What would you do? (Episode III)

[Dave J (StarShine)]

Crank up the board and back off ;D

I cheat, my boat is a trailer sailor, an Aquarius. I'd just crank up the swing keel giving me a essentially flat bottom and back off. If I was too late for that I'd still crank up the keel and let her sit flat on her bottom til the tide came back in. And, Oh Yes, get on the radio to warn off any unfortunate (grin) fixed keel boats that may have been planning to come on in.

 

[Tom Dahlgren]

Anchor's away

Throw your anchor as far out as possible and pull on it, as you rock your boat from side to side.

 

[Darryl Hinson]

Heel it over

I have a spare halyard rigged for stuff like this.I tie a long line onto my halyard and tie an anchor to one end ....the other end goes around my jib winch located on the bottom of my mast.I then row the anchor out as for as I can ....set it well and get back on the boat and crank on the winch....the line from the anchor pulls at the top of my mast and that heels the boat way over (lots of leverage)....everyone is on the rail to give it more heel....usually that long lever will pull me over enough to get my keel ou of the mud....I can really pull it over....The engine is running before I start this manuever and I try to back out .....the geometry backs you in a circle so you have to play with it and let out some line....trying it again.....Used it twice by myself....Easier method is to row out with a kedge and use a winch on board to pull backwards using your engine...(simplest) not always enough, though....Be sure to call your friends...someone may have some more horsepower.That's why we have Tow Boat US ...if they are in the area....I dont care who you are...you are gonna go aground....you can count on it...

 

[Ross]

Tom, I don't know about you but

I can't picture myself throwing a 35 pound CQR anchor and the attached 3/8 chain more than about 3 feet. In three feet of water I could walk it out until I was chin deep. If I wore a PFD the anchor would still keep my feet on the bottom.

 

[Sid Ballantyne]

SeaTow of course

I would call Seatow thats why I pay the 100 bucks a year cause this has happened to me.

 

[Sunshine]

It's time for sundowners.

You are there.

 

[John]

Relax, Have A Drink

If normal attempts to back out fail, I would try to make sure the boat leaned/settled with the deck to shore, place an anchor out as far in deep water as possible and tighten to keep tension on the line. Then it is time to sit back and have a cocktail.I have recently had two friends cause serious damage to their boats keel attachments by trying to use brute force to get a boat ungrounded. Extrodinary loads can be placed on the keel joint when one tries to lift, turn and wiggle that keel through the mud.As long as the boat and crew are not in any danger, sit back and relax, nature will refloat you in a couple of hours.

 

[Mark Wieber]

Mostly with the cocktail crowd

You said weekend cruise, right? Its Friday, we still have lots of ice?Ok, 1.5 ft of water will probably cause the boat to be an uncomfortable bed, and lousy kitchen. I would be tempted to try for the deeper water ASAP. Take the anchor and rode in the dingy, and set up a kedge in deeper water. Row back letting the rode out as you return. Have a float (or the dingy) attached to the bitter end just-in-case. Use the most scope you can get away with. Run the rode to a primary sheet winch and apply some tension. Put everything heavy and easily moved in the stern (hopefully still over "10 feet" of water). Start the motor and attempt to back off. If this fails, switch the road to the main halyard, and attempt to use the kedge anchor to tilt the boat while running the engine in reverse.I have an unlimited Captains Card with Boat US, and am pretty religious about monitoring Channel 16 (having a radio on board). I would only call for assistance if I felt my boat or its passengers were in harms way. There is no shame in waiting out the tide with a cocktail, and prudent mariners only call for help when they need it.Earlier posts mention better prop thrust in forward. This is an excellent piece of knowledge, but if you have run aground bow first in a rapidly shoaling area, probably reverse is still your best bet. Especially, if the stern is still over deeper water.I loved the post about regularly using the keel as a depth finder I will find occassion to borrow that line.

 

[ClownPilot]

Bigger trouble than you thought!

Being stuck in muck or mud may be the least of your worries these days. I know for a fact that if you get stuck in South Florida and it is protected waters, you may cause damage to the sea grass beds and this can cost upwards of 40 thousand dollars in damages. Such was one case in South Miami Biscayne Bay.So my answer would be, 'Always safer than sorry'. And for that, I would gently remain still until the time when high tide affords enough lift to the boat to make-way safely without damage to the bottom environment.... otherwise I'd use TnT and blast my way out!Tom

 

[Bad Obsession]

Let the tide go out

I'd say let the tide go out and careen my vessle (not sure on the spelling there). Scrape the barnicles off of the haul and prepare the long nines for the rest of the fleet! Removing the barnicles should give me that little extra bit of speed to catch everyone else. Don't run out the sweeps until the tide comes in and you are free!Actually, I would get in the dingy and set the ancors out deep. Use the primary winches to winch her back. If this is a deep keel I would also heel her over at the same time. My 30 is a wing keel so I would keep her straight up and down. I wouldn't be that stuck if I was in 3.5 feet because I only draw 3 feet 10 inches.

