sailorman
Well-known member
Knew her well, Ramsholt based, we were near neighbours with the Blue Contessa
Hoping to return to the East Coast; a question of draft
- Thread starter Chae_73
- Start date
Chae_73
Active member
Ah, I thought I had spotted Nasiim from time to time around Ramsholt - viewed from the pub!
Chae_73
Active member
Our first boat which had a cabin was an Anderson 22, which would float in under 2' of water with the keel right up. Great little boat.
LittleSister
Well-known member
There will be few on this forum who are unaware of the merits of the Anderson 22.
There is a stalwart Anderson 22 proponent on the forum who makes sure of that!
sailorman
Well-known member
Some have found room for a gimbaled Aga stove
Still Grinning
Member
Well, we have a 33' Lifting Centreboard Beneteau. 3' with the board up and nearly 7' with it down. I remain to be convinced that the same boat with the standard fixed 5'5 keel would be appreciably better to windward. Maybe the best of both worlds? Not biased in any way at all, oh no, not me! ;-)
And it will sit upright on hard ground with the twin rudders and stub keel.
Mind you, might not be the fastest boat out there.....
And it will sit upright on hard ground with the twin rudders and stub keel.
Mind you, might not be the fastest boat out there.....
pyrojames
Well-known member
My previous boat drew 5'10" and i went everywhere. My current boats draw 7'10" and after 10 years on the east coast I have moved south for a bit, it was somewhat restrictive (no Ore or Deben). I know a chap at SYH who draws near enough 10', but I dont know how much he gets out!
Skellum
Well-known member
Yes - I see plenty of First 36.7 for sale but they all draw 7’ so out of the question.
PeterWright
Well-known member
Hi,
My previous yacht had 1.8m draft and I sailed the East Coast, based on the River Orwell, for over 10 years with her. Can't have been much of a problem because around 10 years ago I replaced her with the current boat of 1.83 m (6 foot) draft, still based on the Orwell.
For local cruising (Ramsgate - Lowestoft) I have a concept of half tide ports, i.e. those which are accessible with 6 foot draft when above half tide - no need to worry about Springs or neaps because half tide will give you about the same depth in either case. This saves you lots of arithmetic with tide tables and includes Southwold, Ore Bar, Deben bar (just nowadays) and Walton Backwater, Once over the Deben or Ore bars a fair bit of river is available at all tides up to Methersgate on the Deben and Aldeburgh on the Alde. We visit the Tide Mill regularly (I'm a former resident of Woodbridge) but clearly plan to arrive just before High Water and avoid neaps. I've never taken either of these through Havengore or up to Faversham or Snape (that's what the dinghy's for), but it's possible to anchor under the cliff at Iken or off the mouth of Faversham creek in the E Swale.
You just have to get used to sailing with 3 inches under the keel. Look for the boat that grabs your heart and go for her!
Peter
My previous yacht had 1.8m draft and I sailed the East Coast, based on the River Orwell, for over 10 years with her. Can't have been much of a problem because around 10 years ago I replaced her with the current boat of 1.83 m (6 foot) draft, still based on the Orwell.
For local cruising (Ramsgate - Lowestoft) I have a concept of half tide ports, i.e. those which are accessible with 6 foot draft when above half tide - no need to worry about Springs or neaps because half tide will give you about the same depth in either case. This saves you lots of arithmetic with tide tables and includes Southwold, Ore Bar, Deben bar (just nowadays) and Walton Backwater, Once over the Deben or Ore bars a fair bit of river is available at all tides up to Methersgate on the Deben and Aldeburgh on the Alde. We visit the Tide Mill regularly (I'm a former resident of Woodbridge) but clearly plan to arrive just before High Water and avoid neaps. I've never taken either of these through Havengore or up to Faversham or Snape (that's what the dinghy's for), but it's possible to anchor under the cliff at Iken or off the mouth of Faversham creek in the E Swale.
You just have to get used to sailing with 3 inches under the keel. Look for the boat that grabs your heart and go for her!
