Kedging off

[SAWDOC]

Ran aground yesterday returning to our mooring shortly before low water -pure carelessness on my part. Running before a nice westerly wind under mainsail only. Bow ended up pointing towards the shore with the westerly wind blowing on her starboard side. Wasn't too alarmed - bottom was gravelly and rock free so having tried vainly to blow the bow off using the gib, and reversing off using the engine , I sat back put on the kettle and prepared to sit out the next two hours or so.
When the tide turned, I decided well why not try kedging off.
Joined several mooring warps together and rowed astern in the dinghy, dropped the hook over the side and retreated back to the boat. At LW + 30 mins, I then tried pulling the boat astern by hauling on the kedge warp from the cockpit. This seemed totally ineffective. However instinctivly I thought a better plan would be to pull the bow around so I brought the kedge line forward and onto the bow roller where I tensioned it up as good as I could. I then started up the engine and gave her short bursts of forward and reverse. This slowly brought her bow around and stern into the wind which enabled me to pull manfully on the slack of the kedge line and hey presto we were free.
Afterwards I thought I could have used the genny as well but I was concerned that I might be driven further towards the shore before I could get her turned.

Being singlehanded I (thankfully) had to rule out any acrobatic swinging on the boom manouvres.

any comments or suggestions on how to react instantly to the keel touching bottom and secondly any improvements on how I could have handled the above?

Thanks

 

[Searush]

A lot depends on your keel configuration. I sail a bilge keeler in shallow water with shifting sands & big tides. Going aground is easy, getting off tends to be hit & miss.

As a singlehander with no echo sounder in the cockpit I have been know to touch tack on a rising tide. But tacking when you touch doesn't guarantee getting off, the strong tides create waves in the sand so you can sail into a small gully, touch & then tack hard onto a mini sand bar at right angles to your track. As you found, a powerful engine & propwash can stir up the sand & allow you to rotate the boat which can help.

Kedging off (or even using the bower) is helped if you can get a really long warp added to the normal chain. I have 220' climbing ropes which have a lot of stretch & these can be used to apply pressure to the bow to turn you back towards the channel. Sounding around the boat with a pole will help identify where deeper water is. Sails generally tend to drive you further on, so I will generally release sheets & try to tack using any momentum that may be left. Once turned, the sails can help reduce draft for fin keelers, but increase draft on twin keels.

Strong tides swirl up the sand around the keels & that can help destabilise sand to help you get off. I have also been known to go overboard if the ground is hard (less weight on boat) put my shoulder under the bow or stern & push & lift to get her moving as waves or wash lighten the load. But you have to be able to climb back aboard as she moves - no mean feat when the bow is over 6' high & you are soaking wet.

It's all about risk assessment - likelyhood of grounding x consequences. If consequence of grounding is serious (delay/ damage/ embarrassment etc) then minimise the risk as much as possible. If a rising tide, sheltered & not in any hurry, I will choose to take chances if there is any benefit. So I keep well clear of rocky shores, lee shores & any where when the tide is falling.

 

[SAWDOC]

I did think of hopping over the side and pushing but the smelly rag I has onboard masqerauding as my only towel decided that one for me ( back to the tea and biccies!) also my boat weighs about 2 ton and I wondered if my pushing would be anyway effective. I did try gondoleering with the spinny pole but only made a few holes in the silt. Searush Have you found pushing to be effective?

 

[Searush]

Searush is a 31' Pentland ketch - about 5tons? It's about reducing weight on board & rocking her with the waves. It will help if you get wash from a passing nutter. As she lifts on a wave, push & lift with your shoulder, using your leg muscles (which are your strongest) & see if she will move at all, if it does, you are on a winner as for the next wave she is already in slightly deeper water. I wouldn't try it in mud, only on hard sand or shingle but then you can motor thro mud with a decent engine.

BUT do make absolutely sure you can get back on board. It would be a bummer to be standing waist deep on a sandbank in the middle of the sea with a rising tide & your boat sailing away on its own.

 

[AngusMcDoon]

BUT do make absolutely sure you can get back on board. It would be a bummer to be standing waist deep on a sandbank in the middle of the sea with a rising tide & your boat sailing away on its own.

Voluntary MOB when singlehanded seems a hell of a risk for the sake of £100 for a depth sounder in the cockpit. Can't you find one in your skip?

 

[LadyInBed]

Turning the boat

It did the job, but I wouldn't have done it that way, I wouldn't like to present my rudder to the shallows!
I have kedged off a couple of times, I tension the kedge warp on the sheet winch and put bursts of power on the engine.

 

[mikemonty]

I've kedged off a shallow sloping sandy shore using a long warp from the bower which had been taken as far out as I could in the dinghy. and sails sheeted in to keep a good heel on.
I think someone just posted the same thing - but you were winching in the warp to set the anchor and get tension on?
The prop or sails are never going to give you anything like the pull that you can generate through the winches.

 

[Searush]

Voluntary MOB when singlehanded seems a hell of a risk for the sake of £100 for a depth sounder in the cockpit. Can't you find one in your skip?

If there is a kedge or bower out, it won't go far, but, as I said "just be SURE you can get back aboard." I can & have on a number of occasions when dried out or on the hard. A ladder helps but is not essential. It ain't a first choice solution, but it is available if needed.

An echosounder in the cockpit would probably just encourage me to go closer in. I generally keep well clear unless grounding is an acceptable risk.

 

[LadyInBed]

The prop or sails are never going to give you anything like the pull that you can generate through the winches.

Using the engine is not so much to pull the boat off, but using bursts of power gets some forward / aft rocking motion in the boat.

 

[SAWDOC]

I have anchored successfully dozens of times but had never kedged off until the incident described. I did try pulling quite hard on the kedge line (led astern) from the cockpit but decided not to use the winch as I perhaps incorrectly thought I was pretty well aground and would simply dislodge the anchor. The combination of short bursts in forward and reverse, combined with the transfer of the kedge line to the bow seemed to work in my particular situation.
In the situation I was in, with bow pointing towards the shore, would others have presisted with trying to kedge astern?
I take LADYinbed's point regarding "presenting one's rudder to the shallows" As my keel is slightly deeper than my rudder I did not think that would be a problem but of course in some situations it might be.

 

[RobBrown]

reversing back out

Coming out the same way as you went in could be best if you have formed a groove in the putty as you went aground, but it would depend on the nature of the material. I imagine soft silt would just reform around the keel as you went in, but it might be a different story for thicker mud, sand or gravel. As said, it also reduces risk to the rudder.

 

[wooslehunter]

"Reacting instantly" for me is let the sails go & fire up the motor in reverse. Come out the way you go in. Letting go doesn't work too well downwind of course. But be extra careful not to touch if the wind is blowing you on.

Like Searush I have bilge keels so going aground (gently) is no real problem. Generally in my area the bottom is sand or mud so shocks aren't bad. But I still wouldn't recommend touch tacking especially in more modern lightweight boats.

If lots of reverse doesn't work then I find I can spin around with lots of foreward & reverse. Once around the keels will walk through the mud with lots of alternating rudder & generally free up. My prop give far more thrust in foreward than reverse so spinning round faces me in the right direction.

Another method if the wind allows is to pull in the sails & heel the boat over. This works well with single keel boats.

 

[peterb]

Getting off

You can often reduce the draught appreciably by moving the weight forward. Put the engine astern, then go onto the foredeck. If there is more than one on board, then all go forward. But be ready to take control again when the boat starts moving.