Fin Keel mooring Brightlingsea

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Nick86

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Hi all,

I am in the process of buying my first sailing boat (in the uk anyway). It's a Jaguar 27 with a fin keel (1.3-1.5m draft).

I am hoping to keep this full time moored in Brightlingsea however I wondered how a fin keel would lay when the tide is out or if there are any positons where she'll keep in the water.

Probably a very silly question as new to this so any advice would be muchly appreciated.

Alternatively any other mooring areas around this area that would be better suited.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Kind regards

Nick
 
Definitely speak with BHC. There are some fore-and-aft moorings upstream of the main pontoons which don't dry but your keel would be in the mud at LWS, which may or may not be OK - there are a number of non-bilge-keel boats on these moorings. Further up are swinging moorings which fall into the same category - we kept a 1.2m draft long keel boat on one of these for years, there are Folkboats which live happily on these. BHC will know where the mud is soft and where it's not (if anywhere). We're on the White pontoon which is way upstream (lifting/bilge keeler 0.8m), but bottom there is quite hard so probably not suitable. There are moorings out in the Pyefleet (they belong to Kerrisons at Mersea) but you need a moderately serious tender to get out there from Brightlingsea.
 
I wouldn't let a bit of mud put me off a mooring, especially if it were cheaper than those in prime positions. We used to dry out completely in our then Mystere at Maylandsea with a 4' 6" fin and never had any worries, and the bottom of our keel now sinks into mud at springs.
 
Thanks for your advice guys.

Ive spoken to BHC and unfortunately they haven't got anything for me apart from the pontoon which has a waiting list. Some have waited up to 2 years however there are a few who have only waited a couple of months, depending on their needs.

Looked into the Marina but this was very expensive - worked out to be around £175pm which is well outside of my budget.

Bring a novice/learner, I am starting to worry about having a fin keel in these waters incase I go aground (which I am almost convinced will definitely happen). If I am not too interested in exploring the creeks, am I able to take the boat out to sea around Clacton area to just practice a few manoeuvres and just hug the coastline?

Sorry if these questions are stupid. Lots to learn.

Thanks

Nick
 
One should have no fear of going aground . All you need is a decent echo sounder & an understanding of tides & depths. Having bilge keels will not stop you going aground unless you are really cutting it fine & your sailing performance with bilge keels will be so much poorer .
As for creek crawling- i suspect that you will not actually be doing a lot of that. Just think where you will be going. the Colne is not actually a creek & most of the Blackwater is not either. You will eventually get to Walton backwaters & the fin on a Jaguar is no real hinderance there. I draw 1.800 & apart from an extra half hour to get in and out of Bradwell marina or Brightlingsea creek there is little problem with my draft
If you go to Harwich, the Stour & Orwell are not exactlly creeks are they?
So the creek crawling thing is really a myth. For most of the time you will be in deeper water. I doubt that as a novice you will be sailingover the Ray sand with 100mm under your keel for a long while yet.
 
Creek crawling absolutely is not a myth if you have a suitable craft (of which there are many) - we do it with a 32-footer which draws 0.8m with the keel up and will take the ground upright. The list of places you can go and sit undisturbed is too long to trot out here.

However as you say there are a lot of very nice places to go without shallow-water creek crawling, including all of our rivers and some of the creeks off them. A Jag 27 is relatively shallow anyway.

My advice to the OP (once they've found a mooring) would be to get charts and a copy of the East Coast Pilot and get out there with an eye on the chart and the echo sounder. Most of the creeks are muddy so even if you end up in 1m of water at LW you're likely to be upright with your keel in the mud.
 
As Daydream believer has said, nothing to worry about. My last boat had just short of 2m draft, fin keel and spade rudder, it never caused an issue, most of the mud is soft. Just be sure to plan journeys well and have a good echo sounder.
 
Creek said:
I suggest you contact Wivenhoe SC (on the River Colne). They have reasonably priced moorings for members. Whilst they dry at low water, several are used by fin keelers with no apparent issues. The club is friendly and supportive.
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That is a good idea. One club member kept a 40' Dufour in the river for a season.

There is nothing wrong with a fin keel on the East Coast. If you look at a chart of the Thames Estuary you will see that most of the channels run SW/NE, in line with the prevailing winds. This means that for 50% of the time you will be beating against the wind, which bilge-keelers only do with reluctance. Creek-crawling has its attractions, but shallow draft is only helpful if you are going to make full use of it, which many do not.
 
MikeBz said:
Creek crawling absolutely is not a myth if you have a suitable craft (of which there are many) - we do it with a 32-footer which draws 0.8m with the keel up and will take the ground upright. The list of places you can go and sit undisturbed is too long to trot out here.

.
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You say that - & i do not want to start a forum argument or slanging match so please do not take offence. But i would suggest that if you actually count the "creeks " that the average east coast sailor actually crawls up in a year it is in reality very low in number. I also might suggest that the number of times he might do the "100mm below the keel" bit is small as well.
One might remember that occasion as it tends to be the one that sticks in the mind. I recall going over the Ray sand in my Stella years ago with the coloured bands on my bamboo cane frighteningly near the " S.t we are aground " mark. But whilst that was 50 years ago I did not do it often. But I still remember it as if it was yesterday.
& that is what I feel about "creek crawling" . You THINK you do it often
I stand by what i wrote , until corrected by the many, I still think that for most It is a bit of a "myth" in reality
 
Daydream believer said:
You say that - & i do not want to start a forum argument or slanging match so please do not take offence. But i would suggest that if you actually count the "creeks " that the average east coast sailor actually crawls up in a year it is in reality very low in number. I also might suggest that the number of times he might do the "100mm below the keel" bit is small as well.
One might remember that occasion as it tends to be the one that sticks in the mind. I recall going over the Ray sand in my Stella years ago with the coloured bands on my bamboo cane frighteningly near the " S.t we are aground " mark. But whilst that was 50 years ago I did not do it often. But I still remember it as if it was yesterday.
& that is what I feel about "creek crawling" . You THINK you do it often
I stand by what i wrote , until corrected by the many, I still think that for most It is a bit of a "myth" in reality
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I entirely agree. Most of the bilge-keelers I know have been acquired either because of mooring needs or from fear of mud. There are some exceptions. Last weekend in Pyefleet I was compelled to anchor and stay afloat, while a friend of mine in his 19'er sat in his little hole right up in the shallows surrounded by mud and his beloved birds.
 
I'm not trying to get into a slanging match or an argument either, but for those of us (thankfully few) who enjoy it is most definitely not a myth, unless you are redefining the meaning of myth. "Rarely done by most people" I agree with - and long may that continue :)
 
MikeBz said:
I'm not trying to get into a slanging match or an argument either, but for those of us (thankfully few) who enjoy it is most definitely not a myth, unless you are redefining the meaning of myth. "Rarely done by most people" I agree with - and long may that continue :)
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No of course not but the phrase " thankfully few" probably sums it up a little better. It is just that newbies to sailing have the issue clouded by others & you hear some talking about the subject as though it is a major pastime among the majority. In fact I doubt that it is. Hence the description "myth" .As a result I suspect a lot of sailors "possibly" buy the wrong boat for the wrong reason first time round.
I think it is only fair to point that out
 
We keep a tideway dinghy at Marconi SC - which is our creek-crawling vessel. Mayland, Goldhanger, Lawling, Southey as well as the upper reaches of the Blackwater and, when we're adventurous Mersea and Tollesbury. Messing around in boats on long summer days...

edit: oh and I meant to say that the OP should check out Marconi for moorings - see website!
 
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