Hurricane Mathew put my boat on the hard.. What do I do?
- Thread starter End80
- Start date
Thursday.. Edwin called me back last night and said he would be bringing his trawler over in the morning after all, two deckhands that he usually uses would be available this time to join him, so everything looked to be a go..
I went over a few hours early today (about 7am) and didn't want to fight another hard current in my inflatable. I went in from the side of the island as usual, as there is an open path through that marsh, and you can still get back out during low tide..
Brought a Kodak camera along this time, though I was hesitant since I already ruined both my Flip video camera and my cellphone in the past week over there, but I really wanted some pictures.
Some of these pics were taken at about 7:30, and the others were taken at peak tide at about 10:00.
Yesterdays 9.1 peak tide produced about 3 or 4 inches standing water surrounding the boat, Tybee Road (Hwy 80) was closed for about an hour because of it, but as you can see in the first 'pic below, today the peak tide of 8.8ft when this pic was taken left the area around my boat almost completely dry..
You see a big square white house in the background --it's really yellow but looks white in these photos, but that house is the direction we were pulling the boat….
Yesterday both Jay and myself noticed the mast appeared a little bent and twisted, but today with the weight off it, it looks ok.
Here's a few shots showing how it's strapped..
This is the clamp piece that got broke which holds on the rudder, I was surprised there is no pin or anything that goes through it and the shaft.. It just clamps around it, and to remove it you just slide it up and off the top of the rudder shaft… doesn't seem to secure to me, but I guess it held for 40 years like that, but it still seems odd to me.
And lastly, here is a pic of Edwin's boat that did the pulling, at high tide I'm able to see his boat which is farther up river and around the bend; that's where he keeps it and lives aboard.
At about 9am Edwin called to say both his deck hands were ill and throwing up, he said it was probably something they ate.. (But knowing Tybee, I suspect they may really be hung-over.. But I'm just assuming).
I waited till peak tide just to get some pictures, then returned home.
I've not gave up, but I really don't know what's next. I have no more cash flow to work with.
Next month the highest tide will be 8.8 on the 13th, same as it was today.
I think that's too long to wait. It's been way too long already.
Feeling a bit helpless.
I went over a few hours early today (about 7am) and didn't want to fight another hard current in my inflatable. I went in from the side of the island as usual, as there is an open path through that marsh, and you can still get back out during low tide..
Brought a Kodak camera along this time, though I was hesitant since I already ruined both my Flip video camera and my cellphone in the past week over there, but I really wanted some pictures.
Some of these pics were taken at about 7:30, and the others were taken at peak tide at about 10:00.
Yesterdays 9.1 peak tide produced about 3 or 4 inches standing water surrounding the boat, Tybee Road (Hwy 80) was closed for about an hour because of it, but as you can see in the first 'pic below, today the peak tide of 8.8ft when this pic was taken left the area around my boat almost completely dry..
You see a big square white house in the background --it's really yellow but looks white in these photos, but that house is the direction we were pulling the boat….
Yesterday both Jay and myself noticed the mast appeared a little bent and twisted, but today with the weight off it, it looks ok.
Here's a few shots showing how it's strapped..
This is the clamp piece that got broke which holds on the rudder, I was surprised there is no pin or anything that goes through it and the shaft.. It just clamps around it, and to remove it you just slide it up and off the top of the rudder shaft… doesn't seem to secure to me, but I guess it held for 40 years like that, but it still seems odd to me.
And lastly, here is a pic of Edwin's boat that did the pulling, at high tide I'm able to see his boat which is farther up river and around the bend; that's where he keeps it and lives aboard.
At about 9am Edwin called to say both his deck hands were ill and throwing up, he said it was probably something they ate.. (But knowing Tybee, I suspect they may really be hung-over.. But I'm just assuming).
I waited till peak tide just to get some pictures, then returned home.
I've not gave up, but I really don't know what's next. I have no more cash flow to work with.
Next month the highest tide will be 8.8 on the 13th, same as it was today.
I think that's too long to wait. It's been way too long already.
Feeling a bit helpless.
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Sorry to hear of your luck in getting your boat moving again, just a note in looking at the way the straps are arranged, it appears that when a pulling force is applied to the straps there would be (2) forces applied (1) being in the direction of the tow vehicle and the other a downward force applied to the hull, you should reconsider the strap arrangement to hopefully change the forces to an upward force or at least level force with the tow point. Additionally, you must get the keel out of the mud and resting on anything to prevent it from sticking in the mud...... good luck with your issues!
Hey, you moved it 4 feet, you can get it out of there! Maybe use the next 4 weeks gather and put down some skids (2x6s or whatever) from the boat to the marsh. And maybe a little plywood under the keel. That way next time, if the tide goes out while your working, the skids will help you at least get it into the marsh.
I like the idea of using weight on the mast to tip the boat to get the keel off the mud. The issue I see is if the boat is pulled in the water, without the first removing the weight, once the boat is in deep enough water the boat will capsize and sink once it reaches the water.
