Beaching and the Bilge Keeler

Fire99

Fire99

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Evening gang,

Bit of a simple question. I've a true triple-Keel boat and one of its obvious benefits is to be able to sit on the mud / beach. Obviously, being on the east coast 'shallows' too means this is a handy trait.

Anyway, what marks a place as suitable to run aground? I'm guessing a fairly flat location with either not too deep mud or relatively soft sand / shingle?

Also do you avoid exposed areas where the wind may pick up and bounce you around too much? Maybe i'm being a bit scientific and should do more trial and error but the whole deliberate sitting on the bottom is still a bit alien to me and takes a bit of getting used to.

As I say, a bit fundamental to some but a question none the less.

cheers,

Nik
 
Be careful of taking the ground if you don't know what it is like. There are clues on the chart, but just one little boulder can ruin your day if your rudder sits on it. In clear water you can take a good look, but shallow sandyor muddy water tends not to be clear. If you've seen the place at low water, you will have confidence.

Avoid getting in the situation where there is even small waves when you dry out or lift. It is VERY uncomfortable & even frightening to bounce on the bottom for 15 minutes. In some anchorages there will be a sandbank that dries to seaward which will offer superb shelter & you won't even feel it go down or lift. I have been known to jump from side to side below to check if we are afloat yet. Sand/ shingle/ shale are all fine, but mud can cause problems by splaying the keels.

I have had problems in very strong currents & sand, the boat (on a mooring with another boat tied alongside) turned as the tide came in, but before she floated. The current stirred up the sand so much she turned broadside before sticking. The current then sucked the sand from under the downstream keel which dug in & the boat heeled quite badly as the other boat leaned on her. In the end I cut my pal loose & she eventually came up, but gave us a nasty fright.

It is by far the best way to enjoy a beach with kids, set up a ladder for them & a tray of drinks for you. When they are cold or hungry they will come back.
 
Thanks Searush,

That's really good info. I hadn't thought about the mud impact on the Keels. I kinda assumed that because Mud is soft, it would be a blessing for the Bilge-Keeler. It appears not. :)

I see the odd Sandy / Shingley beach on the Blackwater, where i'm based, and have been tempted to stop for a cuppa on a couple of them. However, one looked rather close to where the river meets the sea and was a bit concerned that it would be too exposed to offshore breezes.

That said, in on of the KeepTurningLeft videos, Dylan beeched at the very same spot (near Bradwell) so that blew that theory. :D
 
You learn to use your judgement. Exposure to the south ain't a problem if the wind is from the north & likely to stay there for at least a tide. But the sandbank dodge makes so many little creeks & swatchways such lovely quiet anchorages.

Soft mud probably isn't a problem on an occasional basis, other than you can't easily leave the boat at LW.
 
Beaching with bilge keels

I beach Bonsella ( a Sadler 26) a couple of times each season to scrub and inspect. I go up onto a bit of shelly/shingly beach alongside the scrubbing posts on the creek just outside Bradwell marina. Here there is a gentle, consistent slope so grounding is very predictable. I do my tidal calcs to predict a good time based on experience and have counted the rungs on the ladder on the scrubbing posts to provide further evidence of depth. I run the boat in gently across the falling tide and then once she grounds, I leave the engine slow ahead while I go and stand at the bow. After 2 or 3 minutes she is firmly aground and I go below for breakfast!

I had some local advice before doing this for the first time and I walked the ground at low tide to identify some points of reference and check for the absence of inconvenient lumps. The site has the added bonus of being a couple of minutes away from the Green Man!
Other good options are the hard at Brightlingsea or the beach to the east of the power station.
Morgan
 
If the ground is sloping, you can (slowly!) run the boat onto it so that it goes straight from floating to stuck without going through the bouncing phase. An anchor astern of you will let you haul off again as soon as you're on the point of floating, again minimising bouncing. My boat is not perfect at this because the point of maximum draft is right aft, under the rudder, and if that touches first the bow tends to pivot around it and I'm no longer pointing up the beach. But the normal bilge keel shape should be better.

Pete
 
Thanks guys for the info.

I did a little bit of research once before, on scrubbing spots around the blackwater, which kinda touches onto this.

But I was thinking more the general principals of running a bilge keeler aground so I can take those ideas with me, wherever I sail to.

I like to get the best out of my boat and I may as well use a Triple-Keel boat's strengths. :)
 
There are a number of clubs in shoal draft areas that run events every year where they go to a local sandbank for a picnic/ barbie/ cricket match or whatever. It is lovely sand to walk on. I carry a beach cricket set on board in case I miss a channel some time.

