Sailing a 23.5 in shallow water

[Tom L]

I am now sailing my Hunter 23.5 in the bay at Ocean City, MD. Much of the bay is less than 4 or 5 ft deep. I am afraid to lower my keel very far because it might drag on the bottom too much so I just let it down a little and tied its line off. It seemed to sail ok and allowed me to sail about as close to the wind as when I had the keel the whole way down. The only thing I noticed was that it was a little harder to get turned when I tack.

Any advice on harm I might be doing or any dangers?

 

[Hugh Straub]

The only "danger" is a lack of reponsiveness to your helm. Not so dangerous effects would include increased leeway when on the wind and moving the center of lateral resistance aft of the sail's center of effort which would give your boat a tendency to fall off when beating. These ill effects are much less significant than grounding as those on this site who have lost their centerboards will attest.

Kind regards

Hugh

 

[Mike in Cape Cod]

Tom,

I want to add to Hugh's comments..........I moor my H23.5 in Cape Cod Bay, Ma. Tides rise to 12 feet at that mooring and when the tide goes out (low tide) the boat sits on soft sand. I have been mooring this way for the past 10 years. My board became detached from the boat because of the following :The conclusion of how the centerboard came off the boat is that the control line (uphaul/downhaul) broke about three inches from where it attaches to the centerboard. The board fell vertical and the tide went out driving the board into the sand below the boat and the wave action and the weight of the boat wallowed out the bushing in the board which holds the pivot pin in place. It did not take long for the board to detach under that strain. I had been concerned about the weight of the boat on the hull possibly causing damage to the hull or board but was advised by Hunter that the boat was designed to allow it to be beached. Here is a photo of the boat on the sand at low tide.

 

[teebutch]

Mike how u get to your. Boat to go sailing. Walk to it at low tide. Wait for high tide go sailing. Come back at high tide. Then wait for low tide and walk back to your car? No dingy necessary. Planning your sailing must be a challenge. I'll bet the price of the morring Is cheap.

 

[Hugh Straub]

I don't want to hijack Tom's thread, but I am interested to know whether Mike would leave his ballast drain valve open to minimize the weight on the CB structure when the boat dries out at low tide?

Kind regards

Hugh

 

[teebutch]

Draining the ballast seems like a good idea but when it fills back up what about sand getting in?

 

[Mike in Cape Cod]

I keep the ballast control closed to prevent sand and sea creatures from getting into the ballast compartment. When the tide comes in the ballast fills as the gasket on these 23.5's is not 100% tight and when the tide goes out the water drains back out.
To answer "teebutch's" question, I often walk out to the mooring when the tide is coming in and the water at the boat is knee deep, and sail away.
On weeks when it is low tide I leave the mooring when the tide is going out and come back in with the tide six hours later and walk to shore. An annual mooring permit costs $75.00 in my town. Other nearby towns charge up to $500.00 per season so I am lucky. The nearest marina is town owned and has a fifteen year waiting list and only allows boats up to 22 feet LOA. (