"Taking the ground"?

[oughtoc]

\"Taking the ground\"?

Hi. Question about drying moorings. Do you have to have a bilge keeler or can a shallow draught classic be left to dry & float every day without damage (berth is muddy). Found a berth just where I want it, limiting conditions are 22ft long and drying berth. I love the feel of some little day cruisers like a Purbrook Heron, or a Finesse 21, or lots of the other little boats with style. One's with the ability to allow the making of cups of tea & going to the loo in private will encourage family harmony.

So can I buy one with confidence or must I get a lady with wings?

Please advise - have the money to spend and the itch....

 

[IanPoole2]

Re: \"Taking the ground\"?

Here on the East Coast we have all kinds of boats on drying moorings, including shallow keel yachts and classic long keelers. The key seems to be fore and aft moorings, and soft mud. Some people dig holes for the keel or, more commonly let the boat dig it's own hole, but you may have to redistribute some weight around to make sure she initially settles the way you want and settles consistantly.

 

[EdWingfield]

Re: \"Taking the ground\"?

Soft mud is very kind on a hull but take a plodge and make sure there are no hidden nasties eg. previously used and abandoned mooring weights. (you don't want your hull damaged by an old engine block)

For safety, plodge about holding on to the transom of a dinghy when there is just an inch or two of tide.

 

[rhinorhino]

Re: \"Taking the ground\"?

Plodge - what a wonderfully evocative word.

 

[Cornishman]

Re: \"Taking the ground\"?

The classic Tamar sailing barge 'Shamrock' spends every summer on display in her mud berth at Cotehele Quay. She floats and settles with every tide except the occasions when she is neaped. She comes out in the Autumn and goes back in the Spring every year and has done so for over 20 years without problem. She has a long, shallow, straight keel.

 

[oughtoc]

Re: \"Taking the ground\"?

Thanks All - will take a plodge

 

[pessimist]

Re: \"Taking the ground\"?

Spent a pleasant summer way up the Crouch a few years back. The berth was drying (very). We are 41 ft and draw 6 ft. No problems at all. Can't beat Essex mud.