O'Day 192 - Mooring on the flats

[Birdseye]

I did do some forum searches first but did not find an answer and I hope I'm not asking a question that's already been asked, so I apoligize in advance if this is the case.

I purchased an O'Day 192 last September and am planning to put it on a mooring this May but the only moorings available are on the mud flats. My question is this.

The 192 has a keel centerboard that will be in the mud twice a day. I'm concerned that this will constantly cause mud and other bottom muck to clog my centerboard trunk preventing me from lowering the centerboard. I have some ideas for how to help prevent this but it would be an extra chore before and after I sail which I'd like to avoid if it is not really neccessary. Do any of you have experience with this? Can I expect this to be a continual problem or just occasional? Do people find that most of the mud, etc gets washed out once the boat is afloat again.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Nelson

 

[Joe11688]

I did do some forum searches first but did not find an answer and I hope I'm not asking a question that's already been asked, so I apoligize in advance if this is the case.

I purchased an O'Day 192 last September and am planning to put it on a mooring this May but the only moorings available are on the mud flats. My question is this.

The 192 has a keel centerboard that will be in the mud twice a day. I'm concerned that this will constantly cause mud and other bottom muck to clog my centerboard trunk preventing me from lowering the centerboard. I have some ideas for how to help prevent this but it would be an extra chore before and after I sail which I'd like to avoid if it is not really neccessary. Do any of you have experience with this? Can I expect this to be a continual problem or just occasional? Do people find that most of the mud, etc gets washed out once the boat is afloat again.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Nelson

Nelson,
Our mooring field at the SYC has thick mud and I don't doubt that the keel of my O'Day 222 is sitting into it at Spring Tide Lows. I would be more concerned about forgetting to raise my centerboard or rudder blade when I left my boat at the mooring. It really depends on the depth of the mud and what kind of foul ground is under the keel.
I have a rudder blade hold up pendant line that I made up for my tip up rudder many years ago. So that solves that problem for me.
As fare as the bottom of the keel is concerned, I've never had a problem with mud clogging up the keel slot and prohibiting my centerboard from working. You may want to hop into a pram and go out there to the mooring at a Spring Tide Low and look it over. Bring a long telescopic boat pole and just probe the bottom in that area where your boat is going to sit. It may be pretty clear of objects like old radiators, train wheels, large rocks, and forgotten mooring blocks. Believe me. I've found these things in our mooring field just by walking around out there with my flippers on while hanging on to my kayak for support.
You may luck out and find nothing but nice soft mud, which may not have any effect on your keel. My boat draws about 20" with the centerboard and the rudder up. Even at Spring Tide Lows, she's still floating and I can still motor out of there. I don't think that I'd want to moor my boat in an area where I couldn't get out when I wanted to but that's a call that you're going to have to make. I hope that I was able to help you in some way. Have a great sailing season!
Joe

 

[Birdseye]

Thanks

Thanks Joe,

Unfortunately, my options are limited with free water mooring availability and I can't afford a slip, so I'm pretty sure Ill be high and dry twice a day. I figure it's better to have the boat ready to go when the tide is up rather than trailering it and stepping the mast every time I want to use it. I have a friend who has an ODay 22 that's out there too and he hasn't had any issues. He also does not have a centerboard.

I would still like to hear from anyone who has had actual experience with this same situation if you're out there. Hopefully I'm not doing anything too foolish.

 

[Joe11688]

Thanks Joe,

Unfortunately, my options are limited with free water mooring availability and I can't afford a slip, so I'm pretty sure Ill be high and dry twice a day. I figure it's better to have the boat ready to go when the tide is up rather than trailering it and stepping the mast every time I want to use it. I have a friend who has an ODay 22 that's out there too and he hasn't had any issues. He also does not have a centerboard.

I would still like to hear from anyone who has had actual experience with this same situation if you're out there. Hopefully I'm not doing anything too foolish.

I've heard that Duxbury Harbor is very shallow in some places. I don't think that I'd want a slip for my boat even if I could afford one. I prefer a mooring. We have over 100' of dock at our club and there is always room for live docking to load gear and guests.
If it's fine mud with no pebbles, you're keel slot will probably wash out and you'll be able to use your centerboard. As long as there isn't anything too abrasive under your keel that can wear out the metal plates that hold the wedges in place for the centerboard pivot pin. Give it a try and see what happens. If it don't work out, you can always come down and join our club, the Shawomet Yacht Club, No. Dighton at $425 a year w/mooring. We have 29 moorings that are owned and maintained by the club. Members only need to supply their own pendant line, thimble, and shackle. I splice the thimbles on nylon three strand lines and make up eye splices for those who want them, at no cost to all club members.
We have a nice club house with a large ice machine with plenty of free ice, and a great boat ramp. Can't beat that!

