"Although they changed the fuel filter three times utilizing spares carried aboard, Bob Fye hypothesizes that the three days of heavy pounding on starboard tack dislodged enough sediment in the tank to repeatedly clog the suction tube located in the aft, port area of the fuel tank."
I think that before going offshore a fuel tank should be cleaned, which may require installation of access plates. Electronics can require battery charging by engine even with solar panels are installed. Probably not all that important coastwise, where if multiple filters don;t work there's always a port.
As printed in Ferenc Mate’s The World’s Best Sailboats (1986), Sweden Yachts had adopted an integrated, molded hull bottom framing grid (Figure 5), an innovation at that time introduced by Pedrick Yacht Designs in 1979 after a request from Ericson Yachts for a more robust method to provide structural stability across the hull. According to Pedrick, this arrangement is “a molded grid of hollow, integral transverse and 7 longitudinal ‘hat section’ framing… [with] ample contact area for bonding, consistency in materials and ease of manufacture.” It was quickly adopted by other manufacturers.
Interesting insight into the TAFG design introduced to Ericsons in the early 1980s.
The mast step in this boat apparently failed, injuring the hull. I think a possible lesson is that large holes should not be cut in the grid structure, especially near the mast step. The two ragged holes in the subject boat, each the size of a deck of cards, were apparently made to access hidden keel bolts. I continue to believe that small holes for drainage or wire runs do not significantly weaken our TAFG structure.
Upper rudder post bearing failure.
When the rudder of the subject boat struck a submerged object (if that's what happened) , the top bearing broke, allowing the post to angulate and damage the hull. Ericson rudder assemblies also have a top bearing secured only by machine screws. The Ericson top bearing fitting can become loose, which is not apparent from observing the deck plate. Inspection of the nuts needs to be from under the cockpit.
If a rudder does manage to strike something, it's going to bend the post or damage the hull. It seems to me that the only real answer to catastrophic rudder and hull damage by violent collision is a life raft and a satellite phone.
The subject boats were well maintained and crewed, and the excellent study a reminder of what can happen en route Bermuda, although not what probably will. Nothing beats a boat up like opposing wind and current when crossing t he Gulf Stream.
