Next message: David: "Re: [world-cruising] Re: Sailor cheats death on the lake"
--- In , "Bryan Genez" <svcapella at dot dot dot >
wrote:
>
> On 7/25/07, donsmith at dot dot dot <donsmith at dot dot dot > wrote:
> >
> > Bryan,
> >
> > Your perjorative comment about production boats aside, I believe
you'll
> > find that so called custom boats have lost keels more often than
production
> > boats. Nevertheless, I'll make no assumptions about why the keel
in this
> > story feel off. There could be any number of reasons besides poor
> > workmanship or design.
> >
>
> Hey Donald,
>
> Yes, I'm prejudiced against many production boat builders. After
about 20
> years of looking at hundreds of them with surveyors and seeing the
> production shortcuts that typically don't fail until after the
warranty has
> expired...I've learned that often you really do get what you pay for
in a
> boat. If Boat A is cheaper than Boat B, there's a reason. Often, it's
> because a builder saved a dime by not using a washer, or saved a
couple of
> bucks by not backing heavily loaded hardware.
>
> Like you, I make no assumptions about why this accident occurred. I
only
> take the observations of the sole eyewitness and give a reasonable
> explanation. Do you have another?
>
> As far as custom boats losing keels...the only ones I've ever heard
of are
> one-off racers, that are built with the narrowest possible safety
margins.
> Do you have other examples to share?
Given the statement "A retired lieutenant-colonel, Boucher was the
sailboat's original owner. He bought it 18 years ago, christening her
the Semper Paratus, Latin for Always Prepared...." I just wonder when
the last time was he'd inspected those keel bolts.
DT
