Frogwatch wrote:
On Mar 30, 10:50 am, wrote:
Frogwatch wrote:
On Mar 30, 10:24 am, wrote:
Frogwatch wrote:
The accident in San Diego Bay on a Mac26 sailboat where two died
causes my jaw to drop in wonder at the things people do. TEN PEOPLE
ON A 26' sailboat? NO, IT"S WORSE, THEY ARE DISABLED PEOPLE. I am
unable to think of an expletive sufficient to convey how insane this
was.
Sailing a small boat requires you to be cognitively and physically
able to respond to things rapidly. For this reason, I do not think
disabled people belong on small sailboats. Things can happen very
fast requiring one to act quickly.
In my 25 years of sailing, my wife has never understood why more than
two people aboard turns me into a nervous wreck but sailing requires
that you be able to reach all the controls all the time. Sure, the
cockpit may hold 6 people seated comfortably but that one obese person
sitting in front of the starboard winch who cannot move unless given a
5 minute warning effectively disables the boat. Two somewhat disabled
people in the cockpit and you should stay anchored.
Even able bodied people are a problem: "Yes, I know its comfy there
but going downwind sitting on the traveller may not be a good idea",
or "If you lean back any more your hair may get caught in the winch
and I'd hate to see you scalped" and then as their kids scramble over
the top of the cabin "IF you're going forward put on a harness for
gods sake".
How many people is too many? It has taken me 25 years to realize that
it is any number that distracts ANY of your attention from running the
boat. Even worse for these guys in San Diego is that they chose a
boat that requires one more life and death adjustment, letting in the
ballast water. In all the commotion of getting all ten disabled
people situated, it would be easy to oversee that detail. Remember,
it isn't just ten people but they would all be wearing life jackets
making them take up more space. To make the situation much worse, San
Diego Bay is so crowded with traffic that you could walk across the
bay atop the decks of the moving boats. The captain was not just
totally distracted by his 10 disabled passengers but had to try to pay
attention to the boat handling while also watching the traffic. I
think my face must go white every time I think about this nightmare
situation.
I don't disagree with some of what you posted, but I wouldn't go out in
San Diego Bay in a Mac 26.
I know someone who sailed a Mac26 from Fort Lauderdale to Marsh HArbor
in the Bahamas. AFAIK, there has never been a Mac26 accident
involving equipment failure of the basic systems.
How many accidents have there been as a result of the poor seakeeping
qualities of the design?

No idea but this does not qualify as one. Almost any sailboat will
take far more than her owner will if the hatches are closed and she is
left to the wind and seas. The Mac26 has positive floatation so she
will always float and will right herself whereas most conventional
sailboats have heavy lead ballast that will become structurally
unstable when turned upside down. Almost all accidents occur when
trying to reach land and this is where the Mac26 does well with her
shoal draft being able to go into 1' of water, being beachable even.
A Mac26 would certainly do better at sea in a storm than a Parker
although I'd not try.


http://www.ne-ts.com/ar/ar-407capsize.html


Boat capsized, no ballast in tanks, "handles like a canoe."

Lousy sailboat, lousy powerboat.