Composite cockpit sides at work

These are some pics from James Aderholts boat from the accident last week.

Here is a description of the accident from a friend's email:

It was the start of the first heat and James got a good start (lying 2nd or 3rd) heading to the first turn - only a short run of 300m and then a tight turn. There was a lot of bumping and squeezing going on and James was hit by a driver (we think Columbi) who came from far on the right. James then got a face (and motor) full of water we think from Columbi again which caused the engine to bog down. He made it to the turn but then it died on him. He was in the boat for a few seconds and was just getting to his knees when a boat came the right (from no where) and t-boned him. It hit him hard and crushed in all of the side of the boat, but I think the high cockpit side and the Kevlar did its job. They are not quite sure how he received the cuts - could have been from the prop, or may be the fin of the other boat. It looks like the impact from the boat or the fact that he was rattled around in the cockpit broke his arm and damaged his back. It does not even bear thinking about if he had been standing in the boat

[Kristi Ellison]

Marc

Great post especially for those who are against reinforced cockpits. Good to hear James is doing ok.

[David Weaver]

Interesting

Thanks Marc!

In addition to demonstrating the potential value of reinforced sides, I believe that this incident may also suggest that it can be in a driver's best interest to remain prone in the boat until the traffic clears.

James is a great guy and I hope that his recovery is speedy. I know that he has been looking forward to the 2008 UIM WC"s in the US.

[Andrew 4CE]

I fully believe "properly" designed/built reinforced cockpits sides are safer (as they are in UIM)... Done incorrectly it would do little except add expense. Simpley gluing a layer of kevlar or carbon down the inside of a coaming isn't going to do much.

[Composite Specialties]

Correct

Andrew, you are 100% correct!

[Dave M]

It Looks Like

There was penetration to the side in those pics. Are those from rescue efforts or from the accident ?

Glad James came out fairly intact.

Andrew you are so right........ more than 100% right. Simply tossing in two layers of Kevlar onto combings does not do a whole lot but to stiffen it up somewhat and add weight and expense.

[Composite Specialties]

Another boat

The penetration was from another 0-350cc boat with rounded pickle tips.

[Andrew 4CE]

The penetration was from another 0-350cc boat with rounded pickle tips.

rounded/soft/blunt pickle forks is part of the key... why something as simple as this isn't mandated in when engine setups that can obsolete a hull or props are brought in and out as part of safety is beyond me.

[Brian10s]

rounded/soft/blunt pickle forks is part of the key... why something as simple as this isn't mandated in when engine setups that can obsolete a hull or props are brought in and out as part of safety is beyond me.

Well hit ball, going back, back, way back . . . Grand Slam Home run for the 4CE!! The crowd goes wild!!!!

[Bill Blackwell]

I see on the pictured boat that the composite cockpit sides have large lightening holes cut out of the left and right cockpit sides below the deck. I realize that the impact from another boat will usually be above the deckline, but the force is still transfered to the hull at all attachment points. Seems like large lightening holes can compromise the composite structure in that area. Is there any UIM requirements or restrictions on this?

[Composite Specialties]

Holes

Bill, I saw the same thing, did you notice that the sheer point was at the deck line? I would speculate that the holes are not part of the requirments but I would make them much smaller to allow more transfer across a broader area, as you stated.

[Andrew 4CE]

I believe the UIM rules are in such a way that the material reinforcing coamings must be intergrated into the deck plane also. That creates a huge shear strength and puts a much smaller moment on the upper part of the coaming. The area below the deck then becomes less important (I said less, not "not important" haha).

[Dave M]

Penetration

It still worries me that a pickle penetrated the combings. Are the UIM requiremnts enough ? Perhaps my perception of the kevlar sides is not accurate. I thought it written to stop this sort of thing. It looks to me that it failed this perception. Am I way off base on that ? As tight as cockpits are now-a-days it would only take a few inches of a pickle tip to enter the cockpit to cause some massive damage to your ribs kevlar suit and impact material or not.

I agree with y'all on the sheer. Lightning holes in high speed boats are a bad thing. I don't put them in any of my hydros I build. I do drill a couple small .25 - .50 inch holes in the rear to allow water to enter the sides for draining.

If everything ties into the same basic structure the boat will be very strong.

[Composite Specialties]

Concept

I believe that the concept of the UIM composite cockpit sides is to slow down or deflect the force of the impact, not to stop it completely. I think that rounded pickle tips are a huge player in the final outcome of any accident involving penetration to or from another boat. The composite cockpit sides are designed to simply do something more than plain wood cockpit sides will do, which is splinter, crack and shatter. With the Kevlar, carbon, glass cloths and foam or balsa cores, there is a better chance of the cockpit sides absorbing the impact while flexing and stretching during the process. This alone does so much more than wood will do, so anything that will slow the process down has to be a plus over wood.

These composite cockpit sides are not bullet proof by any means. If they break, like James boat did, to me they did their job my taking the blunt force from the boat that impacted James boat. Any cockpit sides can be rebuilt after an accident, but from the pictures of James boat, the repairs seem to be much less than if it were a wood cockpit side boat.

[raceright]

I fully believe "properly" designed/built reinforced cockpits sides are safer (as they are in UIM)... Done incorrectly it would do little except add expense. Simpley gluing a layer of kevlar or carbon down the inside of a coaming isn't going to do much.

As I have had the layup in the pro rules for Capsule boats tested by Ziggy(tester for UIM ) Achieved 2100 newtons. Bill Giles asked me what it cost as he has several constructions he believes would be good (7) this would cost over $500.00 so he asked me if at the Detroit meeting could I get Commissions to finance this. I will bring this up for Discussion at meeting.

Pat