Rig Failure 1991 Hunter Passage 42

[Tropicalmark]

I was looking to see if anyone has had a rig failure on this type of boat as I experienced one on mine 7 miles off the coast of St. Vincent and was looking on technical advice on how to deal with this. My failure occured in mild conditions ,15k breeze. If anyone has similar age boats you should look at this problem as a friend who also had a boat the same age discovered the same problem. The root of the problem is that the stay terminated at deck level onto a stainless steel bolt (about 1 1 /4'' dia) which goes int a large threaded bolt. The problem is the threads on this large bolt corrode over time and the bolt simply comes out of the nut which is welded onto a solid piece of metal on a structural rib of the boat. In retrospect, a rig inspection should include backing out this large bolt periodically. I changed rigging twice since I owned the boat (since 97), but really only dealt with the stays.
I had to have two new bolts rethreaded and now must cut the old nuts away and weld new ones onto metal plates at base.

Mark
s/v Soul Venture
Union Island SVG

 

[Tully.J]

Hi there sorry for your misfortune did the deck take any damage as the bolts passed thru ?

Regards

 

[eianm]

Mark,
is there any chance you could post a pic of these bolts/fittings so we can be clear exactly what we are talking about please?
Eianm

 

[Old Sailor 2]

I, too, would like to see what the specifics are. I have replaced my standing rigging but not any deck fittings so would greatly appreciate a "heads up" on what to inspect and or change out. Has anyone had other standing rigging failures that we of the 42 Passage world should be aware of?

 

[Tully.J]

Maybe Tropicalmark will come back on and fill us in with a few more details .

Regards

 

[eianm]

I sure hope so -I would like to be really clear on exactly what he is talking about- I think we all need to be clear on this!

 

[sailboss]

Mark, I've seen this problem before. Hunter has used the deck-mounted chain-plate with a tie-rod threaded into a major piece of steel molded into the hull for a long time. the root cause is actually a failure of the bedding at deck level resulting in salt water leaking down the rod and sitting in the space between the nut and the top of the steel angle iron in the hull. Part of the problem is that stainless steel (or any passivated or chromed steel) needs oxygen in form of air or dissolved oxygen in flowing water to prevent rust. When the water just sits there and goes stagnant, corrosion and weakening happen rapidly. The solution is preventative maintenance by inspecting and renewing the bedding seal anytime cracking is noted. You can also inspect the area where the rod screws in. Keep it dry. Treat and seal any rust found.
Sorry your rod broke at the level of the nut. A qualified (and stubborn) machinist with a large stud extractor (1") may be able to save you considerable disassembly in getting that steel angle iron (deadman) out.
For those that want to whine about why Hunter didn't use a stainless nut and deadman. It wouldn't matter. As long as it's kept dry, as designed, the system works with basically indefinite life. Aircraft carriers and bridges are built for ocean environments with similar mild-steel materials.

 

[PASCAL]

Passage 42 chainplate failure

Hello Mark ,
following our discussion in Union visual inspection of Bonanza rod and bolts with a mini video camera do not identified possible problem,The boat is in Grenada now and I will step down the mast in November 2013, remove the two chainplate and inspect the inside thread bolt and rod.

I have the detail construction drawing from hunter ( PDF format) if any body interested I can send .

I will post all finding in November.

Pascal

I was looking to see if anyone has had a rig failure on this type of boat as I experienced one on mine 7 miles off the coast of St. Vincent and was looking on technical advice on how to deal with this. My failure occured in mild conditions ,15k breeze. If anyone has similar age boats you should look at this problem as a friend who also had a boat the same age discovered the same problem. The root of the problem is that the stay terminated at deck level onto a stainless steel bolt (about 1 1 /4'' dia) which goes int a large threaded bolt. The problem is the threads on this large bolt corrode over time and the bolt simply comes out of the nut which is welded onto a solid piece of metal on a structural rib of the boat. In retrospect, a rig inspection should include backing out this large bolt periodically. I changed rigging twice since I owned the boat (since 97), but really only dealt with the stays.
I had to have two new bolts rethreaded and now must cut the old nuts away and weld new ones onto metal plates at base.

Mark
s/v Soul Venture
Union Island SVG

 

[Sailorboy123]

I am a 17 year old boy, with no sailing experience, living in Tennessee, but I'm absolutely in love with the ocean. I want to get away and live my life on my own, possibly on the sea... How could I accomplish this?... It's kindof a life long goal