Pearson Ariel Keel-bolts?

[pbryant]

Thanks Bill. I'm considering entering the 2014 Transpac to Hawaii, and while I have great confidence in my Ariel, I need to know if she will continue to float if she ever does get rolled.

I'm commissioning my boat now, while following the old adage pertaining to seaworthiness: "Think simple, think strong, think upside down." I'm sure the Ariel satisfies two out of three, but the third point leaves me uncertain.

Boats with bolt-on keels are vulnerable to losing the keel - and instantly capsizing (which has happened several times). Boats with integral ballast can be vulnerable to having that ballast break loose in a capsize - destroying the boat and crushing anyone who is in the way - if the designers didn't build in sufficient strength to retain the ballast in an inverted attitude. Prudent seamanship dictates I know my vessel's vulnerabilities.

Maybe an Ariel has never been rolled, but two Space Shuttles had never had an "O" ring failure or ice punch a hole in a wing... until they did. "It hasn't happened, so it won't" logic can get a skipper in real trouble.

Murphy's Law says that I need to know if the lead falls out of the keel.