"Joe" wrote
.... Terry(my
wife) rode out Hurricane alicia on a 60 ft shrimpboat that had every
port and window smashed in with every wave putting at least a ft of
water in the wheelhose, waves in the 40 -60 ft range.


Sounds exciting. One thing I have noticed about most
shrimpers, they do believe in have good pumps aboard.


Maxprop wrote:
I'm not aware of the type and configuration of all the boats you mention.
But I'm betting none were lightly-built (underbuilt), overcanvased maxi
racers, or anything similar.

Interesting way to put it. But it also reveals a fallacy in
thinking about the issue of structural integrity of boats
(or any vehicle).

In basic physics, when you're figuring out how much force is
generated (or absorbed in an impact), velocity is squared.
In boats this means that going 10 knots generates four times
the force of going 5 knots. Another side of the problem is
that impact loads are spread over time... hitting waves
faster means higher peak loads on the structure.

So maxi racers are far from underbuilt. They are built very
very strong, if not they would crumble from the forces
generated in driving them under normal sailing conditions.
Successful racing boats are generally built much stronger
than cruising boats... they are also subjected to
exponentially higher forces. This is why the structural
failures on racing boats tend to be more sudden &
dramatic... like the difference between a 2400psi express
header multi-fuel boiler and 60psi fire tube boiler with a
wood furnace built into one end.

How many cruising boats sailed through the '98 Hobart Race
storm?

Fresh Breezes- Doug King