Dreadnought Holiday

Positioned somewhere to the far left on the bell curve of sanity, this here is Big C.

It's just over a metre long. It's designed to cross the Atlantic. And those are two sentences that don't belong together.

This nautical hi-vis wheelie bin is in fact a highly sophisticated sailing machine, and nothing about its safety can be inferred from the fact it almost immediately developed a leak, returned to port, and fell apart as they lifted it back out of the water.

Glorious stuff.

#FailureFriday

Aug 4, 2023 at 11:57amWeb
Show threadDreadnought HolidayAug 4, 2023
https://www.boatshed.com/amateur-yachtsman-announces-world-record-attempt-for-the-smallest-sailing-vessel-to-cross-the-atlantic-blog-102533.html for those of you who want to wake up in the middle of the night screaming.
Amateur yachtsman announces world record attempt for the smallest sailing vessel to cross the Atlantic

Amateur sailing enthusiast Andrew Bedwell is putting the final touches to his tiny ‘Big C’ vessel, which he aims to sail across the Atlantic and bring a world record back to Britain.

boatshed.com
Show threadChris H #ChoirsForClimateAug 4, 2023
@DreadShips *reading first tweet* "you mean autonomously, right? It's a sea drone without a human in?"
*reading second tweet* "nope nope nope"
Show threadCoprolite9000Aug 4, 2023

@hutchingsmusic @DreadShips
Same here! My first thought: "a tiny autonomous yacht? Nice! Little transparent dome is presumably there for a camera?"

Second thought: "OH NO"

Show threadleah's tiny pc retirement homeAug 4, 2023
re LB: one of those stories i read thinking "i really hope this person is obscenely rich"
Show threadAdvanced Persistent TeapotAug 4, 2023
@millihertz if that boat met an orca, it wouldn't just bite the rudder off, it would bite the whole boat in half
Show threadleah's tiny pc retirement homeAug 4, 2023
@http_error_418 it is easy to confuse it for a Kinder Surprise capsule
Show threadmeewareAug 4, 2023
@DreadShips sooooo this thing. Yeah. Saw it at Soton Boat show last year. He had a small stand (don’t need a big one) and frankly I came away somewhat traumatised. It’s basically a bouy with room to crouch in, and that’s it. I don’t think it has the space for enough supplies, and I’d certainly not survive being cramped up in it. Massive nope from me. Otherwise Soton was lovely- went out on the LCU!
Show threadDreadnought HolidayAug 4, 2023
@meeware I don't want to criticise the spirit of trying it, and it's fascinating as a pure engineering problem, but yeah - it comes to the point where you worry about the foolhardiness of it
Show threadmeewareAug 4, 2023
@DreadShips there was a distinct set of groups in the visitors to the stand. One type we’re older chaps- the PBO hackers, who’s cars reek of resin and who’s hair always includes some chopped strand mat. They loved it.
Then there were the sane.
Show threadAdlangxAug 4, 2023
@DreadShips Wait, people go in there? JFC.
Show threadJames EvansAug 12, 2023

@DreadShips It sounds like this ended pretty much as we might have predicted. Glad he wasn’t hurt, but failure so early in the voyage is surely the best possible outcome…

https://nypost.com/2023/06/01/record-attempt-for-atlantic-crossing-in-smallest-boat-ever-ends-in-tears-as-sailors-3-foot-vessel-is-destroyed-after-taking-on-water/

Record attempt for Atlantic crossing in smallest boat ends in tears as 3-foot vessel is destroyed

A sailor’s record-setting quest to cross the Atlantic Ocean in the smallest boat ever ended in tears when the 3-foot 10-inch boat began taking on water shortly after his departure and smashed…

New York Post
Show threadDreadnought HolidayAug 12, 2023
@Myryama as I said - got a leak, returned to port and fell apart! One of those stories I'd have been a bit more circumspect about had it been in advance of the voyage, but knowing he was safe made it easier to joke.
Show threadJames EvansAug 12, 2023

@DreadShips Ah, yes. I picked up your second post first and completely missed that…

Still, glad he’s safe, but the idea of putting to sea in a boat that size does, as you suggested, bring on nightmares.

