Is 30-degrees easy and safe?

sail sfbay · Jun 25, 2020

Interesting experiment...........do you have a tall or standard mast? The H26 "I" dimension is 28.33 ft according to the link below. Might climb the mast and drop a line to the deck to confirm the I dimension. Then if you measure the distance from your deck to the water surface and add the two numbers will that give you air draft?

SailboatData.com - HUNTER 26 Sailboat

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twalker H260 · Jun 25, 2020

How often are you thinking of making this transit?

My go to for the 260&26 would be to drop the mast and re raise on the other side. I have done this solo many times to get under a bridge with significantly less clearance. You can leave the gin pole and stays rigged while you motor through. Just remember to bring the mast crutch.

Water ballast boats tend to be extremely unstable with partial or empty ballast tanks. Lack of righting moment has been noticeable the few times our tank failed to fill during launch, while tied at the dock.

By the way the 260 manual indicates 40’ mast height from Dwl. The h26 manual on site indicates 39’9” above water.

https://sbo.sailboatowners.com/downloads/Hunter_26_82584071.pdf

my math gives a slightly different result. You mention 33’ bridge height. To have 2’ clearance you would need to get to an air draft height of 31’? i get almost 40° From vertical needed to get there.

Benny17441 · Jun 25, 2020

Having once waited for 6 hours, in a no anchoring zone with a mean current, for the tide to go down enough to clear a fixed bridge I would say plan your arrival at that bridge with a 15 minute window to the top of the hour. For a 10 ton boat a stray wake could be a ripple but it could play havoc with your boat's stability. I did not misjudge getting there early for that bridge, it was a trade off, I had to traverse the Delaware river with a favorable current to get there at all.

cb32863 · Jun 26, 2020

In all honesty it sounds like you are trying to create a solution for a problem that does not exist. You know when the bridge will open so, that would be your best solution. As has been stated above by Benny, just get there with enough lead time and wait, that is why there is a posted schedule. But, as we all say, your boat, your solution. But, don't ask for advice if you don't want to hear it either.

njlarry · Jun 26, 2020

The op was merely asking for advice about a specific idea. This forum should encourage the exchange of free ideas and not insult people coming here for help. Where did the op object to any advice?
If you have nothing to help an op with please stay out of the conversation.

Kings Gambit · Jun 26, 2020

There’s probably an equation somewhere in the boat-design literature that will tell you how much force must be applied to heel a particular boat 30 degrees from vertical against its righting moment. It should be largely, if not solely, a function of lever-arm length; namely, the height above, or otherwise distance from, the boat’s center of gravity at which the force is applied. So, I doubt that crew leaning on shrouds at deck level will help much, if any.

Having been aground a few times in FL I’ve had some experience heeling the boat to get off. Boom goes out supported by the topping lift at its outboard end. Crew get on the boom and scoot out to as near the end as they can. Boom length is your lever arm in that case. Crew weight (i.e., the force) produces a few to several degrees worth of heeling force, usually enough to free the boat‘s keel (requiring only centimeters of movement upward/outward if depth does not shallow from tidal ebbing) to allow powerIng off of the shoal.

That was on a 30-ft boat with a 9.5-ft beam, 5-ft draft, 25-ft LWL, and 8300# displacement; 3560# ballast. The H26 has a bit more than 50% of the displacement, and about 60% of the ballast, of the P-30; but its beam @ 9 ft is more than 90% of the P-30. This greater beam relative to the other measurements of the H26 against the P-30will resist the heeling force, etc. I wouldn’t count on getting to 30 deg of heel and maintaining it using crew weight, as I note above.

markwbird · Jun 26, 2020

I'm with cb32863. Wait for the bridge to open. Your math looks a little off.

Jimmy · Jun 26, 2020

The h26 heels over to 15 fairly easy but at 30 or 40 it’s not going to like it

cb32863 · Jun 26, 2020

njlarry said:
The op was merely asking for advice about a specific idea. This forum should encourage the exchange of free ideas and not insult people coming here for help. Where did the op object to any advice?
If you have nothing to help an op with please stay out of the conversation.

