So whats this all about then you may ask.......

well the next pic will tell a thousand stories, and this is where my part of Jurassic Karp's history starts.

The Idea is to show what can be done and allow future owners / sailors an insight to this particular cat.


The down right ugly:


starboard hull crack




For those that bothered to read the first post, you'll recall that the original build did not have hull doublers fitted and that a 2nd re-build saw Kevlar added to strengthen up the area around the front beam..... and that a jib was added and subsequently a spinnaker as well, all placing additional load onto the area

So why did did it crack ????? obvious you may think.....
Have another look at the photo

the crack is opening at the beam connection area and although the pic isn't that clear the hull is actually being compressed
to the point where it has bulged out slightly at the bottom of the crack....

so how can the load of sailing cause the crack when all the load on the hull is inwards and upwards when sailing, yet this crack says its trying to go out and down.....


the real cause of the stress fracture is "resonant frequency"


A poor trailer design has allowed the hulls to whip up and down during transportation, up to 4" of twist can be seen when towing the boat..... hit a pothole in the road when the hull is flexing downwards and the stress becomes too much....

want to prove it to yourself ?

tear a sheet of paper in half, the inital tear point is the deck line, the bottom part of the sheet of paper will bulge out slightly as you begin the tear, the middle of the sheet where you are tearing it is going up and the ends are going down..... the dead opposite load to "under sail conditions" where the loads are all in the opposite direction



This is proven by the opposite side hull, well actually the front beam near where it joins the port hull, the beam itself has a tension crack across the top edge.... so if sailing was the cause then the crack would be on the bottom of the beam or it would be a compression crack on the top of the beam instead of a tension crack
This crack in the beam is exactly halfway between the hull and the support that holds the front beam when its being trailered around
(pic to come)


When I removed the front and rear beams the rivets that hold the dolphin striker to the bottom edge of the main beam were highly polished, suggesting movement all be it a small amount, further more the vibrations of being transported has flogged out the dolphin striker tensioner.....

all this from a bad trailer carrying setup, and for those wondering what it is.....
the boat is only held by the front and rear beams, 2 mounting locators cradle the front beam, 1 locator in the middle of the rear beam is all that holds the back half of the boat

the front beam instantly becomes the leverage point while the rear mount becomes the hinge, hey presto, one stress fracture



So the repair.....

I've spoken to several known and indeed unknown boat builders on how to tackle the issue, a plan was thought out and with a modification or two we have the best solution and repair method we collectively could design.....


now before everyone starts on how to fix it, your too late

The first stage of glassing was completed tonight.....


relax.... there's more pics to come as the process goes on

now where did I put that RUM