Was just sent this new docking system and asked for my thoughts, I am told it allows the tender occupants to be delivered to the top deck in one quick movement. View attachment 75361
That looks like a Custom line 124. I hope it is the boat of Silvio Berlusconi. He would deserve it . Just joking. Hopefully nobody got hurt?
Curious as to how a RIB could penetrate glazing like that? Dealing with a client at this moment that has Avmar Marine Glass retrofitting a 40 meter GRP vessel with a total of six large areas of glazing in the topsides. Also curious if the GRP flashing or receiver was damaged during this intrusion.
If it were moving at warp speed as the jungle telegraph suggests and there was anything solid at the front that could provide pinpoint loading it may well have penetrated the glass, it could have also just punched it right in.
Either way, I highly doubt the RIB tender would have a chance of puncturing the hull of a yacht that size, had it not been for the window. Glass flexes a lot differently than fiberglass/steel/or aluminum, when you're getting loads on the hull, it has to weaken the structure or water tightness of the vessel to a degree no matter how well done.
Those hull windows, even if made of multi layer plexi or other hardened glass are not as strong as they seem to be. They will for sure meet class requirements but they are weakened by design. Each piece of "glass" has two or three opening portholes built (means drilled) into them. With the high speed impact (I like that expression "warp speed") of a metal type bow fitting of that tender for example, there could be more than enough stress on this window to shatter into pieces. Those big windows might look great from the outside and make nice bright cabins and even may meet class requirements, they are big holes in the hull structure. Btw. It was not only a joke. Silvio Berlusconi really owns one of this CL 124 and it has the same blue hull. And I personally would hate it to be delivered to the top deck of my boat in a ballistic curve .
It is indeed a 38m Custom Line(apparently in Ibiza at the time). Also sounds like the tender belonged to Le Grand Bleu. Source: https://yachtharbour.com/news/tender-loses-control-and-crashes-into-yacht-928
Could you imagine if you were laying in bed when it happened!!!!! What happened here, the tender was cruising along at 35 knots and the driver not paying attention to a huge yacht and ran smack dab into the side of it?
Both crewmembers fell of the tender at high speed and none had the kill cord connected. The tender was circling around unmanned at high throttle setting for minutes until it crashed into the CL 124. A real nightmare. IMHO, the insurance of Le Grand Bleu will ask some questions before paying anything (if at all). This season is over for the yacht with this amount of damage.
Season is over if they want to use that cabin. A Customline 124 has two guest VIP suites at midships in the lower deck. If you want to be practical you could lock up that VIP cabin to starboard, install a new window and use the rest of the yacht. Not a big work for a good yard which I think can be done in one week. Doing the whole cabin can take a couple months though. If the yacht is a charter one it is lost income, even if they go the practical route I suggested. So if Grand Bleu will ask questions and wait forever for an answer the bill will get higher for lost revenue.
I'd rather not imagine that as our Sunseeker has windows of that nature. It's become a huge trend even on smaller boats. The new models of Riva all have them. I guess it's nice to have that view from the stateroom and it's stylish, but I'm not convinced it makes a lot of sense. Oh the new Westport 125 has them too. This is the first incident I've seen from them though. Hoping that means the odds are still very good that nothing will happen.