One of our members lives in Bellingham and he keeps his Hunter 27 full keel sloop on a mooring behind our club.

Good Luck!
Joe

 

[Birdseye]

Since my last post I talked to one of the mooring guys for Dux Bay. He tells me that there usually is some water where my mooring is and says it's not too bad there.
But $425 a year with mooring sounds pretty good... but if my boat was in Dighton, I may not get out on it as much as I'd want because of the drive over there. I'm 15 minutes from Dux Bay which I like. I'll give it a try this year and see how it goes.

I wouldn't mind checking out your boat some time since you have the big brother to mine. I have some questions about jiffy reefing and reefing in general. I don't think it's set up right on mine. You sound like the guy that might have all the answers I'm looking for.

Take care,
Nelson

 

[Jonrod222]

I have ran aground a couple of times in a sandy mud mix with the board already up, if I didn't immediately let the board down when in deeper water it would get stuck. I would dive under the boat with a big screw driver and pry it down. Sand would fall out from the trunk and once the board moved a little it would fall down on its own.

 

[Joe11688]

Since my last post I talked to one of the mooring guys for Dux Bay. He tells me that there usually is some water where my mooring is and says it's not too bad there.
But $425 a year with mooring sounds pretty good... but if my boat was in Dighton, I may not get out on it as much as I'd want because of the drive over there. I'm 15 minutes from Dux Bay which I like. I'll give it a try this year and see how it goes.

I wouldn't mind checking out your boat some time since you have the big brother to mine. I have some questions about jiffy reefing and reefing in general. I don't think it's set up right on mine. You sound like the guy that might have all the answers I'm looking for.

Take care,
Nelson

Hi Nelson,
I not only have the answers but I also have the pictures. If you would like to come down and see us, I could make arrangements to meet you at the club once we get into full operation next month. I plan on having the water turned on in the club house this Monday and the docks will be going in at the end of this month, I hope.

Your jiffy reefing should be similar to mine if you have Z Spar mast and boom with internal halyards.
My boom has three control lines. The reefing line is on the Port side of the boom. The clew out haul line is in the center, and the topping lift control line is on the Starboard side of the boom.

Before you reef your sail, you must remove the last sail slide from the track. If the sail is already up, I set the topping lift to hold the boom.

Then I lower the sail enough to drop the sail slide out of the track.
I have a short thin braid line that I use as a sail stop. The line sits over the winch and under the sail slides.
In this case, after I've removed the last slide from the track, I tie the short line under the next sail slide using a reef knot.

Then I lower the main halyard and insert reefing grommet on the luff of the sail, over the reefing horn or "ram's head. The run the sail all the way up and cleat it off at the mast.

Then I pull on the reefing line and snub it off at the goose neck.

The topping lift is let off and the loose foot of the sail can be rolled and tied off with the reefing points.

I have sail slides on the foot of my main sail and I tie the reefing points around the rolled sail between the top of the boom and the bottom of the sail in between the sail slides. You sail may have a bolt rope that slides into the groove on the top of your boom.
If your sail doesn't have sail slides on the foot, you would need to tie off the excess sail by tying under your boom.
It's pretty simple once you get used to it.
Joe

 

[Birdseye]

I don't believe I have the same mast as you, I can tell by the tabernacle. When I stopped by D & R last Sept they told me they can't get replacements for my tabernacle any more unless I had it fabricated. I wasn't too happy to hear that.

I'll touch base with you in May and see about getting together.

Thanks for the pics.

 

[Joe11688]

I don't believe I have the same mast as you, I can tell by the tabernacle. When I stopped by D & R last Sept they told me they can't get replacements for my tabernacle any more unless I had it fabricated. I wasn't too happy to hear that.

I'll touch base with you in May and see about getting together.

Thanks for the pics.

I had that stainless steel hinged tabernacle installed back in the mid 1990s. My old tabernacle was similar to yours if you have Z-Spar. I had a guy a Rig-Rite install an exit plate on my mast for my Jib halyard, in the same area as the exit plate for the Main halyard. This eliminated the sheave at the bottom of the mast step, which is a set up that I hated.

