beaching your boat

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H

Hollywood Chia Pet

i am renting a house in eureka that has a private dock. the problem is, that when the tide is at extream low, there is almost no water in the channel. the channel bottem is mud. can i moor my boat there and not have to worry about possible damage or any problems with the hull or keel?
 
T

tom h

get PBO

Practical Boat Owner from England. Has numerous arbors and pictures describing what you have. No problem if you do it the right way. The Brits do it every day.
 
M

Mike

if your worried....

Why not make a cradle or something for it so when the tide get really low. It will be sitting on the cradle and not on its side, off of the ground. At high tide, it will be submerged, so you can come and go, and at low tide, is till be exosed. I make one for my boat in a weekend that i used to keep in the salt water down in tampa bay last winter when the tide on the canal got really low. It worked great, and i never had any problems with rust, i used mild steel, then when i was finsihted, i had it powder coated, after everything, it cost me about a grand to build, including the price of steel, powder coating, and all the other misc. parts. Good luck.
 

Ross

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Jun 15, 2004
14,693
Islander/Wayfairer 30 sail number 25 Perryville,Md.
Golly guys. The boat sits on the keel all winter

Just run a halyard from the mast head to the far side of the dock. Put out your fenders and let it lean drunkenly against the pier at low tide.
 
Feb 26, 2004
23,336
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
There's a term for them but

I forget -- get a few 2x4s and lash them to your stanchions at deck level, have them long enough down in the water to keep your boat upright when the tide falls, could do on only one side or both depending on your particular location. Tide falls, "sticks" keep the boat upright.
 

Ross

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Jun 15, 2004
14,693
Islander/Wayfairer 30 sail number 25 Perryville,Md.
Stu, I have seen pictures of that method

used on the fishing fleets on the coast of France. IIRC they have purpose made brackets and use timbers of perhaps 4x6 or a bit larger.
 
Feb 26, 2004
23,336
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Yup, Ross,

but we're dealing with a Mac26 here. Bigger boats, bigger timbers. Now, what the heck are the names of those things?
 
Feb 26, 2004
23,336
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Don't think so, these are vertical

not horizontal between fenders to keep off pilings, but rather like stilts, to keep the boat upright as the tide recedes. Gotta be a Brit out there somewhere...
 

Ross

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Jun 15, 2004
14,693
Islander/Wayfairer 30 sail number 25 Perryville,Md.
Stu, Isn't a Mac26 practially flat on the bottom?

It's not like we have a four foot deep keel here. Just let it settle onto the bottom and wait for the tide to refloat it.
 
Feb 26, 2004
23,336
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Got it

Maurice Griffiths calls them "legs." I don't know the Mac 26 at all, suppose it's relatively flat bottomed, his boat, his choice.
 
Jun 2, 2004
1,438
Oday 25 pittsburgh
Stu, Stiff back, deadman, crutch,...

Stu, I know what you mean and I am blank also. I can see apicture in my head and can't remember where I saw it. r.w.landau
 
R

Rob Ullinger

Joys of a Centerboard

While I don't have to deal with tides, I do know the joys of centerboard boats with kick-up rudders. Just make sure that the centerboard, rudder and motor are all in the up positions, and I would think you should have no problems. Make sure to leave you dock lines long enough, though. Fair Winds, Rob S/V Kinship
 
C

CalebD

MacGregrp 26 hull is not flat but not so canted

either. My guess is that it would lean 20 - 30 degrees on its side in the mud with centerboard and rudder kicked up. You could throw your extra anchor off the stern (bow tied to dock) and tie it up so the hull lies parallel to the water line and as Ross suggested, take the main halyard and attach it to somewhere on shore. The boat might almost sit level into the bank, depending on the angle of inclination of the shore. The real problem you might encounter with this kind of tactic is if there is any wave action that a lot of grit, sand, mud might get lodged in the centerboard trunk. This could cause the board to get stuck and is the reason why people build the stilts (deadmen, crutches etc) so that their bottoms dont get stuck in the mud. Along those lines you could get some carpet remnants and cinder blocks. Wrap the cinder blocks in the carpet and tie some line around the carpet to keep it in place. Position the blocks in the mud so that they form a cradle for your boat (4 or 6 should do it). Use anchors to keep her in the right spot as she transitions for low water to high. What kind of tidal depth change are we talking about here? Eureka is a bay off the Pacific and you are on a channel off the bay? The ocean tides are not usually more than 3 feet. Effects of bays, channels etc magnify the tidal differences.
 
A

Anchor Down

Drying Legs

Maybe here, at James Baldwin's site? (Scroll down to bottom of page).
 
Jun 2, 2004
1,438
Oday 25 pittsburgh
Hollywood, Your boat should

lay flat and even. If your swing keel and rudder are up. There is no reason why it would heel over as it is settleing into the mud. My only concern is thru hulls as mentioned before and mud caked into the swing keel housing. That could make lowering the keel a bit of a problem if the mud was continually caked in there for a few weeks. Sure it is a bit harder on the bottom paint but at least you get to sail! The mud will spread the load over the hull so unless there is a concrete block under your boat I wouldn't worry Done worry, just sail. r.w.landau
 
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