This ONE THING Could Have Saved Them (Pt. 4/4)

[@BillyBrattås]

I been in the marine bransch since early -70 in Sweden, even owned a rig/mast company. I noticed a couple things that might cause some trouble. In the nordic countries we mostly unmasted for the winter season but more and more people take up their boats with trawellifters and keep the mast/rigg on over the vinter. This means that the rigg becomes unserved/dismantled over time and that a big risk. The second thing is that rigs don't get set according to ex Seldens recommendation of tension (around 20% of the wires tension) . The 3 thing is that nearly nobody grease the toggles and oil the screw, this is a mechanical thing like all others thing that had to move. The 4 thing is that there is an electrical tension thru different material (even if its Stainless Steel) and i some boats there is a connection between the rigg on deck/hull and enforcement in the hull even trow the keels fastening. The 5 is that there is a lot of electronic in the mast and I even seen people that has used the enforcement as a plintgrund for - pol, and nobody check the electric tension from ex propeller axle to rigg or that the land power does something. The 6 is a very easy way to see if the mast´s attachment has tension cracks buy using a Ultra Violett lamp to se if there is cracks and i some cases used it on toggles and gaunlet screws also.

[@justincase5272]

I concur. Various fluorescent dies can be used to help spot cracks and corrosion, as the accumulate in pits and cracks, thereby appearing much brighter under UV.

[@ISOSAILING]

never understood why people take the boat out and leave the mast up for the winter my freands boat got dismasted in the yard one year he eft it up.

[@annlidslot8212]

Hej, I was just making a comment, from the experience of a child growing up on summers on a boat. Boats being hauled out and the rigging being taken off and stored separately. I'm not that happy about people not taking their riggs down, I must say. It must make the whole system being less safe, with all the temperature changes and changes in humidity, winter storms, and the harsh climate in general, during the winter. Also interesting to see Swedish people iping up about the best practices we at least used to have. Trying to remind people that the Caribbean, southern hemisphere, or call it the Tropical, way isn't the only story. I know that we at least had the most boats per capita title for a good many years. I don't know what the electrical components you talk about in your comment are, I don't have that know-how, but I'm assuming it's a bit like the way you have to have a sacrificial Zinc on your rudder? I don't feel like I have to know about that either since the whole boating thing ended when I got a Chronic Pain Syndrome after trauma coming up to 29 years ago later this year. I also know that there are so many others that do have that know-how, and can make a difference. Vänligen, Ann

[@jimsteinway695]

What’s a Vinter?

[@eriklarsson3188]

@@jimsteinway695 *Winter

[@glenntaylor5638]

As a former Bavaria 40 owner and now catamaran owner, I appreciated this advice and professional insight, also the notion that 'the rig is always working', even when parked!

[@louisavondart9178]

In the 1970's, the Walker Wing Sail rig was invented. The 7 boats that were built with this rig have sailed the world with zero problems, including sailing through hurricanes. I'm still amazed that people insist on heaving on winches in the rain and spray instead of sitting comfortably in the pilot chair, steering properly into the waves while the Wing sail does it's thing automatically. Stay dry and never worry about broaching. You can fit a Wing sail on a monohull. Hull stepped mast with bearings in hull and deck. No stays needed, just sheets on the boom. Zero maintenance and you can have a collapsible sail. It would seem a much better solution for the future, but few people opt for it. But then, people leave port with crap engines, little fuel and dirty fuel bunkers. Proper sailing, right? Congrats on the rescue. The world needs more people like you.

[@appick01]

Chris from C C Rigging is such a great guy. In my dealings with him I've found him thoroughly knowledgeable, willing to share his thoughts and educate others, and professional. When I'm finally ready to pull the trigger on my new rigging I'll be going with the quote he gave me. It's been great to see him pop up on so many sailing youtube channels over the years. Your channel and Whitespotpirates among a few. Hope you had a good time in SD you were sitting one marina away from my boat.

[@thelastpirate]

Yeah he's a good dude. Very much recommended. A+ work from and A+ guy.

[@grahamsengineering.2532]

Wonderful analysis of the failure James. As a Mechanical Fitter I can relate to that, heavier rigging, regular inspection and maintenance and yes a bit of Lube goes a long way. Like most things Stainless has a limited life as it will corrode in salt and it will work harden causing it to fatigue.

