Keel in the mud!

[James'n'Melissa]

Hello. Brand new to boating, much less sailing. We live along the Salem River in NJ, and just bought the boat home yesterday. The low tide here is lower than my measurements suggested, and at the moment, at low tide, I'm fairly certain the keel is in the mud. We appear to have about 8"-10" of hull above water more than normal when she's floating well. I know I will have to have to do some dredging with a jet pump or something to hold me until the winter, when the docks will come out and I'll probably extend them out another couple of feet.

My immediate concern is having the boat sit on the keel for an hour or so, twice a day - I don't know when I'll be able to get a jet pump in here, it may be next weekend. I don't want to come out some morning and see the hull sitting down around the keel sticking up through the hatch.

I know it's not good for the boat, but is there any real IMMEDIATE danger? Will a couple of days of this be dangerous? My only other alternative until I can get a jet pump here is to run it up about a half mile to a marina and pay dockage fees for a week or so and if that's what the consensus is here, I'll do it.

Any thoughts by more experienced and qualified owners are much appreciated!

Jim

 

[j]

Keel in the mud

When boats are hauled out, all the weight is on the keel. The other supports are just to keep it from falling over. Personally, if it was my boat I wouldn't worry about it. It's annoying. but not structurally dangerous.

 

[Bob V]

The good news is...

we just passed the new moon and the tides were extreme range. The lows will be getting higher and the highs lower as we move toward the quarter moon. A couple of weeks from now the full moon will bring large tidal range again.

 

[j]

Keel in the mud

By the way, very pretty boat.

 

[Bob V]

Just checked my tide tables

Thursday and Friday were -2.7 ft and -2.5 ft. I'm not sure where you are located but we won't see tides that low again for a long time. The next full moon will only pull it down to -1.1 ft in my area and the next new moon down to -1.3. The next one you have to worry about is October 18 when there will be a -2.6 here at Whidbey Island. Your actual numbers will vary but you won't see another low tide like we just had for two months.

 

[James'n'Melissa]

Thanks all for the replies!

Thanks for the replies! It puts my (obviously weakened) mind at rest somewhat. We are located almost directly across the Delaware River from the C&D Canal. If anyone would care to see more of my adventure, I'll be adding photos and info to my website chronicling the saga as we go along.

http://www.jmhare.com/catalina_sailboat/catalina_main_page.htm

 

[Mick]

Keel in the Mud

The only negative other than you can't use the boat while it is mired is, the part of the keel in the mud is not going to have any bottom paint.
Nice looking 27.

 

[Ray T]

On the bottom

How soft is the mud? Ive seen more than one owner use his prop to blow out his slip. Ray T