Aye, Noman's has claimed some of the real good ones, including this unfortunate chapter, as I was on board a Frers46 that was last in site of her when the fog set upon us...
In catastrophic mishaps, a welded aluminum hull's ruggedness can pluck your yacht from the Total Loss category. Visit Palmer Johnson, Incorporated, in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, and they'll show you pictures of Yankee Girl, the great Sparkman & Stephens IOR racer built of aluminum there in 1971. After a successful racing career, Yankee Girl fell victim to errant navigation and washed ashore on a rocky beach in southern New England, coming to rest in a foot and a half of water and unfortunately drew nine feet. By the time she was dragged off three months later, a large section of one side was nearly flattened from pounding against the rocks at every high tide. But she didn't leak. She was towed to a nearby yard, the damage cut away, new frames welded in, and replated. She sailed away literally as good as new.
Maybe tow an inflatable hardbottom over to get in close......
Last edited by nightfighter; 08-17-2007 at 05:45 AM..
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