Voyager 2.0 Last Voyage. What happened ?

Voyager 2.0 was at sea for 32 hours before the failures occurred, leaving the boat adrift for a further 44 hours.

The mast was broken off , and the electronic controller was lost.

Voyager 2.0 shortly after recovery

The mast suffered a brittle fracture at deck level.

The image below shows the fracture.

Remainder of Mast showing the brittle fracture at deck level

A test bend was performed on the remaining part of the aluminium mast.

It displayed the typical ductile bend expected of aluminium tubing.

The aluminium mast had been in use for around 3 years. 

The brittle fracture was probably due to work hardening or a fatigue failure.

This failure was avoidable.

Testing of the remainder of the mast showing ductile failure.

The Electronic Voyager Controller was lost when the lashing failed. The lashing was fixed to the hull using a simple 25mm screw through the fibre glass and into the foam. 

This was fine for trials on a lake, but clearly not suitable for ocean conditions.

Failed Lashing intended to restrain the Equipment Compartment 

The Spot GPS and the controller are housed in a Sistema Brilliance 920ml container. After 76 hours at sea, about 5ml of water had entered the container.

This implies that additional sealing will be required if these containers are used at sea. The containers are watertight for short durations, such as lake trials.

Tests will need to be performed to establish the reason for the water ingress. This could include diurnal heating and cooling, improperly seated seal, possibly due to dirt particles, or simple leaking through the seal.

Brilliance 920ml Container with the 5ml water acquired during the 76 hours at sea.