[@Roger-og2ty]

Great advice from both you and Chris. I know most of us coastal cruisers don’t really give this enough attention. I’m sure one day it’ll bite us in the ass. Thank you very much for your time and effort.

[@SVSeaChange]

Thanks for the idea of using Tefgel on the toggles, I will try it. My rigging is 34 years old. I finally replaced the wire this past season in Fiji as there were multiple broken strands in all of the wires, but everything else is still original to the boat, a 1989 Pacific Seacraft Crealock 34. I have inspected it carefully and it all seems okay, but perhaps adding Tefgel to the toggles will help. I wish I could include a picture, but in Marsden Cove Marina in New Zealand I met a big boat that almost lost their rig because the pin at the bottom of the toggle on the forestay broke and the toggle opened up to 90 degrees, but luckily for them still held. On the other hand, the three boats that I met that were dismasted in the Pacific last year and this year, Blue Beryl, Dance Me, and Masif, all had broken chainplates, chainplates that were encapsulated in fiberglass and hidden behind furniture. I am glad mine are external and I can at least examine them.

[@valerieb.4912]

James, You did an excellent job doing this 4 part series. Absolutely important to know. Thank you. Happy Sailing ⛵

[@WillN2Go1]

Thank you again James and also Chris. Great advice. My rigging is 20 years old, been to New Zealand and back to California. I've had two riggers look at, they insist it's in great shape. (One has inspected it a few times over the years.) Maybe in the coming year when I do a haul out I'll pay to have it taken down and looked at, or just replaced and upgraded if that's advisable. I think of my no wood core boat as 'effectively permanent.' My sailing friends said, 'Yeah, but if you lose the rig, mast.... it'll probably end up costing more to replace than just finding another boat just like it." If I don't sail it around the world, someone will. It's set up for it so the rigging should be such that it should never be the weak link. Really appreciate these videos.

[@davidbarten7429]

You got th right guy there w Chris. Wealth of knowledge without the attitude. Wields a mean axe too!! Awesome series putting it out here for both review and education. Loving what I learn after 50 years of sailing watching your channel...

[@elrobo3568]

I have been a jet aircraft mechanic for many years, I would suggest you search for a galvanic corrosion charts for dissimilar metals and if all of the metals used for the entire assembly are EXACTLY the same levels of all the metallic parts down to molecular level there will be low corrosion. If any of the parts are slightly different there will be galvanic corrosion. I have used Teflon isolators as bushings to stop the corrosion. You can get very tough Teflon stock to make them from it would also be a visual indicator for wear and an easy replacement even under way.

[@will5989]

@elrobo Great advice, thank you.

[@melinda5777]

Thanks James, for your time and effort figuring this out! 🙏❤️🇺🇸⛵️👣🍍😊🤙

[@ronschwolsky1626]

Well done on both (most importantly) the rescue, and the videos. Cheers from Los Angeles.

[@danieloliver20]

Great insight from Chris, thanks again James for diving into the probable causes of rig failure.

[@marklapierre5629]

Thanks for the great safety tips James. I hope you, Anna, and the new tiny crew had a scrumptious holiday season.

[@traderduke1880]

Thank you for doing a deep dive into this. Your Information, fact finding and your opinion is so important. Much love brother. 🙏🙏🙏🛥️🛥️🛥️

[@thelastpirate]

My pleasure

[@SailingSisu]

Wow, what a thought-provoking video! It's amazing how this one simple practice could have made such a difference. I appreciate the insight and analysis you provided, James. Your collaboration with Chris from C C Rigging really paid off, as his expertise and willingness to educate others truly shines through. It's great to see the sailing community coming together to share knowledge and experiences. Keep up the fantastic work, and thank you for your time and effort in bringing us these valuable lessons! ⛵️👍😊

[@evanemerson]

James. You’re a badass. Really appreciate your education and care of others. Thank you for all your videos.

[@Buildingtarmoo]

I noticed that the failure happened lower down on the toggle, also, the new one in his hand looks to have bitter fitted pins. I think corrosion is a factor, but that toggle looks like it just ripped apart from excess load.