 

[Ross]

Bad you would be stuck! 3' 10" is

3.83 feet.

 

[gmeyerga]

high and dry

I learned involontarily that my fin keel 82 h27 will float up nicelyafter falling high and dry as long as the mast points upat least a little. Since then I have repeatedly put her onthe beach at half-tide to clean bottoms and prop. An anchorin the right direction and reasonable assurance that there willbe no waves is all that I need. For anything less than high anddry a PBR will see me through, unless the bottom is hard and there is a swell. Then I would heed all the good advice of the other contributions to avoid the painful thumps as she lifts off and settlesdown again.

 

[Rob]

Laugh

I would sail by and make sure the leaners have plenty of beer. I have a catamaran with 18 inch draft. But i have run aground, just got off and pushed back in deeper water.

 

[Peter]

outboard or inboard?

It makes a little bit of a difference how the boat is powered, but sticky mud is a sticky situation, I've found, all too many times, no matter the boat. Gotta think about what the mud is doing--suction around the keel. If that is what is holding you in, you just gotta break that suction. With an outboard, its simple. Forward gear, full throttle (give or take), motor and rudder hard over to one side (preferably away from deep water, so you cn drive off within 360 degrees if you're lucky). The leverage of the length of the boat from the motor to the pivot point where the keel is stuck in the mud provides enough leverage to break the suction and allow the boat to plow right on out with momentum into deep water. That was my little secret to getting off by myself within 30 seconds, then watching someone else with full crew hiked out and a one on the boom take an hour and a half on Pagan River around Smithfield. But it works every (sic) time.Inboards are a little more challenging since I can't direct the drive, but I find swinging the rudder with the motor driving helps to break the mud around the rudder and/or some bite to the water so I can get "steerage" and then use the same technique, albeit a much slower turn and maybe some more wiggling of the rudder as I come around. If its breezy, put up the appropriate sail to help you turn. A tight jib can do wonders in this regard and induce some heel.I've done this so much around Chesapeake Bay, if you haven't run aground, then you ain't been anywhere. By that measure, I've been to alot of places.

 

[jerry Keto]

Been there, tried all that!

Friday afternoon, single handed, 30' LOA with 6' of keel, navigating the flats of Great Bay in NH and the channel marker is not where it's supposed be, it guided me straight into the mud just after the tide turned (ebb of course). Tried all the tricks to escape the suction and rapidly falling 6' tide. A couple of fisherman in a skiff tried as well but gave up in frustration and gave me a cold beer out of empathy. First mistake, I called the Coast Guard to inform them of a navigational marker out of location. They could care less about the marker and immediately launched into the standard emergency checklist with stupid questions like; is your anchor deployed (kidding, right?), do you have your life jacket on (in 3' of water?), do I have a medical condition other than a strong desire for more beer (I made that part up). I asked them if should I try to lay the boat over with the falling tide or remain perched on the keel. They didn't know the answer to that one but asked me to check-in every half hour to see if I was okay..... So I stood precariously on the keel in 1' of water, climbed a loooong way down to the dinghy and scrubbed the bottom (hey what else was there to do?). Needless to say the tide turned and floated me off some hours later, made my way to Portsmouth to meet my wife who was by now in a panic (7 hours overdue). She had called the Coast Guard station I had spoken to no less than 10 times and they said they hadn't heard anything from me (left hand, right hand syndrome?). So, calling the Coast Guard was a huge waste of time and only demonstrated an area for improvement on their part. My lesson learned was don't trust all markers and leave on the rising tide!!!

 

[Alex]

Out on a limjb

Tacking in to the Balboa Yacht club, along the entrance to the Panama Canal, groundings happen frequently, with tides up to 18 ft. My most successful solution was to turn the boat 180 degrees, have her lean to port to keep the raw water intake under water, send someone to sit on the very end of the boom, let the boom out as far as she will go, and give her full throttle forward.

 

[jim kolstoe]

outside the scenario

The replies generally sound like the standard advice I heard when I began sailing. But having little experinence with grounding (my h23 has a 2'3" wing keel - the 3.5' depth might, at worst, kick up my rudder), I was interested in the mentions of outboard motors instead of the presumptive inboard of the scenario. Considering the issue raised about over stressing the keel/hull joint, the following question seems pertinent: if I ran my outboard facing backwards (to get maximum thrust) would the prop wash from my outboard remove material from around the keel to help free it? To Randy/Nautiduck: I'm at Fern Ridge's Richardson Marina "A" dock, where do you hang out?Jim Kolstoe, h23 Kara's Boo

 

[Joe11688]

Don't give up with the outboard

I've had this happen to me more than just a few times, and in most cases I've been able to use my outboard to work her free after I got her sail down. My boat is very shallow draft with my centerboard in the up position, I put my outboard in reverse and try to work her loose by backing out to Starboard, and then to Port. In most cases I'll gain a couple of feet at a time until she works free. If that don't work, I might try kedging her out by dropping an anchor from my kayak a good distance directly astern. If that don't work, I'll get on the radio and call my friends and tell them that I'll be late in meeting with them.