[C38] Hit a ledge, hard

[Charles]

All,
I have hit hard a couple of times.  First was motoring about 6 knots on 
the Champlain Canal.  Right in the middle, when I was stopped dead.  I 
did not have the hatchboards in and did land in the cabin!  I was pretty 
banged up, but at least it wasn't far to check the bilge!  No leaks.  At 
the next lock, I reported the hit and the lockmaster did not react until 
I told him I had been hurt!  There was a whole group to see me at the 
next lock!
They then investigated and the findings were I probably hit a car or 
truck rolling down the canal bottom.  When we pulled the Mighty Quinn, 
there was no damage to the keel and as the rigging was on the deck (I 
was in the canal), there was no problem there as well.
I also hit hard in a storm with big waves in an area I had safely sailed 
over many times with at least five feet below the keel.  The awful part 
of this one was after the very bad scare of bottoming the first 
time.....  I knew the trough of the next wave was going to result in 
another hit and there was nothing I could do about it!  Again, no leaks 
and tight keel bolts.  A dive over the side the next day revealed a 
gouge/slab out of the keel bottom.
I spent a long time fairing this one the next time I pulled the boat, 
but there was no damage to the hull or the rigging (surveyed).
My conclusion is we have very tough boats and they can take some 
surprising hits.
I would check the bulkhead under the sink as Phil is correct about the 
compression loading.  It certainly should show there if there was any 
damage.  In fact, I would suggest everyone check this area as it seems 
to me that this bulkhead is probably the weakest structural point as far 
as I can tell.

Chuck Finn
Mighty Quinn #114
Great Lakes

On 6/26/2011 11:29 PM, Phil Gay wrote:
>
> I am not speaking from personal experience, but I understand, on many 
> boats that have experienced hard grounding, that the bottom of the 
> boat at the aft end of the keel takes the brunt of the damage.  On 
> many boats this area where the keel attaches is mostly flat and is 
> more easily pushed up in a grounding.  Our boats have an unusual 
> amount of dead rise even at the keel attachment area.  That means that 
> the bottom is more V shaped and can withstand those in line 
> (non-transverse) compression loads at the back end of the keel.  I 
> would guess that the smile might have opened up a bit though.
>
> Phil Gay
>
> C38 049 Que Linda
>
> Everett, WA
>
> *From:*listserve-bounces at catalina38.org 
> [mailto:listserve-bounces at catalina38.org] *On Behalf Of *Steven Ribble
> *Sent:* Sunday, June 26, 2011 5:22 PM
> *To:* Catalina 38 Listserve
> *Subject:* [C38] Hit a ledge, hard
>
> Hi Folks, need some insight.  I tried hard to move a ledge this 
> weekend: from over 5 kts to dead stop & stuck...3 min, 20 sec to the 
> start....worked it off the ledge and started exactly on time!  Anyway, 
> after the race I jumped in and took a look...a bit about 1" deep and 
> 8-12" long on the leading edge of the fin, about a foot up from the 
> bottom.  There also has to be some scraping on the bottom of the keel 
> due to working the boat off the hard.
>
> In my 32 year at the helm I have never hit anything...and was 
> certainly freaked out by the bang (still playing in my head 36 hours 
> later) and that it threw me on my butt up against the companionway 
> boards. I was in front of the wheel, fortunately the boards were in to 
> keep the light rain out or I would have been all the way down on the 
> salon floor.  Anyway I inspected for leaks and that the keel bolts 
> were tight (all was good) and now have the boat back "home" to a yard 
> to be hauled and inspected on Tuesday.
>
> I assume that when designing a boat with a deep fin like ours there is 
> some thought/anticipation given to hits and groundings and that there 
> is some structural integrity built into the boat to compensate for 
> same. So the question is, Does anyone have experience with something 
> like this and are there things specific to our boats I should be 
> looking at (stringers, motor mounts, Catalina smile, etc. ...anything 
> in the rigging?) given the type of hit?
>
> -- 
> Steve Ribble
>
> Tittravate
> 207/852-0971
>
>
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