Kedging off when aground

[jimi]

I've heard recommended that 2 kedges are set and one is attached to a halyard and winched in to heel the boat thus reducing draught, in order to get moving, anybody used or heard of this method being used. I would worry that it might strain the rigging?

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[snowleopard]

i reckon the length of warp you'd need to get a workable angle on the anchor would be immense. heeling is more usually obtained by hanging a weight on the boom. some recommend using a mother-in-law.

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[sailbadthesinner]

hit a mud bank proper stuck
got a strinky to take our halyard and a warp. set halyard so as he pulled we would tilt then the warp would pull out. worked a treat not much tilt needed before we were out.

long story as to how we got there
actually no in isn't the f@@@@in helm ignored my instructions.

we tried paying out a kedge and winching our sleves off. We only managed to get the kedge then wedged in the mud.

no damage to the rig however you wouldn't want to be doing it often.we had a good look around the sole of the mast as it was being done, no visible flexing.

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[Evadne]

When I kept a long keel boat with a small engine on the East coast (Essex) I ran aground quite regularly, in fact every outing if I remember correctly, and by the time we'd done the engine in reverse and the headless chicken bit, if she hadn't come off and the tide was falling the only way to get her upright again was wait for the tide. That's why I reckon the first thing you should do when you run aground is put the kettle on. At least you appear to be calm and in control that way. If the tide is rising then there is usually no problem.

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[gunnarsilins]

Done this a....

...couple of times when running aground on rock in Sweden (no tide).
Used the spinnacker halyard, and it´s amazing how easy you can get considerable heel with not much power at all.

I regard this as a very sensible method and I beleive it puts much less strain on the boat compared with having a powerful motorboat pulling you off. At least on a rocky bottom.

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[FlyingSpud]

Re: Done this a....

How does that work then? Do you put the anchor on the halyard and then throw it out over the side, or do you row it out. Are you relying on just the weight of the anchor, or are you trying to get the anchor to bite (and if so, how, given the pull on the anchor would seem to be upward as if breaking out). I ask because I sail on the east coast, running aground here requires no great skill, and it sounds an interesting approach.

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[Twister_Ken]

Rigging strain

Nah. Bear in mind the things often heel over to 30 or so degrees under weight of wind, so cranking in a few degs of heel to get her to slide off won't be a problem. Use a spinny hayard on a swivelling block, though, or you risk damaging the cheeks of a 'fore'n'aft' block.

Can't help feeling you'd need lottas chain and plenty of scope to get the right angle to make her heel, though

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[wpsalm]

Re: Rigging strain

Not 1st hand experience...but have read some where about a marina in Florida that had a problem with a bridge on the approaches limiting mast height..their solution was a 45 gal. drum with the top cut out and a bridle to attach to halyard winching a full drum of water heels the boat enough to get under the bridge...a penant shackled to the rim at the bottom of the drum for recovery...

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[gunnarsilins]

Flying spud

You need to row the anchor out (or having outside assistance) because you have to get it far away as possible for enought scope. (The tension is a bit upwards, as you noted).
You need the anchor to grip quite firmly, the boat will be pulled off in both backwards (when reversing engine) and sideways (when pulling the anchor).

But I beleive this method is best when grounding in isolated rocks, where it´s deep water just a few metres away.
When running aground on the East coast, especially on a falling tide , I belevie ju must pull the boat a considerable distance before reaching deep water

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[tcm]

\"Running aground, getting afloat\"

this excellent book worries about using halyards too. If you must, use the spinnaker halyard with separate fairlead.

Better ideas include getting as much weight overboard asap. So run the taps, chuck crew into a dinghy.

My favourite bit of information is that the wash of passing boats makes refloating a whole load easier! So, if you have run aground, make a vhf call to get some stinkies to blam along really close. Or perhaps lots have read the book already and are just trying to be helpful?

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[colvic]

Thought YM's didn't do such things.

Phil

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[Chris_Robb]

Re: \"Running aground, getting afloat\"

Not if you've got an AWB as the keel may come through the bottom with the wash form yours!

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[jfm]

Re: Rigging strain

Agree. The rigging wont bust even if the boat is heeled 90deg, and you're unlikely to go that far unless you are very aground. The whole point about rigging design is that the rigging needs to be strong enough to capsize the boat, that's how you define what the rigging must be able to take, and you design around that. In mega yacht design often the prob is the boat wont heel easily enough, therefore there is risk of rigging breaking. So the hull and weight distribution needs to be calculated so the boat does heel, and eventually capsize, in less than a force 20 wind with full sail

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[graham]

Re: Rigging strain

The rigging will be OK but what about the halyard sheeves??

The more the boat heels the further out of normal allignment the pull on the halyard will be.Personally unless nothing else works I wouldnt recommend it. On a rising tide theres not much point as you will lift off soon and on a falling tide by the time you set it up you will be hard aground.

Usual method for single keel is to get crew and heavy objects on the SHALLOW WATER side so the base of the keel points towards the deeper water.Often going ahead with the helm hard over is better than trying to back out of mud.Obviously bilge keelers need to keep level and lighten the boat however they can.

I have had lots of practise at getting off putty due to the area I sail in and being lazy about tidal heights.Personally I think if you never go aground you are not being adventurous enough at visiting small creeks and lesser known places .

The difference is NEVER risk grounding where it would become dangerous if the wind picked up before the tide came back.

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[jimi]

Re: Rigging strain

I'd really only try and get off by going ahead in case of damage to the rudder as I've got a fin and skeg. I'v dangled a couple of large men tied to the end of the boom before though!

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[Twister_Ken]

Oi!

>I'v dangled a couple of large men <

What you dangle, and to whom is entirely our own business, but I'm sure the rest of us don't want to know.

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[graham]

Re: Large Men

Jimi,You didnt make it clear if it was you dangled from the boom or the large men.Personally I find large men take up to much space ,drink all your beer and snore all night.

Possibly there could be an opportunity for a company to be formed that could bring large men out to your boat in a high speed rib then remove them when they have done the job thus avoiding the previously mentioned problems associated with having your own.

Im thinking of going in for it,how does" Fat Bast£"d$ Are Us "sound ?.I dont know wether to organise it on a membership basis like the RAC AA etc or just hire them out to any Tom Dick and Harry willing to pay by the hour/metric tonne.

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[gunnarsilins]

Wouldn´t fat....

....ladies out on the boom be a more attractive sight?

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[jimi]

Re: Wouldn´t fat....

Och I do'nt want to be sexist on this but two fat ladies would not be as effective simply because of the fat to weight ratio. My studies indicate that the heeling moment of two large gentlemen is quite considerably more. The only exception to this is fat Cumbrian ladies where their gravitas and diet of cumberland sausage and heavy water considerably increases their ratio.

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[vyv_cox]

Density

You make a good point. High density fat people are far more efficient than low density ones. Search for people of either sex with plenty of gold fillings, artificial hips and pinned fractures. I guess that potential slimmers who have just commenced the Atkins diet would be best on the basis that protein has a higher density than carbohydrate. Prolific beer drinkers would presumably be good, as the beer tends to fill the spaces between the food, but note conflict with Atkins diet.

There must be enough here for a PhD thesis.

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