During a record attempt an ORMA 60 suffered severe damage to its Nomex core rotating mast. A replacement masthead was designed along with a repair plan to glue and laminate the new masthead on in an on site makeshift autoclave.

I was actually on the boat when this broke - a rare experience for a designer! The Yacht Design class from the University of Michigan was on a field trip to crawl around on and sail an ORMA 60 at the Detroit Yacht Club. As the perennial grad-student instructor for the course I offered to examine the broken part and draw up a replacement version incorporating changes driven by the failure mechanism.

The two modes of failure are clearly visible on the fracture surface in the picture to the left. Failure mechanics and corrosion phenomena are always fun projects for me as I get to play accident investigator (just like on TV!). They also happen to be a couple ways I can create the most value for my clients as an engineering polymath.