For us newbies, what is the best way to get a wing keel off a grounding (free the keel once the boat has grounded). Particularly in soft mud or sand as the Chesapeake is for most of the bay?
Un-grounding a Wing Keel
- Thread starter Morgan0505
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If you trust your rigging you can pull it sideway from a halyard with a power boat.
You can also take the anchor out in the dink and winch it clockwise or counter clockwise from a jib winch, back and forth if necesary. That one takes a while.
I don't have much experience on the boat, but I have more than one experience on the sand bar.
You can also take the anchor out in the dink and winch it clockwise or counter clockwise from a jib winch, back and forth if necesary. That one takes a while.
I don't have much experience on the boat, but I have more than one experience on the sand bar.
Winged keels are harder to free as the wings create a suction effect that makes getting free harder. Pl;us, once the boat is heeled over the wing is still in the bottom. Traditional methods should work. Heeling the boat as much as possible with a halyard or people on the boom is the first step.
Have you noticed how much a wing keel resembles a bruce anchor? Wait for the tide. Wiggle the boat left and right with engine and rudder. Both forward and reverse. Very short brusts of power you don't want to go any where in forward gear.
If you run aground hard, just wait it out if possible. If it's light, first try reverse very hard with sails dropped and if not that, then try to spin the boat and go forward.
NOT A GOOD IDEA TO HEAL THE BOAT! I've done it and don't know if I'd want to do it again. You have to heal the boat a good 45+ degrees and you are not going to be able to do that with an anchor. Put it like this, when I did it, the head sink was under water and water was rushing in. The deck was a foot under water before she broke out. That's a lot of stress on the rig. I used my spin haylard and it hasn't been the same since and I need to go aloft to find out why. We used a powerboat with 300 hp to heal the boat and pull it off and it took a lot of that 300 hp to do it so that's why I don't think you will be able to do it with an anchor and winch.
One time I got stuck and it took TowBoat US 3 hours to get me unstuck. I must have ran aground 6 times. Half of the time I've been able to get myself off with the motor or a quick U turn under sails. I hate wing keels!!!! It's soooo much easier to get a fin keel unstuck with an anchor and haylard.
NOT A GOOD IDEA TO HEAL THE BOAT! I've done it and don't know if I'd want to do it again. You have to heal the boat a good 45+ degrees and you are not going to be able to do that with an anchor. Put it like this, when I did it, the head sink was under water and water was rushing in. The deck was a foot under water before she broke out. That's a lot of stress on the rig. I used my spin haylard and it hasn't been the same since and I need to go aloft to find out why. We used a powerboat with 300 hp to heal the boat and pull it off and it took a lot of that 300 hp to do it so that's why I don't think you will be able to do it with an anchor and winch.
One time I got stuck and it took TowBoat US 3 hours to get me unstuck. I must have ran aground 6 times. Half of the time I've been able to get myself off with the motor or a quick U turn under sails. I hate wing keels!!!! It's soooo much easier to get a fin keel unstuck with an anchor and haylard.
Bad Idea to heel the boat with a winged keel! Actuall puts more stress on ther rig than with a fin keel where it does decrease your draft.
Better to try putting several crew members on the bow and try to back off under power. If it's soft bottom, try to spin aroound and go out the way you came in.
In my, thankfully limited experience, of grounding the only thing I've found that works is waiting for the water to come up. The towboat US or Sea Tow would work I'm sure but the onetime I ran aground the weather was so bad (which is why I was aground in the first place) they couldn't get to me. Spent a rough night aground and next morning was floating. Fortunately no damage to the boat.
Fortunately not a lot of experience grounding,
but the two things that have worked for me is (1) to get crew up on the bow right away (lifts the wings a little) start engine and full reverse throttle, or (2) start engine and use power to spin her in a tight circle and go back where you came from.
but the two things that have worked for me is (1) to get crew up on the bow right away (lifts the wings a little) start engine and full reverse throttle, or (2) start engine and use power to spin her in a tight circle and go back where you came from.
But - You need to be aware that the prop wash that's generated when you're at full reverse power while stuck will stir up a lot of crud off the bottom, which will get sucked into the engine's cooling circuit. Probably be wise to check and/or replace the impeller after you do that maneuver.
Stu is right. If you don't want to or cannot wait for the tide, then putting as much weight on the bow as is possible is the best alternative. This will lift the aft facing wings of the keel and allow the prop the best chance to escape. The smaller and lighter the boat the better chance of this working. Trying this on a 49 would be of little use.
Heeling the boat over by whatever means will only drive the wing deeper and run the risk of bending it.
Heeling the boat over by whatever means will only drive the wing deeper and run the risk of bending it.
Another Suggestion
On several occasions I have been able to get off by using the following technique...
As soon as you go aground put the engine in reverse at about 2/3 max RPM.
Take all crew up to foredeck and have everyone, in unison, run from one side of the foredeck to the other, pause, then run back, pause, and repeat this at least 4-5 times. You are trying to rock the boat from side to side and break the keel loose.
If you're lucky, and the boat hasn't gone aground too badly, the rocking will break the boat free. As the boat begins to move, the helmsman quickly returns to the helm to regain steerage, and the crew toasts their brilliant captain.
If this doesn't work, at least you and your crew have gotten some good exercise, done something proactive, and looked like crazy sail boaters while you wait for TowBoat US.
On several occasions I have been able to get off by using the following technique...
As soon as you go aground put the engine in reverse at about 2/3 max RPM.
Take all crew up to foredeck and have everyone, in unison, run from one side of the foredeck to the other, pause, then run back, pause, and repeat this at least 4-5 times. You are trying to rock the boat from side to side and break the keel loose.
