Taking the ground and off again

[stchristopher]

Just wanted some advice. I detest lugging the dinghy from below and blowing it up. Can anyone see any problem with gently going aground at Pin Mill an hour or so before low water, stepping off the boat when the waters subside, not bothering to anchor or tie up in anyway. Then visit the pub, have a nice lunch, and be back on board as the water arrives and just gently motor off. I know it could be muddy, but apart from that cannot see a problem ?

We have a southerly that has a lifting keel.

 

[fergie_mac66]

no anchor ?!

What would happen if you got delayed back to boat with no anchor out ? I suppose you could take a long line and tie it to a tree, or get one of them corkscrew mooring things that narro boats use !

 

[johnalison]

It sounds fine to me, although it might be an idea to have a look at LW before doing it, and tie a line to one of the posts. Boats get launched down the hard, so it might also be worth asking the yard first, in case you are obstructing anyone.

 

[Leighb]

Might be possible with the renovated hard, plenty of posts to make fast to, and the hard is nice and firm with new hardcore/gravel.

Would be good idea to look first as already said, and contact the yards as they might be peeved to find a planned launch was messed up.

 

[MrCramp]

If this was such a good idea I think I would have seen a load of people doing it over the years, and I haven't seen one!

I would be worried about fouling something, sitting on an old anchor fluke, dissapearing into the mud when stepping ashore.

Let us know what happens if you risk it!

 

[eastcoastbernie]

A few years ago I picked up a mooring at Pin Mill then went ashore for the afternoon and dinner at the Butt & Oyster.

I hadn't bothered to think about tides.

After dinner I noted my dinghy was still where I left it. Which was a good thing. Unfortunately, the water was not where I had left it. The boat was a long long way away with much mud between us and it.

We launched the dinghy into the gulley and walking along the muddy hard, towed it until we ran out of hard.

My chivalrous son suggested I sit in the dinghy while he towed it the rest of the way across the mud.

I got in the dinghy and my son stepped off the end of the hard. He disappeared up to his hips in the mud!

Fortunately we'd had a few so it all seemed hilarious. We dug his shoes out of the mud with an oar and he carried on barefoot. We then made progress by him squelching through the mud in front of the dinghy, and me, imperious in my inflatable, helping it forwards with an oar.

When we finally reached my boat there was water all around it, but it was definitely not still afloat.

I climbed back into the cockpit with some dignity intact, and my son followed looking like Swampman.

As a bonding exercise it was top notch, but not a technique you would expect to find on any RYA syllabus.

 

[DanTribe]

A few years ago I picked up a mooring at Pin Mill then went ashore for the afternoon and dinner at the Butt & Oyster.

I hadn't bothered to think about tides.

After dinner I noted my dinghy was still where I left it. Which was a good thing. Unfortunately, the water was not where I had left it. The boat was a long long way away with much mud between us and it.

We launched the dinghy into the gulley and walking along the muddy hard, towed it until we ran out of hard.

My chivalrous son suggested I sit in the dinghy while he towed it the rest of the way across the mud.

I got in the dinghy and my son stepped off the end of the hard. He disappeared up to his hips in the mud!

Fortunately we'd had a few so it all seemed hilarious. We dug his shoes out of the mud with an oar and he carried on barefoot. We then made progress by him squelching through the mud in front of the dinghy, and me, imperious in my inflatable, helping it forwards with an oar.

When we finally reached my boat there was water all around it, but it was definitely not still afloat.

I climbed back into the cockpit with some dignity intact, and my son followed looking like Swampman.

As a bonding exercise it was top notch, but not a technique you would expect to find on any RYA syllabus.

A while ago we were returning to our boat after a session in the Butt at exactly that state of tide.
A "chavy" group of 4 were also doing the same but complaining about the mud, the government and everything ,and "why dint someone do sumfink abart it".
As they got in their petrol station dinghy, a ship went slowly by, and the wake caused a tidal bore taking them a hundred yards back up the Grindle.
Laugh?, of course not.

 

[Cantata]

........We have a southerly that has a lifting keel.

Well, if I had a Southerly I would think that's just the thing I'd bought it for.
However if there's a possiblity of the ground being foul, I'd want to have a look beforehand.
e.g. I usually dry my bilge-keeler out once a year at Whitstable but even though I go to the same spot, I'll drive over a few days before at LW and take a look just to make sure.

 

[FullCircle]

I suggest the acquisition of a Wetline 230 Round Tail hovercraft.
I also have a mud plugger, but getting on and off is the problem, especially as you bring half of Suffolks finest loam with you back on board.
Even when I had my Evo25, Pin Mill had to be approached by dinghy. Judicious use of a beer glass as a Tide Gauge should clearly indicate time of departure from the pub.

 

[swatchways]

When did they extend the hard - popped over this week and it's really good? Although there still wasn't enough water wednesday evening to get ashore for dinner without a fair amount of mud wading...

 

[Leighb]

When did they extend the hard - popped over this week and it's really good? Although there still wasn't enough water wednesday evening to get ashore for dinner without a fair amount of mud wading...

It hasn't actually been extended any further down, but has been made more usable. There used to be a "dip" in the lower section which always got covered in mud, they have rebuilt this section so there is a continuous slope which should stay cleaner.

Also the edging has been replaced all the way down and the Grindle cleaned up to give a better scour. The new steel posts are for barges to moor to so that their mooring lines don't have to cross the hard which is better for all users.