Photo: Deane Hislop

A little over a week ago, we posted about a 90′ yacht, valued at around $10 million, which capsized and sank on her launching in Anacortes, Washington. Since then there has been no definitive determination as to what caused the boat to capsize as she hit the water, but there are two primary theories. The first is that are that the boat had inadequate stability because the center of gravity was too high, either due to inadequate ballast or the incomplete installation of machinery.  The second theory is that the boat was improperly blocked on the dolly or that the dolly partially slipped off the launching ramp. A problem with the dolly could have the effect of causing the ship to be help up by her bow and stern while not having enough of the midship of the boat in the water to support it hydro-statically.

The first presumption is supported by Aaron Pufal, a former yard project manager . As reported by Three Sheets Northwest:

Pufal, who was to serve as captain on the $10 million boat during a planned worldwide circumnavigation, said he commissioned a stability analysis by Surrey, British Columbia-based firm Roddan Engineering that suggested the yacht needed additional ballast.

“The results indicate that the vessel is lighter than other Northern Marine builds of similar length (based on the results of the weighing), thus requiring more ballast to sit on a desired waterline. It is recommended that partial ballasting be done currently, with final ballasting for trim and desired waterline to be performed at launch,” reads the report quoted on Pufal’s blog.

Pufal was asked by the yacht’s owner on Dec. 15, 2013 to step aside and let others finish the almost-completed project. Wes Fridell, a spokesman for the yacht’s builder, New World Boat Builders, dismissed Pufal’s claims.

The boatbuilder has issued a statement pointing at a problem with the dolly supporting the boat at launch. As reported in Trade Only Today:

“Since the accident, the project naval architect/professional engineer has confirmed that the yacht, as designed, had adequate stability with the amount of ballast aboard at the time of launch, provided that ‘severe heeling moments’ were not induced during the launch,“ the statement said.

“Unfortunately, it appears that just such a severe heeling moment did occur during the launch. While investigations as to the cause of the capsizing are continuing, the physical evidence on, and adjacent to, the launch ramp suggests that the dolly carrying the weight of the port stern of the yacht may have suddenly dropped off the edge of the boat ramp during the launch, causing the vessel to experience a sudden list to port from which it could not recover in its light condition for launch.”