Balancing the ends of a drying fin keeler alongside

[gasdave]

I have hesitated to post this in case it sounds like a stupid question

I only have experience of bilge keels but am considering my next boat. Much of my sailing area has drying harbours so if I were to go for a fin keel I would need to learn how to safely manage the drying out process. I am OK with this as an option but my question is:-

once you have dried out your fin keel alongside what precautions, if any, do you take with regard to standing on the extremities forward and aft? Are the warps sufficient to keep her from tipping?

 

[Tranona]

Really depends on the boat. Many will sit quite happily level on their keels and others may tip forward or back. You need to find out for the boats you are interested in. It is possible with some "tippers" to provide some support to limit the tip, but if you intend drying out regularly you need to look for boats that are stable, probably with a reasonably long straight bottom to the keel.

 

[Twister_Ken]

Or buy legs?

http://www.yachtlegs.co.uk/images/yachtlegs_big2.jpg

 

[Iliade]

My last boat had a very high aspect fin keel. The solution I found was to run lines as near as possible vertically from the very substantial cleats at bow and stern. Clearly this required some degree of line tending as she first dried out but was relatively self-tending thereafter. Do remember to add a little slack to the system once the hull is clear of the water to allow for the keel sinking into the substrate.

If a tendency to tip one way or another can be established it may be less hassle than if it is well balanced.

Foam fenders would be better than inflatable ones as sometimes the pressure can be quite high.

 

[Deleted member 36384]

.... once you have dried out your fin keel alongside what precautions, if any, do you take with regard to standing on the extremities forward and aft? Are the warps sufficient to keep her from tipping?

On a fin a keel similar to your Saddler there are no special precautions you need to take. As suggested above keeping a breast line taught with the land cleat/ring/bollard should be sufficient on this type of boat. Its more important to keep the yacht leaning in as she grounds as it does not take many people on the beam to tilt her away from the wall - thats where the real risk is. A few people in the cockpit is OK but a few at the bow is not. Try and dry her out pointing up slope.

 

[sailorman]

I have hesitated to post this in case it sounds like a stupid question

I only have experience of bilge keels but am considering my next boat. Much of my sailing area has drying harbours so if I were to go for a fin keel I would need to learn how to safely manage the drying out process. I am OK with this as an option but my question is:-

once you have dried out your fin keel alongside what precautions, if any, do you take with regard to standing on the extremities forward and aft? Are the warps sufficient to keep her from tipping?

This is us alongside the dock, no drama at all.She is not sitting on her rudder, just the keel.
Dont forget a line from the mast hd to keep her tilted slightly into the dock

 

[sighmoon]

This is us alongside the dock, no drama at all.She is not sitting on her rudder, just the keel.
Dont forget a line from the mast hd to keep her tilted slightly into the dock

Thanks for posting that. Are there any lines holding the boat up, or just it's own weight? Do you walk around the boat as usual?

 

[johnalison]

I agree with Sailorman for a change. Almost any cruiser will sit happily on its keel. When we had a Sadler 29 fin we tested it by jumping up and down on the foredeck, the two of us, and she never budged. There is no harm in putting shore lines at each end to make sure.

 

[Twister_Ken]

The solution I found was to run lines as near as possible vertically from the very substantial cleats at bow and stern.

For others, bear in mind that most mooring cleats are designed to take a horizontal load, not a vertical one. The fastenings may not be up to supporting part of the boat's weight.

 

[onesea]

I agree with Sailorman for a change. Almost any cruiser will sit happily on its keel.

I suppose I can agree if you say cruiser with longer keel base...

Certainly my boat has the habit of tipping by the bow, others have a habit of tipping by the stern..

Once you are aware it should not be an issue... Although if I was going to dry regularly I would not of bought the boat I have!

 

[gasdave]

This is us alongside the dock, no drama at all.She is not sitting on her rudder, just the keel.
Dont forget a line from the mast hd to keep her tilted slightly into the dock

This boat looks very well balanced, and I would imagine that most of her "cruising" weight would be distributed somewhere aft of her mast in which case a person's weight on the bow would be unlikely to tip her that way. Cockpit activity at worst I guess would incline her to lean on her rudder a bit? Is this something which an average cruising rudder/post is designed to take, at least on an occasional basis?

I note that in this picture breast lines to the quay would not contribute anything in the way of tipping prevention as the quay bollard/ring is lower than the deck!

 

[vyv_cox]

When I first fitted Yacht Legs to my Sadler 34 several people were concerned that it might be unstable when dried out. To test this we had six people standing as far forward as possible but no movement was seen. Lots of photos on my website.

A previous boat dried very nose down. The original owner used a scaffolding pole in a fitting on the bow to prevent this. On the occasions that we dried alongside we took a line from the bow roller to a bollard, which kept us level.

 

[sailorman]

This boat looks very well balanced, and I would imagine that most of her "cruising" weight would be distributed somewhere aft of her mast in which case a person's weight on the bow would be unlikely to tip her that way. Cockpit activity at worst I guess would incline her to lean on her rudder a bit? Is this something which an average cruising rudder/post is designed to take, at least on an occasional basis?

I note that in this picture breast lines to the quay would not contribute anything in the way of tipping prevention as the quay bollard/ring is lower than the deck!

The forrard line in the photo is the painter to the red dinghy

 

[sailorman]

Thanks for posting that. Are there any lines holding the boat up, or just it's own weight? Do you walk around the boat as usual?

for,aft & springs + a Spi halliard led across the dock the check any tipping outwards. walking about no prob. all tankage is mid-ships

 

[sighmoon]

[snip]On the occasions that we dried alongside we took a line from the bow roller to a bollard, which kept us level.

Is the bow roller generally stronger than the forward cleats?

This is a very useful thread - we're about to sail through a part of the country with little but drying harbours.