If you're lucky, and the boat hasn't gone aground too badly, the rocking will break the boat free. As the boat begins to move, the helmsman quickly returns to the helm to regain steerage, and the crew toasts their brilliant captain.
If this doesn't work, at least you and your crew have gotten some good exercise, done something proactive, and looked like crazy sail boaters while you wait for TowBoat US.
I have tried heeling the boat and it has not worked for me. The only manuever that has worked most of the time is to alternate turning the boat under power right and left until it can be turned around close to where you were coming from. For the other times there is Tow Boat US.
Grounded
Just so happens I grounded my wing keel ( Catalina 34 ) a couple of times in the Chesapeake this summer while on a cruise from Florida home port. Raised the sails one time with all crew to leeward. No problem. The last time I was hard aground at high tide. Raised the sails, backed them and reversed off. Some of the responders may not have wing keel experience because twice in Georgia we got off by power sailing forward.
Unfortunately for me because of the shallow draft I became less cautious. Hopefully this will change!
Just so happens I grounded my wing keel ( Catalina 34 ) a couple of times in the Chesapeake this summer while on a cruise from Florida home port. Raised the sails one time with all crew to leeward. No problem. The last time I was hard aground at high tide. Raised the sails, backed them and reversed off. Some of the responders may not have wing keel experience because twice in Georgia we got off by power sailing forward.
Unfortunately for me because of the shallow draft I became less cautious. Hopefully this will change!
In my Hunter 23 I am aground in less than 3 feet of water. Normally I single hand, but what I suggest I imagine would work even better with crew; everyone get off the boat and haul! Just my 200lbs off the boat aids flotation remarkably, and if you can make that 350-450 lbs, with the additional help of a kedge of crew, even better! Keep in mind when this happens again, you will most likely be single-handing for it is hard to find crew you can jettison twice.
Early on I was told "if you don't run aground, you're not sailing". I've found it liberating to have had the experience numerous times now; I can deal with it better and as a matter of fact since my depth sounder crapped out I'm finding sailing shallow water more pleasureable (knowing I am merely near running aground only only stresses me; I lose sight of the fact that I am sailing, not grounded). I keep more aware and when in short water I just go very carefully and have a better feel and plan of response. I do admit I maintain "unlimited" towing insurance and am always humbly grateful to meet the local TowBoatUS franchisee; hard working brave souls, they are!
Early on I was told "if you don't run aground, you're not sailing". I've found it liberating to have had the experience numerous times now; I can deal with it better and as a matter of fact since my depth sounder crapped out I'm finding sailing shallow water more pleasureable (knowing I am merely near running aground only only stresses me; I lose sight of the fact that I am sailing, not grounded). I keep more aware and when in short water I just go very carefully and have a better feel and plan of response. I do admit I maintain "unlimited" towing insurance and am always humbly grateful to meet the local TowBoatUS franchisee; hard working brave souls, they are!
In the soft mud of the Neuse River the usual cure to a soft grounding with a wing keel is to rock the boat under power foreward and aft while pointing the moving end toward where you believe deeper water should be.
In shoaling sand, such as at Lockwood's Folly, N.C., I came to rest crossing the inlet with a light swell coming in from starboard causing the boat to rise about two inches and then bump. I knew from passing traffic that the channel was about twenty feet to port. I alternately powered foreward and aft on the rise and eventually bumped my way back to the channel, just in time to clear up for two dredge rigs with a quarter mile each of associated piping coming down channel.
Steve Kamp
H 38 'Carolina"
In shoaling sand, such as at Lockwood's Folly, N.C., I came to rest crossing the inlet with a light swell coming in from starboard causing the boat to rise about two inches and then bump. I knew from passing traffic that the channel was about twenty feet to port. I alternately powered foreward and aft on the rise and eventually bumped my way back to the channel, just in time to clear up for two dredge rigs with a quarter mile each of associated piping coming down channel.
Steve Kamp
H 38 'Carolina"
I ran aground twice last night
This wont help the wing keel people, the first time I knew I was headed for a shoal and pushed my luck and stopped in the sand, four or five winds with the keel winch and off I went. The second time it was dark and I was off course and out of wine, stuck again, I went below and quickly wound up the keel, the handle slipped off the winch and hit me in the head (red wine) I have a lump 24 hrs later. Swing keels have their drawbacks but I like em. Tj
This wont help the wing keel people, the first time I knew I was headed for a shoal and pushed my luck and stopped in the sand, four or five winds with the keel winch and off I went. The second time it was dark and I was off course and out of wine, stuck again, I went below and quickly wound up the keel, the handle slipped off the winch and hit me in the head (red wine) I have a lump 24 hrs later. Swing keels have their drawbacks but I like em. Tj
All these tips have helped me a lot!!! Although this is a year old thread, I want to thank you all for the advice. I book-marked this thread just after buying my P31-2 in December and used the tips in the 5 or 6 times I've grounded since putting the boat in late March in the shallow north Barnegat Bay, NJ. In all cases flattening the boat helped to get the wings clear. On hard bottom groundings I find backing out is best. On the many other soft groundings the tip about getting on the bow and moving from port to starboard to free the wings has worked. I've always checked for best water depth to exit with a boat pole and powered out forward, spinning left or right sometimes, if I had to seek deeper water. Finally, I did buy the unlimited towing to be safe… Thanks to all for the tips in helping spend more time sailing and less aground.
My wing keel is very wide...if you heel the boat, the side of the wing toward the heel will actually dig in deeper and you'll become more stuck.
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