Running Aground

[frmreilly]

Yes it finally happened -- eating at a dock & dine & coming out to find my O'Day 27 hard aground. The keel was stuck in relatively hard sand. Winching, pulling the halyard, pushing, etc -- nothing helped. Finally, some good fellows across the channel pulled me out with a truck. My fear -- When I was stuck in the ground, I couldn't move the rudder. Did that pressure cause damage? How would I know? There was no apparent problem on the way back.

 

[wayne]

Nightmare

Every sailors nightmare. I haven't grounded my C380 and I don't plan too, but I guess it could happen. Didn't you check the tides? Where I sail the tidal drop is around 1 metre, up in Western Australia, Broome the tidal movement is 8 metres. You could imagine dropping anchor in 4 metres of water and wakeing up on dry beach, at least the kids could build sand castles until the tide came back in. Check the tidal movement is my motto.RegardsWayne

 

[Warren M.]

Aground..

It sounds like you didn't actually "run" aground, but rather found yourself aground when the tide dropped. So you know you didn't damage the boat, at first, from going into the sand. It is possible, however, that some damage could have been done when the truck pulled you (and your keel and rudder) through that sand to get you off. "Possible" is the operative word. If you have even the slightest concerns about this event, have the boat hauled and inspected by a pro. FWIW, I don't know much about the O'Day 27 (I assume it has a shallow wing keel or is that the 272?), but any kind of grounding that would bury your rudder is something to give serious thought to in order to make sure that never happens again. Does the depth of the rudder exceed that of the keel? I hope not....

 

[David Hoch]

The Keel

If your boat has a fixed keel, you might want to see how often the bilge pump runs if it's set on automatic. I had to get towed off once in a Hunter 36 and it caused the keel joint to start leaking. I noticed when we got home when the biblge pump ran more often than normal...

 

[rsn48]

Don't get a tow

In my sailing classes a long time ago at the Jib set in Vancouver (now defunct) I was given these instructions when going aground.Once aground, usually due to tidal influences, wait until the tide went out further. Grab a pail and some brushes and clean the bottom of the boat to make it look like you intentionally planned your little mistake. This way you save face while waiting for the tide to return.Also don't get a tow, the boat would have been better left where it was and wait for the tide to come in. People purposely tie up to jetties where their boat will be grounded on seasonally low tides for the very purpose of cleaning the boat without having to pay for a lift. Towing the boat over ground is likely to do more damage than waiting out a grounding.Also, what you really want to check is your rudder and where it is attached to make sure that hasn't loosened up. I have a story I won't bore you with related to this very issue, but I will say this: imagine you are sailing and your boat starts to fill with water, even though you have hit nothing, then imagine turning on your electric bilge only to not have it work, then imagine using your hand pump built into the boat, only to have the handle break off; imagine it is getting darker and darker.....

 

[Greg2230]

Use a spare halyard...

If your boat is a fin keel, sometimes you can use a spare halyard to pull the masthead in an athwartship direction (I love that word...even if I don't use it correctly). This can heel the boat and lift the keel from the sand...if there is enough water to float the hull. If its careened, just do as rsn48 said, clean the bottom and tell everyone you meant to do that A wing keel...you're stuck! Need to wait for the tide. I understand that that is one of the biggest disadvantages to a wing keel...not easy to unground.As for the rudder, you were the one there. You saw it. You would be the best person here to guess at the possible damage. At the very least, I'd dive to inspect it. Check the rudder post for straightness and security. If you're still uneasy, haul it and check it out real good. The money spent hauling it will be well worth it, even if it just offers you peace of mind.--Greg