curtius
Active Member
I’m based at Shotley and would appreciate suggestions as to where I can safely dry out a bilge keeler in order to inspect the prop.
Thanks CliveG, I’ll take a look at Wrabness but doesn’t ‘The Rocks’ live up to it’s name? I’d like somewhere flat and unobstructed!Wrabness may be a possible.
the Rocks upstream of Ramsholt is good -used it myself.
Checked that area of the Orwell out at LW yesterday and there are a number of rocks strewn around. Had considered the grids at SYH which is my backup but they want £40 for non-bertholders!Is the bank of the Orwell just north of Shotley an option? granted it has a slight slope
For a few beer tokens and simplicity there are drying maintenance grids at SYH.
Yes, ‘Horse Sand’ is a possible option. Always looked hard and clear when I used to moor at FF. May have to give John White a call. I gather there are a few nice banks developing off the Deben entrance too!Might suggest the 'Horse Sand' in the Deben Entrance ; it used to dry quite hard so no fear of boat toppling over n her Bilge keels
Many yonks since I did anything like that there , so has anybody done it since (lately) ?
Yes, have dried out there but care needed. A visit to Wrabness at low water to identify and pick a spot would be my choice for a freeby though, probably inside the port hand pile at the East end looking out for mooring gear etc.Harwich side of Stone Point, often see someone aground there by choice
You have to pick your spot carefully, some of the foreshore at Clamp House is deep mud, other areas hard bottom.Just downstream of Pin Mill, a spot frequently used by bilge keepers for overnight stops etc. Easy to walk through the woods from the Butt and Oyster to scope it out beforehand
Many years ago we used to take our Hunter 701 lifting keeler from Paglesham to a mooring at Felixstowe Ferry for a few weeks in the summer holidays. We often put her ashore on The Horse shoal to scrub one side on one tide and then the other way round for the other side on the next tide. Worked very well and the Horse at LW is a wonderful place for children, if you have any with you, to play around with shrimping nets, buckets and spades etc… if they’re old enough they can help with the scrubbing… There are also some posts at the Ferry.