Crash test boat
Over the last year Yachting Monthly has been carrying out a unique experiment. They were given an old 40 foot Jeanneau SunFizz which they then, in the name of research, proceeded to destroy! After running the boat aground to see the best way to get off, they then decided to put a hole in the bottom, dismast it and put up a jury rig, capsize it and finally they destroyed it completely with a gas explosion.
This may all sound very destructive (and ultimately it was!), but it is also very useful to see the techniques they used to help alleviate the impact of all these disasters. There is something for all of us to learn from these experiments. For example, do you have cable cutters on board to cut shrouds in an emergency? Well the YM team found that a hacksaw with a blade for cutting stainless may be as effective and certainly cheaper than a pair of good cable cutters.
Click below to view the various YouTube videos of the crash test boat being progressively destroyed!
