Section 5 The Technical Construction File, TCF

5.1.1 The TCF is built up during the design, construction, stepping and commissioning phase.

5.1.2 The TCF will be the basis of the certification.

5.1.3 The TCF is to contain the elements listed in the Sections below.

5.2.1 The design description is a collection of documents and plans that defines the lay out of the rig on the vessel. For a sloop rig this would take the form of a sail plan with the standing and running rigging indicated. For other rigs and for square rigs in particular, the information may have to be presented on more than one plan. The elements of the rig (masts, spars, spreaders), main running and standing rigging are to be identified by name. Plans shall give areas of sails, location of centre of area, scantlings, materials, locations, rake of mast and lift, in addition to angles for spreaders and the identification of foundations for mast and attachment points for standing and running rigging.

5.2.2 This would also be the place where the different sails are described that are carried on board and can be used in the sailing conditions. The information can be given in tabular form and is to provide values for mass, head, foot, leech, roach, number/type of battens and any other properties that can influence the load on the rigging or which may be of use during the operation and/or inspection of the vessel.

Actual building information of the rig and sails is not presented herein, but within the structural design definition (see 5.5).

5.2.3 In the examination, the Global Design Description will be checked for completeness and consistency with data for the vessel.

5.3.1 The methodology description gives the methods used by the rig designer for the various calculations and predictions, and explains the computational approach that is applied to the rig scantling design. This of is dependent on the actual design but will cover aspects such as the:

• Method used to evaluate sailing loads and how they are applied to the rig;
• Method used to predict seakeeping behaviour;
• Method used to derive properties of composite laminates and properties of Sections of masts and spars;
• Any other method or tool used to derive properties that are deemed essential for the design.

Where published methods are applied, no detailed description of the method needs to be given.

5.3.2 In the examination, the Methodology Description will be checked for completeness and adequacy of the methods applied.

5.4.1 The load case definition is the list of load cases for which the rig is designed. The load cases must govern both operation at sea and manufacture/transport/stepping and maintenance. The load cases for operation at sea shall represent the envelope of conditions given in the operation manual.

5.4.2 The load cases describing the manufacture/transport/stepping/maintenance procedure shall include the following load elements:

1. Gravity and inertia loads due to transport and handling;
2. Local loads due to lifting and stepping;
3. Inertia and wind loadsduring tuning, or before fitting the shrouds and stays, or other elements of the rig. Wind acting on bare spars and the inertia loads due to movement of the vessel during stepping and tuning process. When the rig is not fully installed and tuned these relatively low loads may be a design case.

5.4.3 It is likely these are not known exactly in the stage of approval. Some limit cases can be defined and the final procedure subsequently developed within the envelope of these load cases.

5.4.4 The load cases describing the operation at sea shall have the following information:

1. Condition identifier or Load Case Number;
2. Sails set in the condition;
3. Limiting conditions for wind and sea and corresponding angle of heel;
4. Wind direction.

and include the following load elements:

1. Wind load on rigging and sails, expressed in a system consistent with the computations applied;
2. Effects of gravity of own mass of masts, spreaders, standing rigging and equipment;
3. Effects of motion of vessel and rig induced by the sea state and wind direction;
4. Pretension and other dock tuning loads;
5. Effects of any other kind that can be considered to give a combined contribution more than 10 per cent of the combination of items (a) to (d) above.

5.4.5 In the examination, the Load Cases Definition will be checked for completeness, consistency with data for the vessel and for correct load assumptions in view of the applied methodology.

5.5.1 The structural details of the relevant rig elements are to be defined in a collection of documents and plans. These plans and documents are to include the dimensions, materials, cross-sections of masts, spars and standing rigging and all other elements making up the structural integrity of the rig. With the material properties, cross-sectional properties and panel sizes, limit loads are defined for each of the elements. For beam-like elements, such as masts, spars and spreaders, limit loads for bending, torsion, compression and tension are to be derived as relevant for their application. The limit loads are to be defined such that the stress factors do not exceed the values given in Section 7.

5.5.2 In the examination procedure, the Structural Design Definition will be checked for completeness and consistency with the global description and for consistency with between the scantlings/materials and the limit loads reported.

5.6.1 A calculation report showing that the scantlings of the elements are such that in none of the design load cases detailed, the loads on the elements exceed the permissible values. This calculation is expected to take the form of a beam type finite element calculation. The deflections of the rig in general are expected to be such that the calculation must be done in a non-linear mode (i.e. large deflection, geometric non-linear) to take account of the relative changes in position of the nodes.

5.6.2 The calculation report can either be provided by the manufacturer or provided by a third party.

5.6.3 In the examination, the Design Evaluation Report will be checked for consistency with:

• The Methodology Definition;
• The Load Cases Definition;
• The Structural Design Definition;

Design loads specified for the rig foundation (i.e. mast step, chain-plates, winch foundations and strongpoints) as specified for the evaluation of the scantlings and arrangements of the hull assuming the approval of the hull takes place before the rig design is complete. If the rig design certification takes place before the hull scantlings examination, the information is to be passed on to the Technical Support Office dealing with the examination of the main scantlings plans. The Design Evaluation Report should indicate whether the factors of safety at limit loads are respected and the results are as expected.

