Buoys at Stone Point

[AntarcticPilot]

Dear All,
I'm leaving Capricious in the water over the winter, and who knows, maybe I'll get to take her out if there's any nice weather in the early part of next year.

However, I don't know what happens to the buoys marking the tricky passage at Stone Point. Are they removed during the winter? How rapidly does the channel change there, and how reliable are the buoys as a guide at the end of winter (I understand they are usually repositioned in March or April).

Capricious draws 1.6 metres and has a fin keel, so getting it wrong is not an option!

 

[Plum]

Dear All,
I'm leaving Capricious in the water over the winter, and who knows, maybe I'll get to take her out if there's any nice weather in the early part of next year.

However, I don't know what happens to the buoys marking the tricky passage at Stone Point. Are they removed during the winter? How rapidly does the channel change there, and how reliable are the buoys as a guide at the end of winter (I understand they are usually repositioned in March or April).

Capricious draws 1.6 metres and has a fin keel, so getting it wrong is not an option!

Hi, the buoys are not removed over winter and always seem to be moved to mark the correct channel. Even when winter sailing i have never known them to be wrong.

Www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Hi, the buoys are not removed over winter and always seem to be moved to mark the correct channel. Even when winter sailing i have never known them to be wrong.

Www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk

That's a great help. Thanks.

 

[ditchcrawler]

Just a note which I am sure you know about M31s.

The draught of 1.6 or the 5ft 6ins given in the specification can be misleading as it appears that Moody gave this information based on a dry (empty) boat. This has been discussed on the Moody Owners website and I can confirm this as I once stuck on the entrance cill to Tide Mill Marina when the gauge was reading a smudge over 1.65m
and having berthed for a few years at the Tide Mill I should have known better as the gauge is accurate. I now berth at Levington where no problem at any state of tide.

I realise that the draught will depend on how much water, fuel, chain and other kit you have on board but I now use 1.7m as my draught as do other M31 owners that I know.

Just thought this may be useful.

 

[Kukri]

Its a long time since I sailed out of Walton but in those days at least the bad weather mooring for the Walton lifeboat was in the Backwaters which was one reason why the W&FYC kept the buoys in position all year.

 

[MoodySabre]

Just a note which I am sure you know about M31s.

I realise that the draught will depend on how much water, fuel, chain and other kit you have on board but I now use 1.7m as my draught as do other M31 owners that I know.

Just thought this may be useful.

Same here. The build certificate shows 5'6" as the measured draught which is 1.68m so with all the stuff on board, fuel and water then 1.7 is a minimum.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Just a note which I am sure you know about M31s.

The draught of 1.6 or the 5ft 6ins given in the specification can be misleading as it appears that Moody gave this information based on a dry (empty) boat. This has been discussed on the Moody Owners website and I can confirm this as I once stuck on the entrance cill to Tide Mill Marina when the gauge was reading a smudge over 1.65m
and having berthed for a few years at the Tide Mill I should have known better as the gauge is accurate. I now berth at Levington where no problem at any state of tide.

I realise that the draught will depend on how much water, fuel, chain and other kit you have on board but I now use 1.7m as my draught as do other M31 owners that I know.

Just thought this may be useful.

Same here. The build certificate shows 5'6" as the measured draught which is 1.68m so with all the stuff on board, fuel and water then 1.7 is a minimum.

Thanks for this heads-up! However, I would normally be looking for plenty of clearance under the keel - I am used waters where the depth-sounder goes off scale because the water is too deep, and tacking on the 10m line is the usual approach in sea-lochs, so I regard single-figure depths with a great deal of caution!

 

[PeterWright]

Still not a proper East coaster then - it does take a few years to get accustomed, but before too long you'll find yourself tacking at 2m, or even 1.8 if racing over the tide and anything in double figures will get you tapping the e/s in incredulity.

Our Moody 425 is slated as 6 ft. draft by Bill Dixon, but again that's with empty tanks and no cruising gear. Straight conversion brings that to 1.828m. With all the gear on board, we tack at 2.2 if looking for an easy life or 2.0 when trying hard, such as when the wind makes us tack up to Titchmarsh. Don't like to disturb James (Splendid Red Engine) unless we have to.

Hope the East Coast is proving to your liking, despite the lack of the preferred medium for floating boats.

Peter