Lighten up.... was a bit tongue-in-cheek.

Will Gilmore · Jun 26, 2020

rgranger, you should be able to test it at the dock. Here's a hanging scale rated for 300lbs, for around $30

Connect this to a piling or dock cleat and your halyard.

Make sure you have a good angle away from the boat that is both realistic to the bridge situation and your boat is not bound fast against the dock so it can move out as the masthead comes over the anchor point.

Haul on the halyard until you get the desired angle. You could even pre measure the halyard length from the anchor point and tie a piece of red thread on it to tell you when the masthead is at the desired height.

This would tell you how much weight in seawater you want to attach to the end of your halyard. Use seawater because it will stop pulling once in the water. Maybe a group of five gallon buckets.

-Will (Dragonfly)

Rick Macdonald · Jun 26, 2020

I read the original post as saying that the bridge is only 33 feet high when it's __open__. So, if that's correct it's not as simple as waiting for it to open which he could easily do since it opens hourly.

sail sfbay · Jun 26, 2020

To be safe I would measure as suggested above. Please let us know what your measurements tell.

Kings Gambit · Jun 27, 2020

rgranger said:
Thanks Everyone....

@sail sfbay I was looking at this number on sailboatdata.com

View attachment 181583

It seems too high to me but....???

To answer several questions, above.... I'm moving to Charleston and one of the condo's I'm thinking to rent has a tidal creek behind it with enough depth for me to make it to the main channel... but the reviews for the bridge I'd have to pass under say that it is a PITA and dangerous at low tide because the boats crowd up and sometimes they are large commercial boats so..... I might not be able to take advantage of a quick evening sail when conditions are perfect if I have to time both tide and bridge openings. So... got to thinking that if I could tip the boat over.... this condo might be the perfect spot... no marina bills

@markwbird Yes my math is correct... assuming the air draft of 44' is correct.... simple trig.... but... I am doubtful that air draft is correct. I need to measure it myself.

The people I know who routinely take sailboats under bridges going to and from the slip have a tabernacle mast. Sometimes referred to as having a hinged mast step. You basically allow the mast to dip forward by maybe 45 deg max to reduce height going under a bridge. It has to be set up properly, of course. And may not work well on a boat with swept-back spreaders. The attached boom is used to lever mast, etc.

Crazy Dave Condon · Jun 27, 2020

@rgranger

Surprised you did not ask me. For the record I as a dealer originally sold the boat and a hand in mast raising. I have experienced that previously with all water ballasted boats. With any mast raise boat, a lot will depend on weather and wave action as part of the equation as one factor to consider with any boat.

twalker H260 · Jun 27, 2020

Height above water line is fairly consistent for all three sources. 39’ 9”,40’ and 40‘ 4” but measuring on your own boat is the only way to get a completely accurate number. My confusion on your math is where you get 35’ as being the safe distance To clear the bridge. You earlier indicated the height to the bridge from water was 33’ (Assuming Rick is correct that is height to underside of the open bridge?) Are there other factors that increase the water to bridge height to 37’? Say lower tide vs average tide?

DayDreamer41 · Jun 27, 2020

If you are into knowing or just making your head spin a bit

LESSON TOPIC: 4

sail sfbay · Jun 27, 2020

Just for clarification: Bridge clearance (BC) is the distance from a boat's waterline to the highest point on the topsides. It indicates the height of a bridge under which a boat can pass. Bridge clearance is listed on marine charts, with the height above mean high water given.

MikeHoncho · Jun 27, 2020

njlarry said:
The op was merely asking for advice about a specific idea. This forum should encourage the exchange of free ideas and not insult people coming here for help. Where did the op object to any advice?
If you have nothing to help an op with please stay out of the conversation.

Take it easy. I’m not seeing anything close in the previous threads that reflect what you are saying.