Mooring away from canal bank

[pcatterall]

GRP boats and rocky canal banks have been a problem on our recent French canal trip. We have mainly been able to find quay sides to moor at but now and again have had to land on banks of doubtful 'provenance' shallow and potentially rocky or with underwater obstructions.
Our 10m yacht draws 1.4m and the canals are usually 1.8 but only in the centre.
Our method has been to move gently to the bank at about 45 degrees with a crew member checking for depth with a pole, crew can sometimes jump off bow and secure the pointy end further probing along the sides may allow us to bring the stern further in. Sometimes however the wind brings the stern in and we have grounded, on occasion water level has then dropped ( due to a lock being used) and we have become well stuck. The fear of rocks especially when a passing boat creates waves is always on our minds.
I wonder if anyone else has developed techniques for this situation.
I have a stern anchor ready to deploy and may add put a bit of chain ( rather than the current rope) on this with a view to dumping this to keep the stern out I am even considering having a long sturdy pole or poles to drive in.
I may even have to overnight on one of these banks and would like to be close to but not against the bank and am considering whether carrying two poles may help. I may also be single handed which adds another worry to the situation.
Any ideas/experience chaps?

 

[prv]

The classic way to stay off an inhospitable quay is to drop an anchor further out with the warp made fast amidships. But I suppose running a rope out to the middle of the canal would be considered antisocial, and I seem to remember that anchors are banned anyway as they dig up the clay and make it leak.

Could you get a couple of long aluminium poles to rig from boat to bank at bow and stern? You'd need to rig proper springs to keep them at more or less 90° to the bank. Planks would be better as you could walk ashore on them, but might be a bit unwieldy at the required length.

Pete

 

[Seajet]

When I worked on a hotel barge on the French canals, at places such as described with stone steps or rocks we dropped one of the bower anchors just away from the bank, keeping it tensioned as the 'peniche' was tied up to anything handy ashore.

We never seemed to need another anchor aft; this is standard practice with the peniches, particularly the industrial rather than hotel ones.

A yacht may well need a kedge out diagonally astern as well, should be OK as long as not madly far out, also night traffic being banned one should be OK after a certain time, may need to be up and alert early- ish in the morning though.