Rye Harbour

braithra

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I have a Catalina 30 with a wing keel - would i be ok to moor in Rye Harbour (which dries) - someone suggested that it wasnt good for wing keels to ground as it can put a lot of strain on the keel bolts when it refloats
 
Probably no replies because people are reluctant to give you advice.

If your boat is intended to be able to dry out then I'm not sure why Rye Harbour should be different to any other except that it is quite muddy and you may sink in a bit.

There's a good pic of the condition here:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MCk_x7vwZ...AAAH8/Mh4s2oymiRE/s1600-R/25+Harbour,+Rye.jpg

I would speak to the builder or members of the association.

If yours is an older boat and subject to the Catalina Smile then personally I would not dry out anywhere.
 
there was a survey of Rye in ST some time ago, with pics showing that the ground by the main wall was a bit uneven. The article cautioned against drying out without first seeing the river bed on a previous low tide.

A wing keel would face more difficulties that a fin keel on that sort of ground.
 
I have a Catalina 30 with a wing keel - would i be ok to moor in Rye Harbour (which dries) - someone suggested that it wasnt good for wing keels to ground as it can put a lot of strain on the keel bolts when it refloats
This is Strand Quay a few years ago:-

Rye1.jpg


Rye2.jpg


Soft mud and no problem for our bilge keels; we sank in and stayed bolt upright. HM advised us which positions to avoid due to sloping bottom. Have you dried the boat out anywhere else? If so I don't see why Rye should present any particular problems.
 
Not a place for the faint hearted - especially up in the town. Some visiting keel boats with broken bits or big surprises when they ran out of water, this summer.
Depending on your draught you may find that the sailing window is very small.
Remember it takes about 30 mins to get from the Town to the bar.
We draw 1,3 m and can only just make our mooring in the Brede at HW neaps when there is a predicted 1,9.
 
Rye

If you were thinking about drying out down at the Admiralty Quay/Harbour Masters office be aware that the local fishing boats tend to come back in at the last possible moment and as they are pushing the ebb they create a huge wake just as you are drying out against the Admiralty Quay. This can generate quite a pounding for your keel.
 
Rye

Contact the Harbour Master Carl Bagwell. He has years of experience with berthing yachts in Strand Quayand will give you up to the minute info on berthing conditions in the Strand. Silting after all is not constant .
I do not believe that the mud in Strand Quay is deep enough over the hard river bottom mud to cause problems if you berth in the 'right place' . I see that you are based in East Sussex, so best take a look yourself . At least with a wing keel you are less likely to fall over.

Rye is a real gem of a destination, easliy one of the most picturesque towns that one can visit either side of the Eastern channel.

I keep my fin keeled boat on a full drying, pile, mud mooring in Rock channel at Rye . The boat bellies out on the soft mud with keel cutting its own slot.
 
Years ago when I kept a bilge keeler at Rye there were lots of fin keeled boats at Strand Quay but they took some time to work a hole to sit in and weights to keep them leaning against the quay. The mud is not always as soft as it looks. The permenant moorings are on the side of deeper mud -therefore access in and out was about 1 - 2 hours either side of high water. This depended on how high the mud was in a particular position and how deep your hole was for the keel.

The other problem was when they carried out dredging of the quay - all the soft mud was removed down to the hard base and caused no end of problems for all boats moored there.

As has been suggested talk to Carl down at the harbourmasters office (Camber sands side) he has been in Rye since the early eighties.
 
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