SMENG-FF service
Practical evaluation of cracked and uncracked rigging parts. One decision for the owner: keep sailing, repair, or replace — with the numbers behind it.
Can this part stay on the boat?
We model the intact part, put the crack found by NDT (or a conservative assumed crack) onto that stress field, and compare it with a new part under the same sailing loads.
Safe today, and remaining life covers the next season or survey. Keep sailing to the load and inspection date in the report.
Usable for a short window, or a defined repair restores margin and life. Sail only inside that window.
Margin too low, life shorter than the next season, or the crack cannot be inspected or repaired with confidence.
Operate this season — forestay fitting, crack depth 2.1 mm (from NDT).
1.7 × peak sailing load = safety factor on load, not 1.7 mm. If the highest expected load in that section is 80 kN, the cracked part is still assessed as safe up to about 136 kN. If that factor were 0.9 ×, the part would not be safe at today’s sailing load.
~4 seasons at last year’s spectrum = crack-growth life using last year’s measured loads from a sensor or similar. No sensor file: we agree a typical year with you and state that it is assumed.
~35% of a new fitting = 4 seasons left on the cracked part ÷ about 11 seasons estimated for a new part under the same programme. Same programme both sides; the formula does not change mid-job.
Illustrative example only. A real report uses your NDT and your working load or sensor file. Re-inspect by the date on the report.
Repeated sailing loads and sensor spectra are in scope. Hard slams, grounding or shock studies are a separate job. This is a decision aid for the owner and technical manager; it is not class certification unless the contract says so.