Show threadSeiðrAug 4, 2023
@DreadShips Another instance of the OceanGate school of ship design.
Show threadbillheywoodAug 4, 2023
@DreadShips
Presumably the seat is also the toilet 😆
Show threadHarry HarrisAug 4, 2023
@billheywood @DreadShips Well, it is for everyone in the UK with mains drainage. Unfortunately.
Edit: I thought you said, ‘sea’, not ‘seat’ 🙄
Show threadbillheywoodAug 4, 2023
@datamunki @DreadShips
😂
Show threadKnut MoråAug 4, 2023
@DreadShips The hivis orange being below the waterline shows that at least one person had a very realistic assessment of the likely attitude of that thing in distress
Show threadJohn Faithfull🌍🇪🇺🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🧡 ✊🏼✊🏿Aug 4, 2023
@DreadShips Wut??!! It contained an actual person too! ?? 😱🤯😂
Show threadsvartpængAug 4, 2023
@DreadShips "nautical hi-vis wheelie bin" #qotd
Show threadKazAug 4, 2023
@DreadShips
Dad says it looks like a fun toy for a day trip on Lake Michigan.
Show threadsimonbpAug 4, 2023
@DreadShips I'm terrified to see the Little C
Show threadJeremy KitchenAug 4, 2023

@DreadShips I was about to say aren't there drone sailboats around this size already? but read another reply and ... a PERSON is going to SAIL THIS?!

How?!

I mean where is their water going to be stored?!

Show threadJeremy KitchenAug 4, 2023

ok, and I look a little more and scale is hard. that's not a garden fence in the background, that's a BUILDING. So he can actually get inside of it.

Still crazy, but I was thinking this thing was like 1-2m tall.

Show threadMarkus Sagebiel msgbiAug 4, 2023
@DreadShips @charles_ex
Show threadJamie LawrenceAug 4, 2023
@DreadShips looks like a flymo with nautical ambitions grabbed a washing line and drove around the garden pretending to “sail”
Show threadYmaAug 4, 2023
@DreadShips It looks like a toilet. Assuming it can fit a very large turd?
Show threadALAug 4, 2023
@DreadShips
I file this under "more dollars than sense"
Show threadNickAug 4, 2023
@DreadShips it has a certain charm
Show threadbarbaAug 4, 2023
@DreadShips Don't confuse size with seaworthiness. A rubber duck will sail through any storm, and a small vessel is easier to make strong than a big one. It won't be comfortable though, and this one was obviously badly constructed. Check out Sven Yrvind and his slow, uncomfortable, but indestructible boats.
Show threadNiciHW🦋Aug 4, 2023

@DreadShips reminds me of our loca Chubby Girl - 3 meters long, supposed to sail from SanFran to Hawai’i!

https://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/chubby-girl/

'Chubby Girl' Returns for Repairs

Wil Spaul is headed back to the Bay. The intrepid 70-year-old sailor is attempting to sail the smallest boat ever to Hawaii.

Latitude38
Show threadJohn G FitzgeraldAug 4, 2023
@DreadShips 😂😂😂😂😂
Show threadMajor Denis BloodnokAug 4, 2023
@DreadShips After reading _Oars across the Pacific_ I'm never quite sure if this kind of thing is going to be a dismal failure or an unexpected triumph.
Show threadEdward DoreAug 4, 2023
@DreadShips A person is supposed to spend *TWO MONTHS* inside that thing?!? 😲
Show threadGeoff 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿Aug 4, 2023

@DreadShips I mean...the more I look at it...the more genius the concept is. For THAT ONE purpose, and no other, it's brilliant.

That purpose being battering your way across the Atlantic come what may, in something tiny, even if the captain is jam at the end.