I believe that you can use the weight (as is) to tip the boat, but only enough to to place a piece of plywood under the keel to let it "skim" across the mud.
I believe that you can use the weight (as is) to tip the boat, but only enough to to place a piece of plywood under the keel to let it "skim" across the mud.
With the trashcan 3/4 full of water and with both Jay who's 200lbs and myself only about 140lbs hanging from he mast at the same time, the keel did not leave the ground.. we just bounced hanging from the mast while he was pulling. I can say that the ground there is hard enough that the keel doesn't sink in it at all. I think if I placed the plywood between the hard and where the marsh begins the keel may fall onto it on the next pull, but it might just break the wood when it did
You have to make some sort of "sled" to reduce the horizontal friction. This not only minimizes the possible damage to the boat and keel, it will also reduce the hazard of ropes snapping and you'll have more people willing to help. A boat owner (who pulls your boat) would be crazy to subject his boat to the forces involved.
This is exactly what I was driving at, the straps appear to put downward force when pulled (increasing horizontal friction) and the keep being on the ground is not conducive to the ease of pulling.
Hello End80,
I believe that all of us on this site were "pulling for you" and thinking that your initial problem would have been solved with this latest effort. Will the tides in the next few days be so much lower that another try very soon is not worth the effort?
I noticed that your pictures show plastic pipe rollers under the port side of the hull. Good idea. Maybe add more....especially if you can lift the stern (with a jack or with leverage) enough to get any rollers farther under the hull closer to the maximum beam of the boat and then let the stern down again to its present position before pulling.
I think what appears to be a potential downward pull by the yellow lines will disappear when the lines are pulled tight under tension of the pulling boat.
The broken piece that connects the rudder post to the tiller is called a "goose neck". Second hand / salvage sellers should have a reasonable replacement when the time comes to rebuild what others have smashed. There is no justification for that damage! Measure the rudder post diameter and the tiller width to find the correct replacement parts.
I believe that all of us on this site were "pulling for you" and thinking that your initial problem would have been solved with this latest effort. Will the tides in the next few days be so much lower that another try very soon is not worth the effort?
I noticed that your pictures show plastic pipe rollers under the port side of the hull. Good idea. Maybe add more....especially if you can lift the stern (with a jack or with leverage) enough to get any rollers farther under the hull closer to the maximum beam of the boat and then let the stern down again to its present position before pulling.
I think what appears to be a potential downward pull by the yellow lines will disappear when the lines are pulled tight under tension of the pulling boat.
The broken piece that connects the rudder post to the tiller is called a "goose neck". Second hand / salvage sellers should have a reasonable replacement when the time comes to rebuild what others have smashed. There is no justification for that damage! Measure the rudder post diameter and the tiller width to find the correct replacement parts.
In an earlier post, I suggested making a sled out of 6 pieces of 4' x 8' x 3/4" plywood, chris/crossed and screwed together. Then take a couple of 10 ton jacks and (somehow) jack up the boat onto the plywood.
Then, drill a couple (or more) 3" holes into the plywood towards the water, and use those holes to drag the boat to the water. This way, you will not damage the boat any further. Dragging the boat over the land will rip up the keel.
Still looking.......
Picture 2 and picture 4 worry me. Here is what I think will happen.
When you begin the pull there is no way to insure the direction of the pull. Add another loop around the front of the keel to the two pulling lines up through the cut out of the transom and perhaps another around the hull and those pulling lines at a point near the aft cleats. As it is set now the lines will pull up away from the cockpit coaming as the hull initially refuses to move. When it does move it will drag the keel and the toe rail at the widest part of the boat, and the boat will probably pivot letting those lines go higher away from the coaming and the aft direction you want the pull to proceed.
Picture 2 and picture 4 worry me. Here is what I think will happen.
When you begin the pull there is no way to insure the direction of the pull. Add another loop around the front of the keel to the two pulling lines up through the cut out of the transom and perhaps another around the hull and those pulling lines at a point near the aft cleats. As it is set now the lines will pull up away from the cockpit coaming as the hull initially refuses to move. When it does move it will drag the keel and the toe rail at the widest part of the boat, and the boat will probably pivot letting those lines go higher away from the coaming and the aft direction you want the pull to proceed.
This might sound silly. Contact the local high school football coach, tell him your story and see if the team would show up to help push. You would be amazed at what a good number of strong young men can do... The trick would be scheduling with the tow. Motivation for the team would be helping and perhaps pizza.Johann said:
The football coach would be crazy to agree to this. Imagine the liability if one of those kids got seriously injured by a tow line that snapped.
How about asking a dozen or so know-it-all SBO Members? Of course beer & pizza are a given!
I went over there during high tide this morning and there was no longer any standing water in the marsh, just mud, so I guess it's going to be the middle of next month before attempting another pull. I'm going to take the advice given on using a plywood sled. As for the pictures indicating a downward pull.. I can see how it appears that way, but during the pull the water line was even with the hard, we had a few inches of water surrounding the entire boat, and the line was pulling straight in parallel with the waters surface- no downward pull was occurring when the tide was at 9ft+.