Peter
Skellum
Well-known member
Good to know!
johnalison
Well-known member
A well-known MLSC member bought a Samphire 29. On the only occasion he tried to race it the cross-trees touched the water somewhere off Bradwell and he sold it shortly after. I did the same race in my Mystere with a No 1 genoa and reefed main.
fredrussell
Well-known member
I’m a fan of lift keel boats because I sail on the East coast, but also because I’m a crap sailor that constantly runs aground through inattentive helming. Parker’s are lovely but none too cheap, my vote goes to the Super Seal 26.
Marmalade
Well-known member
Lots of mythology about drafts and east coast sailing...
We draw 2.01m - 6ft 6" and we've been into the Tidemill, into Heybridge Basin, we anchor in the backwaters, the Ore, the Deben, we criss-cross the Thames estuary and the spitway and so on and so on...
We have to know the state of tide when we're going shallow-ish but shouldn't a competent sailor know that anyway? All of this leads me to my point... choose a boat for the accomodation and how it sails - within reason don't worry about draft.
We draw 2.01m - 6ft 6" and we've been into the Tidemill, into Heybridge Basin, we anchor in the backwaters, the Ore, the Deben, we criss-cross the Thames estuary and the spitway and so on and so on...
We have to know the state of tide when we're going shallow-ish but shouldn't a competent sailor know that anyway? All of this leads me to my point... choose a boat for the accomodation and how it sails - within reason don't worry about draft.
westhinder
Well-known member
Kukri
Well-known member
I don’t think you need to worry
Dan Tribe
Well-known member
My boat also draws 1.8m and we don't find that too restrictive, although we no longer anchor at Iken Cliff, which I miss.
I noticed when we came out for a scrub, that the bottom foot of the lead keel was nice and shiny!
Chae_73
Active member
Many thanks for all of your helpful and thought provoking replies. I'm pleased to hear that people with 6' or more of draft are happily sailing the East Coast.
"Find the boat that you want (and plan accordingly)" seems sound advice; it always feels good to be in the boat that you want to be in!
On the topic of rivers and tides, my recollection is that the Deben is marginally more accommodating than the Ore, in that you don't have quite the extent of long slog against the flood tide to get to the river mouth, (compared to leaving from Orford) with nowhere to "hang out" near the mouth of the Ore, as there is at Felixtowe ferry, if you fancy taking the ebb and waiting. I accept that it's about 6 and half a dozen. The flexibility of a berth on the Orwell is very appealing, but is further away from our Suffolk land base.
"Find the boat that you want (and plan accordingly)" seems sound advice; it always feels good to be in the boat that you want to be in!
On the topic of rivers and tides, my recollection is that the Deben is marginally more accommodating than the Ore, in that you don't have quite the extent of long slog against the flood tide to get to the river mouth, (compared to leaving from Orford) with nowhere to "hang out" near the mouth of the Ore, as there is at Felixtowe ferry, if you fancy taking the ebb and waiting. I accept that it's about 6 and half a dozen. The flexibility of a berth on the Orwell is very appealing, but is further away from our Suffolk land base.
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RivalRedwing
Well-known member
Its not that bad, a couple of weeks ago we came out of the Ore at about 1.5 hours before high (for a quicker passage to Felixstowe) having left Orford 3 hours before high, and that was at the top of springs. A few more revs than normal but it doesn't hurt to give the engine a bit of a run from time to time. Anchoring in the Butley River is an option too.
Leaving the Deben or the Ore is manageable, I view the risk of not being able to return as more of an issue should the weather turn or after nightfall, hence we are on the Orwell.
Leaving the Deben or the Ore is manageable, I view the risk of not being able to return as more of an issue should the weather turn or after nightfall, hence we are on the Orwell.
Aquaboy
Well-known member
To my mind the shallower (or variable ) the draft the more you can sail with the tide...
dombuckley
Well-known member
I had the pleasure of surveying her at Melton boatyard in Woodbridge the tail end of 2012 - you'll be please to know she was in very good order. Saw her again (in passing) at the Lowestoft Cruising Club last year, so she's very much still around.
