keel resting on bottom
- Thread starter Egovos
- Start date
look around any yard where boats are stored on the hard and you can’t help notice they are on their keel propped up with stands.
Thank you all. I'll have to double check on the rudder, they're saying maximum draft is 4'5" so I'm assuming that includes rudder and keel
Do check, there are a few boats where the keel is not as deep as the rudder.
The strongest part of the hull is where the keel is attached. Settling onto the bottom by an inch or two will not hurt the hull. Hulls get damaged when boats sailing at 6 knots hit something really hard, like a rock, well above the bottom of the keel.
When boats are on the hard, the weight of the boat is on the keel. The jack stands and cradle supports keep it from falling over.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 22,867
Sitting at the dock should not be a big deal. Just know it is likely that while settled on the sea bed you will not be going anywhere. NJ still has tidal changes last I checked. While they are not the many foot changes like Maine, the combined tide and wind can force the water to pile up or empty out of sheltered areas.
Not a lot of change day to day, but tidal changes known as king tides can sometimes be beyond the normal level. You may also want to verify the datum used to identify the 4’6” depth at the dock. Then there is always the shoaling that can muddy the waters. Dredging the dock and a channel to deep water maybe a consideration.
Not a lot of change day to day, but tidal changes known as king tides can sometimes be beyond the normal level. You may also want to verify the datum used to identify the 4’6” depth at the dock. Then there is always the shoaling that can muddy the waters. Dredging the dock and a channel to deep water maybe a consideration.
Also, when you are aground your boat may tip possibly rubbing the dock in a way you did not expect. Sailboats in this predicament have been known to have their masts and rigging get entangled with their neighbors in the adjacent slip. Consider negative tides.
On the other hand that depth description may not be a measurement of the actual depth at each slip but a restriction placed on the Marina by the insurance company after a professional survey was completed.
Hey,
My only comment is to note what happens to the marina during storms. If you get decent wave action (say 1-2' feet) what will happen if your boat is constantly smashing into the bottom?
Barry
My only comment is to note what happens to the marina during storms. If you get decent wave action (say 1-2' feet) what will happen if your boat is constantly smashing into the bottom?
Barry
If you have the shoal draft model (and it sounds like you do), the rudder absolutely draws more than the keel
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I just got my hunger 36 (04 same 4.5 draft etc).
I wouldn't keep it at that dock....It would be one thing for a short stay, but long term, too much risk. Your insurance company may even question the decision (hint if you needed to use your insurance because of damage to the boat from it).
I wouldn't keep it at that dock....It would be one thing for a short stay, but long term, too much risk. Your insurance company may even question the decision (hint if you needed to use your insurance because of damage to the boat from it).
A few other factors include having more marine growth on your bottom because you rest in it daily. The other objection would be the raw water intake would be near the bottom so that you would suck in water with whatever else is drifting/lying on the bottom (plastic bags, balloons, sea creatures).
Wing or fin keel? Rocky bottom? Your private dock or marina dock? Lead or cast iron keel? Barrier coat? Any over hang nearby?
My personal experience is the same issue as your shallow draft (4’6”).
We’ve been at the same exact mooring since 2000, and 3 years ago, someone who couldn’t make a turn in the channel complained about the width of the channel.
This prompted a survey and found that for the last 30 plus years our mooring poles were 2 feet too far into the channel.
So they had to move the poles 2 feet back. This made us closer to the edge of the channel wall. Now at Moon Low Tide, we are just touching the mud with the keel. When to wind blows we can feel the boat stop moving.
I am very aware of the tides when we head out and return, but can’t always be that accurate. So we are careful.
And I do believe I am dredging the channel myself with each movement of the boat as we come and go. But not by much.
As far as the keel being damaged, I haven’t seen any signs of that happening. I do notice that there are no barnacles on the bottom of the keel, where there used to be a few each year. Almost like a soda blasting. But the paint is still there.
My rudder isn’t affected by this change, so thats good news.
As others have stated…be careful not to suck up mud when you start the engine. I don‘t run the engine at dead low tides for this reason. And am quick to shut down if returning during the same low tide.
It just takes some awareness on your part.
For us, we love being out there so much, waiting out a tide is just a time to relax and enjoy.
At a dock, storms will create another issue if its a low tide, not so much for us as we swing in the wind. So be aware again.
