3' 6" draft around the Solent advice!

Taking the ground;

Rule 1/ make sure you are in a sheltered location

Rule 2/ Check again it is utterly sheltered

Rule 3/ Are you sure it's sheltered! :D

Basically, the best spots are very enclosed bays & creeks or pools behind sand banks that dry before you do, offering extra shelter. I dry out regularly at places where I can't even tell when we are floating or down. As Seajet said, even the smallest of waves will make you pound & it is utterly horrible.

My boat dries on to slate twice a day in Cearnarfon & sits as gently as a fly on your nose. Red Wharf bay is hard sand as is Mermaid's Cove & Abermenai, all favourite drying out spots. Shelter is the issue, not bottom.

BTW I don't think William H has much in the way of tides in Oz, round where I sail 26'-36' are not unusual ranges.
 
Zagato said:
Whats the difference between a bermudan and cutter rig :confused:
Click to expand...

Bermudan means a 3-cornered mainsail (or mizzen, schooner foresail, etc). Cutter means two headsails, ie staysail and jib (at least, that's what it usually means nowadays, though its meaning has shifted over time).

So it's not one or the other, you could have a bermudan cutter or a gaff cutter, and just "cutter" on its own could be either, though most people would assume bermudan if we're talking yachts.

Cutter also implies one mast, but you do see the somewhat awkward "cutter-rigged yawl" or "cutter-rigged ketch" when people want to make clear that they have multiple headsails.

Pete
 
Last edited:
prv said:
Really?!?

Seems unlikely to me, given their niche as "traditional" character boats. The only one I've ever seen (and that in an advert on the Web, not in person) was a conversion, with the original mast and rigging available if a purchaser wanted to convert back. I thought it looked horrible.

If you want metal masts and triangular sails, buy a boat designed that way. It'll almost certainly be cheaper, and probably better, than a mutated Crabber.

Pete
Click to expand...

+1
 
Seajet said:
if those tiny bilge plates did anything to keep her upright, the ground is way too firm for a permanent mooring !
Click to expand...

I think you're right, but just wanted to mention that the Yawl bilge fins are not simply flat plates. They have little "feet" at the bottom to increase the surface area. Still gonna sink in soft mud (which is fine, as the keel sinks in too) but may not slice into firmer stuff in the way you're thinking, when occasionally drying out away from home.

Pete
 
Thanks Rushy learning a lot, getting the picture now!

PRV, yes not as attractive but 4-5 degrees closer to the wind apparently, quicker on longer hauls also they say. There are 5 adverts for 1995-97 Crabber24's that I can find, four of those are bermudan/cutter (two head sails). The one I am looking into was bermudan from new although the set up could have been outsourced to someone else.

Crabber say the Yawl was discontinued because of the supposedly complicated sail set up, I was assuming that was just the mizzen. I wonder if they went completely the other way and knocked out ali mast bermudan rigs to tempt people. Can find out on monday either way ;)

The Yawl I looked at the other day had new replacement Collar masts which had both rotted at the bottom after 3 years!!! Ouch at about £900 apparently (new wood scarfed in of course so no need to replace comletely). Crabbers also use Areodux adhesive apparently on their own masts which just lets go after a certain amount of time, we are talking 30 years the wooden boat builder said - so not too much of a concern unless unlucky, they use it as it can't be seen but Collars use something better he said and are surprised Crabbers don't follow suit even though they have been advised... Keeping the masts sealed properly is paramount, especially the top joins, they rot in no time and just come off if not inspected/looked after regularly.

Here are 3 of them.

3839326_-1_20120321093634_0_0.jpg


3843998_-1_20120206042214_4_0.jpg


The above mast was done from new by Eurospars apparently...

3664643_0_20110719035011_0_0.jpg


Tha last one is asking 25K but have not enquired about it!

And a gaff rig one, much more pleasing to the eye with sails up...although many would say it still doesn't look right as it's GRP so comes down to how efficient and how much maintenance you want to do with hull or masts! I know a couple of Crabber owners with gaff rigs that have felt too shy to take their GRP boats to the Old Gaffers meets. I know how they feel having owned a replica Jag. Although it was a top end 50K car new it was always a replica - sniff. Somebody said the Crabber is like a Morgan which is more accurate than a replica...

BC20and20Cui20Bono20005.jpg
 
Last edited:
Zagato said:
Thanks for the reassuring replies - thanks once AGAIN Vics, really useful link, I want to marry you! Lol :D

So for quite a few of the spots I want to visit with the kids I will need to anchor out and jump in a tender. Leaving the boat at anchor with no one in it for a few hours is a scary thought, what happens if the wind or tide changes do you guys just keep an eye on it and get back pronto if the boat is pulling in a different direction with the fear of the anchor being pulled out :eek:
Click to expand...

I dont sail the Solent but I have had bilgies, cats and now a deep fin. To be frank, a fin or long keel is a PITA if all you are going to do is to potter in a limited area. A fin is very useful for racing ( reason I bought one) or even long distance cruising but rules out lots of interesting places. Seems to me that a long keel is the worst of all worlds - useless for racing but still a problem when pottering.
 
Zagato said:
I am on the verge of getting a Crabber24 with a 3'6" long keel but am wondering how practical such a keel will be. The boat in question has no beaching legs and it maybe tricky to retro fit them.

I am hoping to sail and moor at Bembridge, and further afield to Keyhaven and any other places in-between worth a visit. I have never been to any of these harbours and am being a bit wet because I swore I would get a bilge keel next time :rolleyes: OK I'm being a lot wet but will a long keel be a real PITA for regular trips away?

What happens with a Crabber24 if I run aground and tip over :eek:
Click to expand...


Something like this I would think. A Tamarisk on what was her mooring for a number of years .... the owner now has a Seadog.

DSCF0491.jpg
 
I must say, my mooring is in mud so soft it's dangerous to try walking on - one goes straight in to upper thighs - but I have my doubts a 3'6" draught Crabber would settle upright, a little Hillyard 2,1/2 tonner long keeler didn't, and of course it's not consistent so the twin keelers usually go in more on one side.
 
Zagato said:
I am on the verge of getting a Crabber24 with a 3'6" long keel but am wondering how practical such a keel will be. The boat in question has no beaching legs and it maybe tricky to retro fit them.

I am hoping to sail and moor at Bembridge, and further afield to Keyhaven and any other places in-between worth a visit. I have never been to any of these harbours and am being a bit wet because I swore I would get a bilge keel next time :rolleyes: OK I'm being a lot wet but will a long keel be a real PITA for regular trips away?

What happens with a Crabber24 if I run aground and tip over :eek:
Click to expand...

Keyhaven no problem.
If your concerned, go right up to the YC & lay alongside the wall of the quay.

Bilge keels are OK, if you intend staying upright, but if you do hit the ground, not quite as easy to get off as a fin, or even long keel, which you can heel over to reduce draft to get off. Mate ran his centaur aground in Keyhaven & I was only able to get him off, by getting all the weight up in the bow, tipping the keels up at the stern & then hard reverse on the engine.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top