BoatBanter.com - View Single Post

wrote:
I actually consider all external keels to be more of a hazard than most
cases of blisters.

And so your boat has what, an internal keel?
The biggest problem with most keels is that they're not deep enough when
beating hard, and too deep when trying to find a nice anchorage for the
evening.

.. In most cases, it is imposible to detect metal
fatigue in the keel bolts

True. That's why they should be pulled and checked for becoming
"waisted" and replaced.

... even going aground softly can cause
failure in them. I think statistics will bear me out on this relative
comparison.

Maybe so, but you'll have to come up with some proof. I don't know
everything, but I've never heard of a keel falling off when grounding.
Anybody else out there? I've heard of one or two falling off (not
including Coyote, the IACC boats, or the Melges 30) but when sailing
under hard conditions, never when grounding.

BTW do you suppose Coyote hit ground in the middle of the Atlantic?

Sailing through thunderstorms intentionally is seriously foolish

Uh huh. Describe your method of avoiding thunderstorms when you're in
restricted waters.

... even
being on the water when one is near is foolish

Well, I guess anybody who sails in the South any time between April &
October is foolish, then. Afternoon thunderstorms are very common.

Of course, the safest thing to do is stay home... in fact, stay out of
the kitchen & the bathtub, too. Quite a large number of people have died
from slipping & falling in their bathtubs.

I can think of no reason why boats with serious blisters would get any
less use than others

Maybe they got the blisters in the first place because their owners are
less serious about their boats... & also sailing them.

Anyway, there's little point in this argument. You seem determined to
"prove" that even the most serious case of blisters is fine & dandy.
That strikes me as kinda dumb when I've seen boats with about 30% of
their hull laminate gone... maybe it was just extra fiberglass,
anyway... but you're entitled to your own opinion.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King