[@lovropirkl2672]

The old Bavaria 44 has a bit of a reputation for loosing it's rig like this. One thing to note though is that the Bavaria 44 went out of production about 20 years ago. I own a modern Bavaria 46 and I can tell you that they have learnt from the past misteaks. My toggles are bigger than what James has on the oyster, and the modern Bavaria has a significantly wider shroud base that also helps. To be honest I like the modern Bavaria lineup, there's a reason I bought one. They're very lovely and fast boats. An average modern Bavaria is about a ton heavier than the competition because of the fact that it has a much stronger construction. Not that the extra weight is a detrement to performance, given the fact that the hull was designed for racing. When I do occasionally push my boat here and there in optimal conditions I can easily hit up to 13 knots of boat speed on a beam reach and I can do it with absolute confidence in the rig. My current speed record is almost 17 knots. One area I would recommend other owners to check is the point where the turnbuckle of the capshroud touches the guardwire. The guardwire is prone to scratching the turnbuckle and allowing corrosion to weaken the turnbuckles. My turnbuckles are quite scratched after 8 years.

[@thelastpirate]

Great info, thanks for sharing

[@bobrobinson6189]

You are a sailor and an educator. Thank you, very helpful, HNY.

[@davidnelson4707]

a big thank you for your information. It appears that you have saved us from some grief . Will be doing a grease and refit

[@Lilrom2003]

Stainless steel is known for sensitivity to stress corrosion cracking in the presence of chlorides ( sea salt) its a form of fatigue, so the repetitive loading when at sea will accelerate the fatigue. The chloride prevent the corrosion protection at the tip of the growing fatigue crack. Hence indeed higher stress and more load repetition in ocean use will reduce life of the heavily stressed components

[@annlidslot8212]

Hi, You posed the rhetorical question of who takes their mast down and store it indoors. We pretty much everyone in Sweden does that for winter storage. Our boats sleep either under a tarp or in some kind of indoors either heated or unheated large sheds throughout the winter. On the hard as you say. We get snow and very cold winters here, so the boats get picked up in October and ploinked back into the water again in May. Of course that kind of storage isn't conducive to keeping the rigging up, so before the boat is lifted the rigging comes down and get stored separately indoors in a dedicated shed.. Most all of the marinas have this being a service with the lifting and the storage place for he boat during the winter, and you then rent the dockage for the summer through the same marina. Well more the other way around, rally. E.g you rent the dockage, and then the winter storage for your boat/yacht and rigging from the same place. I do believe that you at least could rent the whole package, at least back then. Trying to figure out which rigging is yours is a bit of a chore, so that was my dad's job to deal with. He was the captain after all. In reality the marina usually, at least back then I was much younger than I am now, logged the things so when you were ready to have your boat go back in the water you called them up and they had everything ready. I believe that in some places they actually preferred that you weren't around for the whole hoisting and rigging because of all the noise you would make if they dropped the boat the last half meter (completely safe I've been told) by mistake. You gave them the call and they would give you a time slot, and you could come and move your boat to your dock in the evening. Being May you had light fairly late in the evening after work. I've never been all that far from the midnight sun if that gives you an idea of where Sweden is located. My family change from motor to sails after I moved away, but all through my childhood and youth we had this system in place. After my family switched to sail boat, the rigging was stored the way I explained. My parents had a wooden boat with wooden rigging at first, changing to a plastic hull and aluminum rigg when my father had to do the sanding of all that wood without having any daughters to commandeer to do it for him. Don't get me started on sanding and french polish. Child labor😉lol, or perhaps teenage rebellion, depending who's story you'd hear. Fair winds to you and the family. Yours, Ann

[@simonroyle2806]

I recently bought a 26' sailboat which is currently on the hard. The mast is down and the standing rigging looks OK, but I did find a very worn shackle which indicates a hard life and lack of maintenance. So have been thinking of replacing the rigging before the boat goes back in water around April time. This has convinced me to get it done by a Rigger!

[@bendoring2274]

Thank you for this important information! It makes clear (once more) that the standing rigging is most important for safety, and that damage because of corrosion has to be checked continuously...