5.6.4 Independent verification, by FEM or otherwise, of the results in the report might be required at the discretion of LR.

5.6.5 Upon request, LR, or one of its subsidiaries, can carry out a full parallel computation and the results, when such is covered by the contract, will be made available to the manufacturer.

5.7.1 Materials used in the rig are to have a 3.1 type Certificate. It is the responsibility of the rig manufacturer to keep a record in the TCF of:

1. The materials used and (copies of) their Certificates;
2. The locations where they are used in the rig;
3. Results of in-house or external testing of materials after change of properties (composite material after curing, metallic materials after melting/hot forming);
4. Locations where alternative equivalent materials/laminate were used with respect to the design;
5. Certification records of parts and half-products.
6. Storage conditions and times.

5.7.2 The materials certification report, completed with a declaration of the manufacturer that all construction materials are as assumed within the structural design definition, and will be examined using a spot check method.

The depth and extent of the spot check method is at the discretion of the Surveyor. When findings give no rise to questions on consistency and completeness, this part of the TCF can be accepted as a method to demonstrate compliance with the ‘materials’ requirement in LY3 clause 4.5.2.1. A 3.1 type certificate to a recognised standard is considered to cover the requirements of the LY3 Code.

The spot check method is appropriate when the rig, or parts of it, is not built under survey. Examination can take place at the time of delivery/stepping of the rig, or during construction of parts of the rig not built under survey.

5.8.1 The transport and stepping procedures are to be provided by the manufacturer. The rig stepping report, (see Ch 4, S 2.2) is issued by the Surveyor to confirm that the dressing up and stepping procedure was carried out under his supervision and in accordance with the procedure.

5.8.2 Inspections of carbon fibre masts and spars must be carried out in accordance with the document Large Yachts: Examination of Carbon Fibre Masts and Spars July 2011, as issued by the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

5.8.3 Dock tuning is considered to be a lengthy process. It is not required that surveillance is permanent, but a record of the steps taken and steps planned is to be maintained and kept available for inspection.

When the rig has more than one dock tuning state, for example to cover different uses of the rig, this is considered to be a different series of load cases. Transitions between the dock tuning states are considered to be changes in loading conditions and should be handled accordingly.

5.8.4 This is considered to satisfy the first requirement of LY3 paragraph 4.5.2.5.

5.9.1 The expected behaviour of the rig when fitted to the vessel is defined by the manufacturer. The behaviour is demonstrated in at least 3 of the sailing conditions described within the rig operations manual, typically covering close hauled reaching and running conditions. Observations made during trials are to focus on agreement between predicted conditions and actual performance, as well as on smooth transition between conditions. The aim is to verify if the rig behaves as it was supposed to behave.

In addition, the observations are to cover the process of setting, reefing and or changing of sails in accordance with procedure.

5.9.2 It is anticipated this is covered within the protocol for the ‘sail trial’ with checkpoints consistent with the design parameters. Observations are to be made on the basis of the Operation Manual. The manufacturer therefore is expected to provide predictions for key parameters (heeling angle, mast compression, loads in stays, loads on sheet winches) for a range of weather conditions as may be encountered during the sail trial.

5.9.3 The state of the rig without sail loads is also to be part of the observation. Differences with respect to the dock tuning state are to be noted and investigated when not a logical consequence of differences in temperature or hull loading condition.

5.9.4 After the trials, the Rig Behaviour Report (see Ch 4, S 2.3 for an example) is issued by the Surveyor. The rig Behaviour Report is a factual statement comparing predictions and observations.

5.9.5 This should satisfy the second requirement of LY3 paragraph 4.5.2.5.

5.9.6 When any of the observations vary from predictions by more than 10 per cent, the manufacturer is to provide an explanation for the difference and send this to the office that was dealing with the design evaluation. Depending on the magnitude of the deviation and the nature of the parameter, the office dealing with the design evaluation decides whether the Design Evaluation Report can still be considered to be valid, or whether the manufacturer must be asked to revise the load cases definition and to carry out the design evaluation again with the new parameters.

5.10.1 The maintenance manual is provided by the manufacturer. This document will be reviewed for:

• Presence of maintenance instructions from parts manufacturers affecting safety and durability issues.
• Presentation of the maintenance work in clear scheduled tasks that can be recorded in the ship’s logbook.
• Description of the procedures for the inspections. The procedures should as a minimum reflect the principles for safe working practices as given in the ‘Code of Safe Working Practices for Merchant Seamen’ issued by UK MCGA.

5.10.2 On successful completion of the review, the Rig maintenance manual review report (see Ch 4, S 2.5 for an example) can be issued and the requirements of LY3 para. 4.5.2.4 can be considered to have been complied with.

5.10.3 This can also be considered as a suitable preparation for compliance with the requirement of LY3 paragraph 4.5.2.6.