determine cause and cost of repair? The cap shroud chainplate (the longest one) should not be anchored to the deck, but rather through the deck to a bulkhead and preferalbly the hull.... your picture indicates the chainplate is probably glassed into the hull..... if the glass tabs have failed, you may have a case against the previous owner or the factory.... you did have a survey, right? At the very least, you'll have a valid insurance claim... you may have to prove you weren't abusing the boat, such as racing with the spinnaker in extreme conditions. Good luck.

 

[alexco38]

http://www.sailnet.com/forums/sailb...hain-plates-giulietta-interesting-design.html

Interest to know a similar design.

 

[tommays]

Having been there and done that for and unrelated reason on a 40+ year old boat thats and epic repair which will involve a whole LOT of grinding and a toe-rail replacement

It involved my full grinder collection even the 9" with 16 grit and a few hundred pounds of dust

 

[Gunni]

Wow. I've never seen a sailboat without chainplates. Even my old one-design dinghies had chainplates. There are big loads being generated, they need to be distributed into the hull structure. Sorry to see this outcome Raul.

 

[wetass]

I've seen boats built without traditional chain-plates (external or internal), but they at least always had something to distribute the loads to the hull and didn't rely entirely on washers or the hull flange integrity. Makes you think someone at some point forgot to install something - at least I would hope so.

Give beneteau a call - I bet they are at least somewhat helpful.

 

[kloudie1]

Still scratching my head.. Look at the first picture on post #10.. just to the left of the U-bolt nuts and vertically down is a place that looks like where a bulkhead was tabbed into the hull.. it looks like fiberglass tape still bonded to the hull but no wood where there should be some.. .. Someone with a 311 Oceanis needs to post a picture of the inside of that locker ..??
Like I said.. in the 10 years between build and failure, some strange stuff may have happened.

 

[Tac]

Well it’s ugly but fixable. Reinforce the hull with fiber glass 1 foot fore aft and down about 5/16 think would be plenty thinker the better but harder to blend and hide. Build Up in layers of woven glass and resin at in this buildup of layers first set against the hull a L brace one side pointing to the center of the boat and the other down the side of the hull. Glass this to the hull and Get then rebolt the U bolts to this below decks. Just my Idea. Picture Angle iron 2 1/2 stock by 3/8 wall or 1/2 wall and 6 inches long. You might have to get square tube and cut in half to get thinker wall. Well that’s what I would do if I had to fix it myself. And leave a notch on ends of metal stock and if possible between bolted areas to allow Fiber glass to interlock the steel better to the hull.

So in short fiber glass a metal bracket to the hull and reinfore the area while bedding the bracket. bolt the shrouds to the new brace taking the load off the toe rail and deck joint. well hope this helps or is entertaining to read lol sorry for the long babbell.

 

[ph034495]

Just reading through the this. i posted on the ben owners thread and posted some dwgs from beneteau spare parts site and it appears that the 311 and 323 terminate at deck joint.....Picture on right is a 321 model.
This would make me nervous..

 

[Skipper]

Maybe the PO made a repair. Or worse, a mod. I recall the story of the couple who removed the compression post, because it was "in the way". -The top deck of course collapsed some time later.

I would be blazingly suspicious of a boat that fails to that magnitude only days after a sale. I would be asking many questions of numerous people. A sailboat should not fail like that, regardless of weather. The sails and\or rigging should let go first. If a fabric sail and\or a couple of thin cables are stronger than my boat, well then we've got a serious problem.

 

[John R]

suspicious?

Maybe the PO made a repair. Or worse, a mod. I recall the story of the couple who removed the compression post, because it was "in the way". -The top deck of course collapsed some time later.

I would be blazingly suspicious of a boat that fails to that magnitude only days after a sale. I would be asking many questions of numerous people. A sailboat should not fail like that, regardless of weather. The sails and\or rigging should let go first. If a fabric sail and\or a couple of thin cables are stronger than my boat, well then we've got a serious problem.

That's what I wonder too. How is it that the boat lasted ten years without this failing, and then within days of the sale it fails?

 

[LloydB]

'That's what I wonder too. How is it that the boat lasted ten years without this failing, and then within days of the sale it fails?'
Regular annual maintenance on a dock queen without a loose gauge would be one way with that setup I'd guess.