Hmmm.... that is not how I heard it... What I heard was "Sailor who have gone aground and... liars!".....
Grounding - what to look for after
- Thread starter smokey73
- Start date
I read about that, he was paid to do everything he could to "break" it [the boat].
That would have been a very interesting crew position!
That can give the skipper a lot of confidence in his boat.
True story - years ago I was sailing into Saint Jean de Luz in southern France. Gorgeous summer day with a perfect amount of wind. I was coming into the bay wing-on-wing but decided to drop sails as the bay was filled with runabouts and small craft that were not giving a boat under sail right of way. I was going to go into the port which is way in the back of the bay, but there were so many small craft running around I decided to hang a right and see if I could get into the old port in Ceboure. I knew I was running tight as the tide was going out, and I could only get into that port at high tide. Got up close to the entrance and bounced on the bottom. Knew I wasn't going to make it as there was a shallower bump right in front of the entrance so I tried to turn back out into the bay. Then I hit bottom good and hard with a solid thump and all forward motion stopped. Totally stuck. I was mighty pissed and really didn't want to sit there waiting for the tide to go out, then back in all the while sitting on my boat running a Spanish flag and looking like an idiot...
So I yanked on my 150% light wind genoa, pulled the main sail back up. I was at the perfect angle with the wind and she just healed over coming off the bottom. I kept her healed and sailed under full sail back out to deep water... For some reason, the small runabouts all seemed to suddenly realize I was not giving way to anyone - they all parted in front of me...
No damage to the boat at all, and that was not a sand grounding - that was rock. The keel on my boat, however, was solid, cast ductile iron - very strong stuff. Back then, it was easy for me to check the bottom of my boat, they have 9 meter tides in that region of the world. I'd simply tie up to a warf almost touching bottom at high tide, and then let the tide go out. Inspect the bottom, let the tide come back in - just got to make sure you're on the right tidal schedule...
dj
So I yanked on my 150% light wind genoa, pulled the main sail back up. I was at the perfect angle with the wind and she just healed over coming off the bottom. I kept her healed and sailed under full sail back out to deep water... For some reason, the small runabouts all seemed to suddenly realize I was not giving way to anyone - they all parted in front of me...
No damage to the boat at all, and that was not a sand grounding - that was rock. The keel on my boat, however, was solid, cast ductile iron - very strong stuff. Back then, it was easy for me to check the bottom of my boat, they have 9 meter tides in that region of the world. I'd simply tie up to a warf almost touching bottom at high tide, and then let the tide go out. Inspect the bottom, let the tide come back in - just got to make sure you're on the right tidal schedule...
dj
That was the Key to little damage!
My guess, if you would have tried to "pull her" off grounding by a Tow...Damage!
Hunter designed a strong boat, especially at the mid ships beam. Think of the pounding she would take in 30 meter seas at mid ships. The widest part of the boat is the weakest, structurally speaking. Also the water pressure on mid ships on a 20° heal is tremendous, much less the off center boat weight pushing against the hull.
______
I would add, have your keel seal to fiberglass and keel bolts checked too, if you pull her out of the water.
Curiosity about the Port side, port lights... I assume no leaks.
Jim...
Similar story here. I had chartered a Hunter 380 and was motoring into Rock Hall on the Chesapeake. The marked channel was shoaling on the port side (entering) and I had not been told that. I ran aground in the marked channel. There was a nasty looking storm heading our way. I got the boat turned with the wind on the starboard beam. I sheeted in the main right on the centerline and had my crew haul out the in-mast furling main as fast as they could. The boat healed over nicely and I sailed/motored off and back into the entrance channel. (probably only a few feet until the keel cleared the shoal. The squall line hit with rain so hard you couldn't see the bow of the boat. I held position just inside the Rock Hall harbor until it passed and when I came in I got a standing ovation from the marina staff and a few boaters who'd seen me getting off the shoal. No harm - no foul. Not necessarily a recommended way of getting off the bottom unless you know for sure where the good water is located. In this case on a few feet ahead after I got the boat turned perpendicular to the wind.
Went sailing today and the boat sailed perfectly. The diver is coming this afternoon to clean the bottom and prop/shaft and will check out if there is any damage.
This boat is pretty stout and has proven several times to me that it can take anything I'm willing to brave, including 10 to 12 foot breaking waves just off the bow coming down from New York to Cape May offshore. Never a wimper from the boat although it felt like we were getting hit with a sledge hammer every time we crested a wave and dove down into the next. Luckily the fuel tank was clean and we didn't stir up any junk to cause us to lose the engine.
This boat is pretty stout and has proven several times to me that it can take anything I'm willing to brave, including 10 to 12 foot breaking waves just off the bow coming down from New York to Cape May offshore. Never a wimper from the boat although it felt like we were getting hit with a sledge hammer every time we crested a wave and dove down into the next. Luckily the fuel tank was clean and we didn't stir up any junk to cause us to lose the engine.
Diver report came in today. Slight "scuffing" on the bottom of the keel. No damage to the rudder, keel, or the keel to hull stub joint. No bottom paint removed from the port side where it sat, no leaks from the lower port windows. All is well with the world. Like I said, I had her out on Sunday for a little spirited solo sailing. 12 to 15 knots true. She pointed very well and held course. I had her heeled over a little more than normal but she didn't seem to round up and the auto pilot held her steady with about 10 degrees of weather helm in the 12 knot wind. I probably could have balanced the sails to get to about 5 degrees but it was fun to clip along heeled over like that. Beautiful day on the water - had to get back on the horse after the grounding. Found out later from others that they too had grounded in almost the same spot on the shoal that had extended about 200 yards down the river from where it is marked on all the current charts (in an area that shows 9 feet at MLW).
