Waited to long h22 is sitting in the mud.

[GeorgiaBII]

HELP!

I just got the call telling me that my Hunter 22 is sitting on it's fixed keel in the mud next to my dock. With job and weather problems I didn't make it to the lake in time this year to pull it out.

As I understand it it's listing a couple degrees to the dock side and most of the hull is clear of the water. Any thoughts on freeing my boat so I can pull it out?

Worst case if I can't free it how should I brace it for the winter until the water comes back up?

Thanks

Stupid sailor.

 

[FHHUBER]

The answer is going to depend a lot on accessibility.

To get that thing to water might require a crane. Would it be cheaper to lift it out and get it on the trailer or to brace it to prevent hull damage is a question of how hard it is to get the crane in there.
Can the crane even get in there? (floating on a barge or by driving on its wheels/tracks)

Note that lifting it with the crane can be problematic and boats have been dropped...

There's also the possibility of using one of the small floating boat lifts if there's enough water and then floating it out. Then you can then lower it in deeper water to head to the ramp and trailer.
There might be someone at the marina who has one and would loan/rent it for a couple of hours...

You say its in mud. Is it essentially stuck and thus forced to wait for water to float it? (and maybe digging to free it)
Would the mud allow rigging up some bracing or would the attempt to support the hull just be wasted effort?

You need a local in-person expert.

We can think of lots of possibilities...
But without seeing the situation its all wild guesses.

 

[capta]

First, I'd take down the mast. Empty the boat as much as you can. As above if you can, get a crane to put it on your trailer. Dropping a 22 foot boat is unlikely, what's it weigh a thousand pounds? Otherwise, I guess it will sit through the winter tied up so she won't lean against anything, unless ice will be a problem.

 

[Ken Cross]

Another option:

Depending on how deep the water is could you put a weight on a halyard to heel it over until the keel is clear of the bottom, then tow it to deeper water. Or alternately just connect the halyard to the tow craft.

Ken

 

[DougM]

We have spent some time in England and have seen many boats there that have stilt like outriggers that pivot vertically. These allow the boats to remain standing on their keels as the tide goes out. That may work as a stopgap until the water comes back and if it doesn't freeze over the winter.

Otherwise I would vote for the suggestion of taking the halyard from the masthead and attempting to careen the boat so that it could float free.

 

[MitchM]

how much water do you need to float? and when might that occur? until then, i like the idea of a line to top of mast keeping her semi-upright until there's water to float her off.

 

[Scott T-Bird]

Is this at your private dock? Are you in Alabama? Is the water level coming back in the Spring after a winter drawdown? If yes to all, I wouldn't worry about ice and just try to brace the boat so that it is mostly vertical against the dock. Tie it off so it can't tilt the other way. Spring will solve your problem ... just make sure all thru holes and/or drains are closed before the water level rises!

 

[nlneilson]

Get some flotation bags, fasten them under the hull, fill them up with air and just float the boat out. The bags will have no problem pulling the keel out of the mud.

edit: spend some time on you tube to see how it can be done.

 

[GeorgiaBII]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I was able to float it out and get it on the trailer after a couple hours of work.

What I did was run a line from the main halyard to the neighbors dock piling and crank the boat over onto it's side. Tried to then pull it out of the mud with the pontoon boat but no joy. Ended up running another line from the piling to the cleats on deck and used a come along winch to slide the boat out some before we were able to push it into deeper water.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Suggest that you reconsider where to dock your boat and on a lake, the further out and on a floating dock is better.

 

[GeorgiaBII]

While that would have been ideal it's not practical for us. The floating dock is for the speed boat and it's pretty crappily attached to the hard dock. I wouldn't trust my boat there. Farther out on the hard dock and I risk having my hull beat up by the floating dock bouncing around. Sadly the only decent spot is where it sits in those pictures. I just waited too long this year.

 

[Ron20324]

Do you have an EPA permit to plow that close to the shoreline?

 

[GeorgiaBII]

Do you have an EPA permit to plow that close to the shoreline?

HAHA

 

[dscribner]

Your boat can sail with its rail in the water. Pay out some halyard, get as far to port as you can and put you back into it. You should be able to roll her over. If not, sink a 50 gallon drum, then lift it with your halyard. Your boat WILL heel and float out. For a real thrill, do it under motor.