[@thelastpirate]

Check your rigging, people. Zingaro has a BRAND NEW RIG! Want to come sailing with us? sailingzingaro.com/

[@frankpristov9745]

James tef gel looks like an Australian product. Just watched a video on how much to use on threaded holes and nut and bolt applications. Thank you James for this video, I've never heard of this product before

[@sergerobitaille2214]

Thanks for the video. To add to your rigging concerns, I ran across two dismasted yachts last year in Tonga. Both sailing across the Pacific in light SE trades...both failure are linked to chain-plate... failure of the bolts going through the teak... deck just like the chain-plate system showed on your video. As painful as this may sound, taking chain-plate off is part of the preventive maintenance and schedule rigging inspection. Secondly, it is well knowned that SS316 needs oxygen to maintain its anti-corrosion properties. Therefore, I am wondering if applying any compounds on rigging fittings is a good practice 🤔

[@bhartley1024]

Crevice corrosion requires low oxygen but also water and chloride ions. Tef-gel and the like will keep out the oxygen, but it will also keep out the water and salt needed for crevice corrosion.

[@sergerobitaille2214]

@@bhartley1024 Indeed... thank you.

[@albertfunk1176]

It makes perfect sense to apply Tef-Gel to these friction points. Very kind of Chris Catterton to share this "secret".

[@martinvargas9229]

Good advice from zingaro one of the best sailings channel in you tube gracias amigo this is Martin from New Zealand 😊

[@thelastpirate]

Thanks 👍 Martin!

[@sailinggizmo]

Great stuff James! We are headed back to the Caribbean as well, see you there this Spring

[@loriruhge3502]

Very insightful video. We own the Dragonfly 1200 Ocean Cruiser. The builder, Quorning Boats of Denmark recommends new rigging every 10 years. I was sorry to see the loss of the Bavaria 44. Good commentary. Thank-you.

[@Ranger4564]

You did a great job on the breakdown and the content. It was perfectly divided into the applicable parts. And I have to say the original summary email to the other boat was so perfectly phrased - everything was as brief and as applicable as it could be. You are one smart mofo. Well done. It is more about your thinking and intelligence than the content. You are very good at analyzing a situation and getting to the heart of the issues. That is very rare. Kudos to you.

[@lcagee]

Zing you are a good engineer and investigator. Good work.

[@datamack]

Great analysis and useful advice- thanks!

[@smulismuli7976]

It will be interesting to see and learn what brought down both masts on sailing Aquarius on their recent Atlantic crossing (don't know if you have seen it). Which is the same boat as Delos

[@MTHusaberg]

I had both of my toggles fail on my cutter. Luckily the inner forestay toggle failed while I was only two days off of Hawaii, so we pulled into Oahu and repaired the toggle. The Genoa furler forestay failed in the middle of the pacific. Because it was a cutter the mast stayed up. It was not good.

[@timdunn2257]

My rig never failed because it is unstayed. I sailed the scenic route to Hong Kong from Seattle. Owner two circumnavigated. Owner 3 sailed to S. America from near Seattle. Fifty years later, still standing. Replacement of standing rigging bits - zero. The marconi rig is a nightmare. Sail area - 720 feet on a 34' boat, a huge amount of sail for that size.

[@atomvoyager]

Interesting video but after listening to the end I did not hear the actual size and diameter of the broken toggle and its stud that you said was smaller and the size of the one you said was larger. What were the numbers? Was only the toggle strap smaller or was the whole assembly of strap and stud and turnbuckle body smaller? I see you have Hayn fittings. Any idea who manufactured the broken fitting and approximately how many years ago? Also, maybe tefgel would help but is there a chance the problem is that the toggle strap was a poor grade of stainless and the toggle stud was a higher grade, meaning there was an element of dissimilar metal galvanic corrosion going on?

[@iainhunneybell]

Very interesting about the corrosion and some pretty horrendous pics. These bring back all the advice about looking for rust stains, broken strands etc. and help show what’s going on inside. And of course a single stay could result in the rig being destabilised and falling, possibly leading to serious injury or death and even the loss of the boat as in this case. Possible for a single initial failure that then brought everything down

[@johnmagnan759]

I learned a lot from you over the seasons. I thought I was a rather experienced sailor but hind sight has taught me never get comfortable. You never know what ya don't know which sounds cliche but it's true. If I ever attempt an ocean crossing I'm getting my rigging professionally looked at before hand. Those people do that for a living and have a hell of a lot more experience than I ever will. How much is your life and crew's life worth is the question to ask in my opinion.