All in all, in my opinion, I don‘t think its going to harm your boat.
I‘ve include a photo of our boat at mooring. This is the new location, move 2 feet to the left (yes I said left).
I now have 2 more feet to turn in.
And another added benefit is I now longer get fishing lures wrapped around my mooring lines each year. I was always good for one or two each year. And I have quite the collection now.
I hope the person who complained can now turn their boat.
We’ve been at the same exact mooring since 2000, and 3 years ago, someone who couldn’t make a turn in the channel complained about the width of the channel.
This prompted a survey and found that for the last 30 plus years our mooring poles were 2 feet too far into the channel.
So they had to move the poles 2 feet back. This made us closer to the edge of the channel wall. Now at Moon Low Tide, we are just touching the mud with the keel. When to wind blows we can feel the boat stop moving.
I am very aware of the tides when we head out and return, but can’t always be that accurate. So we are careful.
And I do believe I am dredging the channel myself with each movement of the boat as we come and go. But not by much.
As far as the keel being damaged, I haven’t seen any signs of that happening. I do notice that there are no barnacles on the bottom of the keel, where there used to be a few each year. Almost like a soda blasting. But the paint is still there.
My rudder isn’t affected by this change, so thats good news.
As others have stated…be careful not to suck up mud when you start the engine. I don‘t run the engine at dead low tides for this reason. And am quick to shut down if returning during the same low tide.
It just takes some awareness on your part.
For us, we love being out there so much, waiting out a tide is just a time to relax and enjoy.
At a dock, storms will create another issue if its a low tide, not so much for us as we swing in the wind. So be aware again.
All in all, in my opinion, I don‘t think its going to harm your boat.
I‘ve include a photo of our boat at mooring. This is the new location, move 2 feet to the left (yes I said left).
I now have 2 more feet to turn in.
And another added benefit is I now longer get fishing lures wrapped around my mooring lines each year. I was always good for one or two each year. And I have quite the collection now.
I hope the person who complained can now turn their boat.
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@sailcapt340 yours is tied up perfectly.
The winds will move your keel around and around.
The keel will "mine" a hole in all canal bottoms unless the bottom is solid rock.
Jim...
Benny and the others are right..be certain of the bottom! Ask the marina and others what‘s down there. And probe around at low tide. You‘ll soon know the composition of the bottom.
As for me, I know its mud, its deep, it sticks and stains you. I know, I fell in reaching for my dinghy that I forgot to tie up when we got out of it. You know the commercial “ring around the collar” from years ago. I had ring around the calve.
Also, did you know, you can‘t get back in the boat once your out of it. You can’t lift the seat up to get the swim ladder down. You can’t pull your self up using the handles next to the ladder either.
I called for my wife, who was in the boat, and she came up and asked “where are you”? Where am I, We’re not talking the Queen Mary here, how far can I be tied up?
I actually had a kayaker come by asked me what I was doing.
My wife finally walked back to the seat and said what are you doing in the water.
She lifted the seat and I was able to get the ladder down.
All the while, the dinghy just floated away. It didn’t care.
So I swam out the dinghy, looked ridiculous trying to get in it and rowed myself back to the boat.
What ever happened to the kayaker? Really, would it have been that much trouble to go get it.
This was a comedy routine in the making.
We didn’t go sailing that day….I was tired.
As for me, I know its mud, its deep, it sticks and stains you. I know, I fell in reaching for my dinghy that I forgot to tie up when we got out of it. You know the commercial “ring around the collar” from years ago. I had ring around the calve.
Also, did you know, you can‘t get back in the boat once your out of it. You can’t lift the seat up to get the swim ladder down. You can’t pull your self up using the handles next to the ladder either.
I called for my wife, who was in the boat, and she came up and asked “where are you”? Where am I, We’re not talking the Queen Mary here, how far can I be tied up?
I actually had a kayaker come by asked me what I was doing.
My wife finally walked back to the seat and said what are you doing in the water.
She lifted the seat and I was able to get the ladder down.
All the while, the dinghy just floated away. It didn’t care.
So I swam out the dinghy, looked ridiculous trying to get in it and rowed myself back to the boat.
What ever happened to the kayaker? Really, would it have been that much trouble to go get it.
This was a comedy routine in the making.
We didn’t go sailing that day….I was tired.