Condition assessment of the wooden mast of historic schooner Grace Bailey.
| Authors: | Christopher Adam Senalik, Xiping Wang, Katie M. Ohno, Robert J. Ross, William A. Martin |
| Year: | 2026 |
| Type: | General Technical Report |
| Station: | Forest Products Laboratory |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.2737/FPL-GTR-308 |
| Source: | FS |
Abstract
On October 9, 2023, the main mast of the historic schooner Grace Bailey unexpectedly snapped at about two-thirds of its height and fell onto the deck, killing one passenger and injuring three others. The United States Coast Guard promptly initiated a formal investigation into the cause of the mast’s sudden failure. At the request of the Coast Guard, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) conducted an on-site evaluation of the broken mast on December 19, 2023. The inspection used nondestructive testing methods and included visual analysis, stress wave scanning, resistance micro-drilling, and fungal identification at FPL. Severe decay was identified from stress wave transmission measurements taken between 26 and 56 ft above the mast base in the bow-to-stern axis. Suspect wood ranged from 20 to 26 ft and from 56 to 58 ft along the same axis. Along the starboard-to-port axis, suspect wood ranged from 24 to 56 ft, with decay at 37 to 38 ft and severe decay at 45 ft. Results from follow-up resistance microdrilling tests paralleled those obtained from stress wave testing. Both stress wave scanning and resistance micro-drilling indicated the presence of severely deteriorated wood. Brown rot was visually observed on samples of decayed mast, and laboratory examination of the samples indicated the presence of the polypore Antrodia xantha. The findings from these tests provide detailed data on the mast’s physical condition and help pinpoint potential factors that contributed to its catastrophic failure while in service.