[@davidressler4292]

Awesome episode. Well done and very very important to heed.

[@gregsutton2400]

how does this not have a billion views.

[@geoffhunwick9151]

Please look into electronics from the wind in the rigging,it problem in power lines open circuit and not earthed and the voltage just from wind is up there.A antioxidant past is the way to go

[@tchri1976]

Thank you for your takeaways and lessons learned. I was wondering from parts 1-3 about what caused the demasting. I am new to sailing, but it seems corrosion in the chainplates/standing rigging or damage to the keel/keel attachment can quickly ruin your day if not more.

[@020Dutchy]

I don’t know all the technical names, but the rigging on that 44 Ocean you showed, is wrong too. The bottom part (the U) where it attaches to the deck plate is way too wide so when you put force on it, it will turn sideways and give an uneven load on the fork (the U). The whole load will only pull on one side of the fork and the pin might even bend too

[@peterblakeney1370]

Great videos, learning a lot from you and soaking up everything I can 👍

[@dmarykavanagh]

Best information ever on You Tube Sailing!!!

[@jamesbaker3964]

Lost my rig offshore due to crevice corrosion. Chain plate rated to 80 tonnes failed! Not much fun, but we were lucky and no one was injured. As soon as often is the case, it was at night with the spinnaker up.

[@powellmachineinc]

You can see it snapped beyond the Radius, so it's definitely not a corrosion or stress from the forming process, so that really only leaves time and fatigue.

[@JamesScott-my1cu]

Hey 👋 guys. We just wanted to say happy new year and thank you for all your great films and the really good advice. We are looking for a Vagabond 47, a very different boat but she has a lot of sail so upgrading the rigging is something that we will be looking at. Happy new year guys and fair winds.❤️❤️💙😘😘😘🙏

[@PabloEsgallhardo]

If there is traction on that connection and if it pivots, looking at the fracture image makes me think that the corrosion prevents the link flexibility putting it under much more load on one of the sides, possibly the out side that is subject to that higher tension. So, possibly cleaning and lubrication will do the trick, preventing corrosion too but since its stainless steel I would just release tension every 6 months and clean and lubricate with a water proof grease. also, covering the part in some rubber boot could possibly help.

[@avisseclaude6823]

Thank you for this interesting video !

[@deerfootnz]

I often talk to riggers. Most or all of them say they see just as many failures in stays rigged with mechanical fittings as swages. There are many reasons to use mechanical fittings and I definitely recommend them, but the bottom end of stays need just as frequent inspection.

[@antonywesstrom9284]

nicely done, very logical and informative.

[@hankl8823]

Interestingly there has been no mention of the material the rigging hardware is made of. Although the hardware is made of Stainless Steel it doesn't identify as to which grade. Many stailess steel products tend to be made of 304SS due to lower cost. However, and this may be cost prohibitive, 345SS is widely used in aerospace, which is a premium-melted stainless steel alloy with a high concentration of nickel and chromium. It is known to have improved tensile strength and fracture toughness. Having shared that information, there's much to be said for proper maintenance and inspection. Nothing lasts for ever.

[@Lilrom2003]

Look up stress corrosion cracking fatigue of stainless steel in the presence of chlorides, hence the use of 316 vs 304, slightly better in marine environment but always problem….

[@methyleneblue4659]

It's not due to cervice corrosion. It may be a contributing factor, but the root cause is the manufacting method of toggles. Creating the form by bending ruptures the grain structure of the steel causing it to fail on the bends. In most cases the tensile strength of the plate is comprimised by micro-sized stress raisers on the longer surface of the bend.

[@seanrhone5306]

What I never understood, why at 5.51, is your chain plate attachment point so much thiner than the toggle opening? It would seem you'd want those to be really close to avoid point loading on the clevis pin.

[@norwynclark2766]

Hi my partner enjoyed watching these video's but would like to know what happened to the boat? Was it just left to drift or was it towed back in at a later date. He was impressed the way you saved the people & also the way you went back & wrote on the boat. Hope you understand what he is asking as I hadnt seen it. Thank you.