The other big advantage is that in a busy anchorage you can sneak inshore of them all & it doesn't matter if you don't have enough water.

Go birdwatching up the creeks - oh, just watch all the Dylan Winter Keep Turning left Vids, you'll soon get the idea.
 
Searush said:
There are a number of clubs in shoal draft areas that run events every year where they go to a local sandbank for a picnic/ barbie/ cricket match or whatever. It is lovely sand to walk on. I carry a beach cricket set on board in case I miss a channel some time.

The other big advantage is that in a busy anchorage you can sneak inshore of them all & it doesn't matter if you don't have enough water.

Go birdwatching up the creeks - oh, just watch all the Dylan Winter Keep Turning left Vids, you'll soon get the idea.
Click to expand...

That sounds all rather smashing..

I like the idea that, beating to windward, the 6ft keel boys (and girls) will be leading the way but when I get to the anchorage I can sit a good few boat lengths inshore of everyone. (Not faulting the Fin-Keelers, it's all in jest!)

I've seen a good number of Dylan's videos, probably them all. Maybe time to revist. :)
 
Twice a day. Every day.


Arnside_1.jpg
 
This is a very interesting post, i too have a bilge keeler and it would be good to know how best to beach her just in case i ever need to do it in a hurry because of some emergency. I've never really thought about doing it as a matter of course but it makes sense to use all your boats capabilities and get the most out of her. I really want to try this now but the question arises, can you beach anywhere? After all you are only allowed to anchor in certain places, does the same apply to beaching?
 
Bower15 said:
After all you are only allowed to anchor in certain places, does the same apply to beaching?
Click to expand...

I don't think this is true.

There are someplaces where you are forbidden to anchor by because of the danger you would cause to shipping (normally shown on charts). Otherwise you can anchor whre you like,altho recommended place are often shown
 
Bower15 said:
After all you are only allowed to anchor in certain places, does the same apply to beaching?
Click to expand...

That's a good point. I did wonder what the situation was like in places like Studland, where there are Anchorage restrictions, what the rules state about beaching a Bilge Keeler. (Obviously if the bottom is suitably flat enough)
 
I once moored up to a pilot buoy outside Portishead docks (when the chimneys were still there). I managed the bow line but the tide dropped before I could secure to the stern buoy. I thought it would be ok.

We were waiting overnight for the arrival of the Royal Yacht Brittania with HM on board who was to declare open Avonmouth Docks. After dinner, I, Sue and the two kids turned it. During the night, there was a sort of sliding noise followed by glug, glug, glug. Then I realised my legs were soaking wet.

A milk bottle left on the engine cover had slid over my berth and deposited its contents on my body. The reason was that we were not in the centre of the pilot mooring hole and one keel had hit the side. We carried on heeling but I daren't move or wake the others lest our movement took us right over. We eventually stopped at some frightening angle and I lay petrified, fitfully sleeping.

Around dawn, hearing a quacking noise, I cautiously looked out of the cabin window to see a duck peering in. (Bear in mind the tidal range around Portishead can reach 14m). Gradually we returned to level.

We dressed overall and with the local "fleet" motored out to great Brittania. We dipped our ensign (all 10 inches on the hoist) and it was acknowledged.
My daughter, aged 5 dressed in an adult lifejacket down to her knees, hanging on to the forestay turned and said accusingly "I don't know how you expect me to curtsy in this thing".

Lightened the tension a bit!
 
OK, a few points raised;

You can pretty well beach where you like - I mean what are they going to do until the tide returns if they want you gone? But the big issue is safety if the weather changes before the tide returns.

As a safety issue, running up the beach is a classic safety ploy when sinking or other problems. Think about shipwrecks, rocks are not good as people get battered against the rocks as well as boats. But many, many years ago I was anchored overnight off Camaes, Anglesey while a N/w'ly gale went thro. Not a sensible choice of anchorage I know (now!) Anyway a Maurice Griffiths Eventide bilge keeler in Ply was carried ashore and completely wrecked. The bits left were so small we couldn't see them on the beach & assumed she had left in the night. Anyway, the couple aboard got ashore unharmed, but wet altho they only saved her handbag & what they were wearing.

Moral of the story;
DO NOT TRY THIS ON A WEATHER SHORE - unless it is your only remaining option.

On many parts of our coast with big tides & few harbours trading was done in flat bottomed boats which simple beached & unloaded their cargoes. It was up to the recipient to get it all off the beach before the tide came back. It's how Thames Barges worked, and Yorkshire Cobles are designed to fish off the beach, as are the boats on the shingle beaches off our West channel coast. Get a book or three about our coastal trading history. Or look up the Maritime Museum.
 
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