You would be better off having Rudy order you a hinged mast step similar to mine and have it installed on your mast. I have a Kenion tabernacle with a utility plate on my boat. Dwyer Mfg makes a plate exactly like it. I would buy the utility plate with it.

You could install the lower half of the Tabernacle and utility plate on your cabin yourself. If your stays are still in good condition and you still want to use them, you will gain approximately 1" or a little more of slack because of the difference in height between the two tabernacles. The original tabernacle having a sheave at the bottom, will be higher than the new tabernacle. So you will need to make up the difference in order to get your stays to come out right. You could always shorten your stays, but it would be more costly to replace the swaged fittings.
I raised the Tabernacle on my cabin by mounting it on a 1- 1/8" thick Teak block. I recommend this highly because it can be very beneficial down the road some day if you ever decide to buy a good roller furler and build a Gin Pole to raise your mast. The 1" will allow your mast to lay almost horizontal when it's pinned to the tabernacle and ready to be raised.
In the pics, the white halyard with the red flecks is the Jib halyard.

 

[Birdseye]

I had that stainless steel hinged tabernacle installed back in the mid 1990s. My old tabernacle was similar to yours if you have Z-Spar. I had a guy a Rig-Rite install an exit plate on my mast for my Jib halyard, in the same area as the exit plate for the Main halyard. This eliminated the sheave at the bottom of the mast step, which is a set up that I hated.

You would be better off having Rudy order you a hinged mast step similar to mine and have it installed on your mast. I have a Kenion tabernacle with a utility plate on my boat. Dwyer Mfg makes a plate exactly like it. I would buy the utility plate with it.

You could install the lower half of the Tabernacle and utility plate on your cabin yourself. If your stays are still in good condition and you still want to use them, you will gain approximately 1" or a little more of slack because of the difference in height between the two tabernacles. The original tabernacle having a sheave at the bottom, will be higher than the new tabernacle. So you will need to make up the difference in order to get your stays to come out right. You could always shorten your stays, but it would be more costly to replace the swaged fittings.
I raised the Tabernacle on my cabin by mounting it on a 1- 1/8" thick Teak block. I recommend this highly because it can be very beneficial down the road some day if you ever decide to buy a good roller furler and build a Gin Pole to raise your mast. The 1" will allow your mast to lay almost horizontal when it's pinned to the tabernacle and ready to be raised.
In the pics, the white halyard with the red flecks is the Jib halyard.

That was a mouthful to swallow all in one bite but will take it into consideration once other expenses are out of the way. I'm curious what the cost was for having the hinged tabernacle put on? I think my boat is pretty stock and I believe it has a few small things that broke along the way and were never repaired. It used to belong to another person that was on this board and the boat was named Shady Lady.
I still have the cover on the boat until my house is painted this month, then I get started getting her ready for spring.

Nelson

 

[Joe11688]

Off hand I couldn't tell you what the cost was back then because the insurance company paid for everything including a new mast that I lost out off Newport. The whole bill came to $2400 include three new stays. You may be able to do this job yourself if you're handy. At the time though, I wouldn't have known how to do it. All I knew was that I wanted a stainless steel hinge plate instead of that chintzy cast Aluminum plate that was on there. I got together with the rigger and he told what he could do to reroute the Jib halyard and he went ahead and did the work. Now that it's in place, it looks so simple to do.

It's a good idea to insulate the stainless steel hardware from the Aluminum in the mast or corrosion can set in. Some guys use plastic from a milk jug. I coated the Aluminum with epoxy and let it dry before inserting the mast plug that holds the Tabernacle. I did this about three years ago when I was working on my mast wiring. I had to have my mast welded and the welders get $80 an hour. So if you plan on having the extrusion on your mast welded, you need to decide whether you want to put $80 into an old mast step or replace it for a little more money.
I love the set up that I have now and when I had a conventional Gennie set up, I was able to use the mast winch for the main and the Jib halyards. The CDI Roller furler has it's own halyard and the Jib halyard is not used. I only use the Jib halyard now for raising/lowering my mast and that's it.

Joe

 

[Birdseye]

I have ran aground a couple of times in a sandy mud mix with the board already up, if I didn't immediately let the board down when in deeper water it would get stuck. I would dive under the boat with a big screw driver and pry it down. Sand would fall out from the trunk and once the board moved a little it would fall down on its own.

Thanks Jonrod,
Not extremely encouraging but we'll just have to see what happens since I'd rather moor than trailer. I'll be in a soft, all muddy bottom, if I get jammed up more than twice I have a plan that I hope I won't have to use.