[@Coleen-Love]

Looking @12:34 and I cannot see the "huge difference" between the two riggings. In fact, I see no difference at all (other than the failure).

[@k4tashi637]

Just thinking the exact same thing

[@Coleen-Love]

@@k4tashi637 ...so true. They look remarkably the same except his looked older and was shiny. Maybe he should have stated the measurements or put them side by side.

[@bootrenovatie4526]

Hi James, I totally agree with you. It is not Bavaria that is the problem. The problem is the intended use. Out of the more then 45000 Bavaria boats that are built, maybe a thousend ever crossed an ocean. All the other boats are mostly used for “champagne-sailing” on calm days and stay in port on heavy weather. So, if you want to cruise long-time on an boat, upgrade on safety. Not only by purchasing a life-raft and an epirb, but also upgrading all heavy used parts on your boat. Then, also a Bavaria is very up to that task.

[@ayekebaye]

I once repaired a bavaria 46 that had the complete deck separated at the forestay while crossing the atlantic. the crew made it safe to the end, but that kind of failure should not happen, and proves it is not only the rigging that needs to be up to the task, the whole boats should of of that quality.

[@tycho157]

stainless steel of any grade, if exposed to seawater and warm weather will get stress crack corrosion. 316 is preferred in marine application, it lasts longer, but it will over time develop stress crack corrosion. on the outside it looks fine, but it becomes porous over time and over time it looses strength and will snap at some time. The manufacturers of these should have a "life expectancy" on these that should have a high safety margin.

[@BrianGochnauer]

At 0:35 seconds in this video you show failed piece; there is no corrosion on the piece. It failed where the radius begins; completely fracturing on one side and there are cracks on the other side as well (very small cracks). The fracture at the top where the pin was; failed because it bent quickly and simply 'tore' it off. No corrosion there. In aviation high stressed metals need to be radiused properly on ALL edges to remove 'stress risers' that will turn into cracks; precipitating the failure. The failed rig; to me; simply looks to thin; no corrosion (pitting)

[@michaellosey984]

Fascinating series, you had me glued to the screen. I am an experienced sailor who chose my wife over my boat. Maybe I will hitch a ride with you some day, would love to sail under your leadership. Bavaria’s getting a bad name out there, mostly for dropping keels. This whole series reinforced my prejudice in favour of keel stepped masts. I noticed you did not raise that issue, would that have made a difference? Could it actually have made things worse in your opinion?

[@SkylinersYeti]

A sailboat means maintenance. Ben Franklin is quoted saying "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" . The cost of preventing catastrophic damage is nothing to a major failure. It is good to learn from others mistakes than to learn from your own mistakes.

[@patpintelon8607]

are there ways to check a bolted on metal keel (bolted on a wooden boat) without removing the keel.? RX or other techniques?

[@tarivard]

I wonder what the long-term affect of loosening your rigging when on the hard to remove some of the loading? Great review of critical components to rigging. James - why do you not put any pins into your toggles? I have found that the toggles will turn and loosen under loading when sailing? I use the LOOS gauge to check tensions and measure the balance.

[@ArcticSeaCamel]

This is the main reason why I started to build my own boat. To get a rig without any of those things and problems. Airplanes haven’t had rigging wires for 100 years. Why sailboats still do? Free standing mast is the way to go. There’s not a single thing to break or maintain. Or actually only single thing: the mast itself.

[@winstonsmithsoul]

A keel stepped mast gives more peace of mind. Deck masts, one fail in any part of the rigging and it’s all over.

[@warrenkeillor9034]

Your comments on crevice corrosion and stainless. The stainless may have been cold formed causing stress lines. Electro galvanic? The chain plates may not have been grounded so it is an antenna with a dielectric gap between hull and water. Stainless needs oxygen to prevent corrosion deprive it, it will corrode, like ordinary steel. Cheers Warren

[@NomadSurvivor]

Looking at Rigging from a longevity standpoint is always a guessing game due to there being no 2 same scenarios with where and how exposure had affected it. Even with Compact Strand by HAYN and other high end manufacturers, WCM19 1x36 or other common wire strand are ALWAYS a worry. Then the Swage process and lower fittings being over engineered only to leave to your Masttop rig to be your weak point. Nowadays whenever I re-rig from Scratch , I go with Rod Rigging and TBone connection into chain plates. This , although being expensive, is the safest and most hardcore way to rig an Ocean going vessel. 20years longevity and peace of mind , and Solid Fittings compared to moveable parts. I guess im partial preferring Steel and Aluminum vessels for Ocean Life and Exploration type vessels , over Fiberglass Pleasure yachts ... but I still swear by Rod Rigging over stranded and could quote and show you a dozen scenarios where one failed where another didnt. More Parts = More Corrosion.

