September 22, 2007
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Max Fun? Not.
‘Just another reminder that some sailboats are better than others. On February 2, 2007, one member of the crew died aboard this boat when its keel broke off.
According to the boat autopsy, “. . . Unbeknown to the designer, the builder sub-contracted construction of the hollow keel to a steel fabricator who had no marine experience. The fabricator changed the design of the keel to ease manufacture and to reduce costs but without adequately assessing the stresses to which the keel would be subjected in service. . . .”
There were a number of things that went wrong with that sailing trip — another reminder to have all safety gear present and functioning in the case of such as thing as your keel falling off in strong winds.
The report also says that the Max Fun 35 has been redesigned, to correct the structural flaws. So, now, I’ll bet they’re just as reliable as Firestone tires, after the blow-out fiascos.
