Chi Harbour Mooring Dilema

emsworthy

emsworthy

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The scenario:

I have a 26' fin keeler that draws 1.4 metres and am after a mooring near Emsworth for next season. I have applied to the Conservancy for a deep water mooring near the visitors pontoon and am still waiting to hear after the ballot, however in the meantime my sailing club have offered me one of their moorings further up Emsworth Channel.

The problem:

Following an afternoon bobbing around in the dink on the offered club mooring I am confident that it has a minimum 0.4m above LAT. Considering the tidal range of Chi Harbour, from memory big LW springs c.0.5m and LW neaps 2.0m+, and the fact that the bottom there is just really squishy mud, would you risk it?

The club mooring is much nearer the slipway and less than a quarter the price of the Conservancy one!!

Cheers in advance of your wisdom.

Tim
 
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So you are going to have the fin keel about half a metre into the mud every spring tide.
I can see two or three potential issues:
1) Debris in the mud may cause damage to keel. It may not be so soft for the whole depth, stuff like old moorings etc.
2) If the keel does not go into the mud for some reason, the boat will heel horribly, in extreme cases flood and sink, particularly if the bottom is not flat and the wind makes it heel mast-downhill. Probably not applicable. The boat may bounce on the bottom if the area gets any chop though?
3) the boat will not swing when the flood starts so the adjacent boats may bash into her?

Local knowledge needed, but how much will it cost for all tide access on a deeper mooring?
 
Emsworth

Hi,

You don't say how much water there is at the club mooring. If there's enough water, and it's a quarter the price, then surely it's a no-brainer.
It's not all squishy mud you know. Some bits are hard shingle. You might do well to probe around the mooring at low tide to find out.
BTW - is the club ESC or ESSC?

Edit - or did the depths you gave refer to the club mooring?
 
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MonniotC said:
Hi,

You don't say how much water there is at the club mooring. If there's enough water, and it's a quarter the price, then surely it's a no-brainer.
It's not all squishy mud you know. Some bits are hard shingle. You might do well to probe around the mooring at low tide to find out.
BTW - is the club ESC or ESSC?

Edit - or did the depths you gave refer to the club mooring?
Click to expand...

Chris - Yes the depths were for the club mooring. A mate has the mooring two up from the one I've been offered and is certain it's all squishy mud. I dinghy sail in these parts regularly and have no reason to think otherwise.

lw395 - There is actually quite a bit of room around each mooring in this part of the harbour so I'm not so concerned about the lack of synchronised swinging you mention. Obviously the sinking bit is a touch more worrying!! The fees are over £1k for a deep water mooring vs. a couple of hundred for the club one.

It's ESC btw.

Cheers.

Tim
 
It's definately squishy mud. Well down to a foot or so anyway. As I've found out on various capsises there.
 
Big Thanks

Thanks gents,

My gut feel was to go for it but I guess I wanted a bit of reassurance from others. With 2 tonnes+ of boat pressing down on the keel, even at big springs, I expect she'd stay reasonably upright and fully afloat at other times. In my experience this far up the harbour there's not a huge chop or swell (last weekend excepted!) so bouncing on the mooring as the tide ebbs doesn't overly concern me. She'd probably dig herself a nice little hole to settle in over time anyway won't she?

I know we can have a couple of tides below LAT each year but I'd probably treat her to a few nights in one of the local marinas on this occasion!

Cheers.

Tim
 
Having undertaken extensive surveys of that particular area with the top of my wayfarer mast when I sailed at ESSC and having to push my tender home from my mooring, I can confirm that area is almost entirely soft mud with an underlying layer of clay. I cannot imagine that your keel would come to any harm.
 
Many thanks again for all your replies. I'm feeling happier, more reassured and best of all wealthier with every one!! :D:D

Have a virtual beer each. (If I ever meet any of you there's a real one in it for you!!)

Cheers.

Tim
 
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