[@Trevor1221]

Will they retreive the boat?

[@theromihs]

Thanks James for sharing great info with us again. You've had experience with synthetic rigging in the past. What are your thoughts or feelings about it when you see these types of failures in the SS rigging? My intuition tells me that synthetic rigging should not fail catastrophically (resulting in a demasting) because of the nature of the material and because failures (like fraying or a strand breaking) happen gradually and are thus easy to catch before they become catastrophic.

[@charonstyxferryman]

Some sailors use galvanized steel, which is stronger than stainless steel. A few uses dyneema (the almost no stretching very expensive dyneema).

[@a.s.clifton544]

From the start, I am thankful 1) that there were no major injuries and 2) that you were nearby and had the moral courage to know and do your duty. This may sound mercenary and rude, but it is simply curiosity, probably from reading too much fiction. Having said that, I’m pretty sure there would be a salvage fee paid to whichever entity brought the boat to land. Is there also a salvage fee paid for the rescue of souls aboard? I am looking forward to your future videos. Fair winds and following seas.

[@ChrisConrad-l3z]

Always learn something from your videos

[@hansrugaard7445]

Very interestingly talk James👍🏆

[@sauter1]

One big reason why on my traditional boat I'm currently switching all rig hardware to bronze and dyneema. Don't want crevice corrosion and work hardening.

[@bhartley1024]

I'm surprised this is the only comment I've seen about dyneema rigging on this video. I know a guy who painted his dyneema rigging to protect it from UV. The bronze hardware is a good idea I hadn't thought of combining with dyneema.

[@mindebrolis9582]

These open turnbuckles that you are “not a fan off” are preventing the water from standing in them and avoiding the exact issue you’re talking about. More than likely they are also plated bronze. Replacing a 24 year old rig with these and turnbuckles still look great

[@tyeealpha]

Rigging concerns aside, what about the fact it was a deck stepped mast (if it was)? It looked like it from my casual inspection of the video. Would a keel stepped mast have given them more to work with for self rescue in your opinion, or do they just fold over and break off without leaving any remaining mast? Curious.

[@thelastpirate]

Keel stepped masts usually break at the first spreader.

[@SOLDOZER]

The toggle on my bobstay corroded and cracked in only 3 years. Not sure why so fast. I had entire rigging replaced in 2020.

[@justincase5272]

I studied AOE - Aerospace and Ocean Engineering. The two fields have major overlaps. Engineering 101 requires both factors of safety AND additional measures to protect outliers. Thus, if the maximum expected force is 5, and the mean force at failure is 10, you have a factor of safety of 2, right? Technically, yes, but that's not the whole story. You also need to consider how those testing failures varied. If the lower 3 sigma failures occurred at force 6, then your 2 factors of safety allow for a maximum force of 3, not 5. You're going to need a more robust fixture! Done right, modern manufacturing can produce parts with very low variance. Thus, the lower three-sigma variance might be 9 instead of 6. This still limits two factors of safety to a max load of 4.5. Then there's fatigue, which, over 30,000 to 120,000 high-stress cycles, can cut the maximum load before failure in half! This is why engineers use 3 a typical hip-pocket factor of safety. That's 2 factors for fatigue, half a factor for manufacturing variance, and half a factor for "mom and the kids." I'm no expert on the mechanics of deformable bodies, but it appears based upon the photos you shared of the failed parts (no visible crevice corrosion, but with multiple stress fractures) that while more than one failure mode was involved, the primary mode of failure was plastic deformation (too much stress for the part to handle) to the point of critical failure. In other words, it looks to have been under-engineered. Don't take my word for it, however. See the services of a mechanical engineer specializing in failure modes of metallic parts. A smart company would issue an immediate recall to fix the issue while limiting their liability, and a good smart company would rescue the boat! A really smart company would review their records for any other failures and fix those parts, as well. I concur with the recommendation to ensure your rigging is heavy-duty enough to handle the additional stresses of offshore cruising. The additional 10 to 30 lbs is miniscule compared to the mass of the boat, not to mention your peace of mind and your lives.

