drying out alongside

[owen]

any advice on drying out alongside. i did this for the first time last week and followed advice of putting chain on the land side. while afloat it seemed like a very gentle list. when dried out however the approx 10degrees or less was very uncomfortable for sleeping. is it just a matter of trial and error??

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[steve_cronin]

Trial & error...

YES

However the "error" can be very expensive!

It's always a good idea to see the seabed at low water first before committing oneself to drying out and since a hull is designed to be supported uniformly by the water and not on one point, the tip of the keel, it isn't something that you should consider as a regular means of berthing.

As an alternative to the rather messy chain on the side deck, some fit a running strop to the cap shroud on that side and secure it to a bollard or a lamp post ( watch out for local objections though!). Also when I had a boat suitable for drying out I made sure that I was always there at the point of touching bottom to make sure that she settled properly and was well fendered. A lot of older harbours have drying out pads and it is a good idea to practice on one of these before trying it for the first time in some remote harbour.

Steve Cronin



<hr width=100% size=1>The above is, like any other post here, only a personal opinion

 

[graham]

10° towards the wall can be surprisingly uncomfortable I know But compared to the disaster of the boat falling over the other way its not too bad....

Some people put a leg out on the offside and safely sit a bit more vertical. If the boat dries out too vertical a stout rope around the mast Taken to something strong on the quay wall will let you sleep more soundly (I try not to abuse the halyards if I can help it as the sheeves are not designed for sideways loads.)

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[gjeffery]

A yard - which had better remain nameless - put my twin keeler alongside a lifting keel boat that was alongside a jetty. My boat took the ground before the lifting keel boat, which on drying heeled away from the jetty and rested on my boat, which of course, could not move. Thankfully, my boat escaped damage - but the lifting keeler lost its stancheon bases, which were levered out.

Apparantly, it is the normal practice of that yard to fill 5 gallon tubs (pot markers?) with stone and put these on the deck of bots that dry out alongside, so that they heel towards the jetty. This was not done, on this occasion.

Moral - beware going alongside boats that may heel, in a drying yard.

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[Niander]

mine drys out all the time on mud
i put anything with wieght on the wall side inside my hurley
also 3 buckets of sea water on the top sides...obviously wall side
so she lists toward the wall as she settles...no probs
but yes a rope round the mast just incase


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[towlerg]

You must be certain that the boat doesn't drift away from the wall at the moment the keel bites. If you have long bow and stern lines with weights attached somewhere near the middle she'll be held against the wall but can still move with the tide. Also take the stern line from the outside (not the wall side) of the boat.

Rgds George

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[johnt]

I agree with Steve about being there when she grounds ...and I find that my weight is just enough if Im sitting on the side of the coachroof when she grounds (Trapper 500)

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