Looks like the clevis pins on that Bavaria ocean are way too small in diameter for the holes in the chainplates? The clevis pin should be a snug fit in the hole for optimal load distribution.

[@topc9858]

15 years is a gracy long time. You should inspect your rig in detail ones per year and do a visual check every day when offshore. It is a two hour job to take the mast down and two hours to put it up - in the cold climates we take the mast down every year and it is not a problem.

[@VigilanceTech]

I know stainless is pretty and all the rage but what I prefer is (hot dipped) galvanized. It doesn't fail from the inside out. I can very quickly inspect my rig and I always know exactly what I have. Thanks to insane environmental standards in many places properly heated galvanized can sometimes be difficult to find, but it's worth it as it's usable life and safety is FAR greater than stainless "jewelry"

[@VigilanceTech]

As another point, stainless is made up of steel and nickel, the latter of which isn't very noble therefore has a tendency to electrically migrate away leaving a porous and weak structure. If you want a better marine steel use corten (which has a little bit more added copper) which rusts at only 10% of the rate of regular steel.

[@dougsrepair1060]

Absolutely, crevice corrosion is the problem. There was a very historical suspension bridge failure in the United States which failed for the same reasons.

[@annhysell6064]

Interesting. At our yacht club on Lake Erie, if you are hauled out and using stands, the boat must have its mast pulled (which we do ourselves, so therefore check everything every year) the boats with cradles do not have to pull masts. Mine is a Tartan 37 with stands. Maybe better off checking stays et all every year!

[@CraigOverend]

Tefgel wouldn't have helped that failure. It's a design fault of the clevis. Where they'd pinched the clevis around the turnbuckle pin to make it narrower for the chainplate, they'd created a stress riser where it's then cracked and crevis corroded.

[@benkanobe7500]

New Subscriber here: Thank you for this VERY informative series. I will never look at my standing rigging the same again. Question: Have you done a review of your flexible Solar Panels? Would you recommend them? Are they wired in series or parallel? Thank You!!!

[@0e32]

Hi anyone know what happened to the boat that was abandoned? Was it saved or is it still out there? There will surely be an interesting continuation of this story when the boat is to be salvaged and put in order again. Greetings from Sweden.

[@TheMrBrianh]

@11:55 - So you like the refit of Sailing Uma you say...

[@luisellavaleri6171]

Thank you, video very very usefull! 😊

[@nik9207]

does anyone know what happened to the SV Yara? Did it get recovered or is it still floating somewhere?

[@piercedfreak27]

would titanium rigging parts be worth the extra expense. Being its basically corrosion proof.

[@captainjimolchs]

How much time passed after the shackle parted before the mast toppled? Logic dictates that removing strain from that side would have bought time to organize a solution, even if she had to limp along.

[@charonstyxferryman]

Here where I live (in the Nordic Countries), winter storms are strong and furious 60ties in the Northern hemisphere is a thing. ... so for *every* boat in *every* marina, the mast comes off (and thus the standing rigging) at the end of *every* season. Most boats are put on the hard during the winter. You won't like to be caught in a Force 8 in the North Sea. The waves in the Northern part of the North sea are easily 6 meters tall, and waves in weather forecasts are not the highest ones, but an averange of the tallest ones.

[@robertlaird6746]

WOW, that was awesome information! I've rigged a few boats before and didn't know any of that information or hardly any of it. This is an eye opener. Question: Would you use Dyneema on your rig rather than wire? I'm about ready to start building my Mumby Cyber 48 aluminum catamaran. I'm considering Dyneema rigging. Should I do that or not?

[@ISOSAILING]

one of my mates did a ark crossing of the alantic last year 1000 mies in one off the boats lost its mast due to a missing spit pin they got all new standing riging just before they left, they were lucky as they managed to jury rig it and a few boats trancferd fule over to them aong with some suppliys and they made it back!!

[@aaronrunalls375]

Nice location...spent a lifetime about a 100yards from that slip 🙂