glennytots
New member
I have a Jeanneau Tonic 23 sloop which has a longish (2 metre) stub keel giving it a draft of 0.7 metres. It came with a set of yacht legs which I believe were original equipment. While I have enjoyed drying out in previous flat-bottomed yachts, I am nervous about using these legs and so have avoided doing so with the Tonic.
The Tonic's legs are heavy steel and the top of them clamps over the toe rail from above and are secured using a screwed pin which passes one of the holes in the toe rail. A hard rubber pad on the leg mates with (but is not secured to) the hull about 2 feet below this. The length of each leg is adjustable in about 4-6 inch increments. The legs each terminate in a base of about 6 inches square and lightweight lines go fore and aft from the bases to to the bow and stern to keep the legs vertical in that plain. So the only weight-bearing connection to the yacht is through the toe rail. Part of my nervousness due to the toerail showing some evidence of some past misadventures ie a small amount of distortion in places and in one instance the sawing away of the toerail to presumably release a errant leg.
My main concern is that the Tonic is a very lightweight boat albeit with a relatively heavy keel (around 500kg of the boats 1500kg). Might the crews weight moving around put excessive strain on the toerail especially as the boat inevitably would settle with a degree of list? Also I worry that any swinging of the yacht as it grounds or refloats (due to swell perhaps from a passing boat) might cause a leg to swing in or out-wards buckling the toerail.
Does anyone have experience with the use of these legs especially with the Tonic or a similar yacht? Can they advise on their general use and especially on how to rig them and on the range of circumstances and sea floors where their use is appropriate. Thanks.
(UPDATE: an older posting from a Tonic owner suggests that a couple of vertical u-bolts aligned bow to stern on the side deck, just inboard from the toe rail amidships are in fact to take the yacht legs, not the toe rail. That makes sense although they seem somewhat lightweight for the purpose. Because they are slightly inboard, they would give the legs a degree of flare which would make the load bearing leg more vertical in the event of drying at a list . Next time I visit the yacht I will examine what reinforcement there is under the side deck to allow these U-bolts to take that strain.).
The Tonic's legs are heavy steel and the top of them clamps over the toe rail from above and are secured using a screwed pin which passes one of the holes in the toe rail. A hard rubber pad on the leg mates with (but is not secured to) the hull about 2 feet below this. The length of each leg is adjustable in about 4-6 inch increments. The legs each terminate in a base of about 6 inches square and lightweight lines go fore and aft from the bases to to the bow and stern to keep the legs vertical in that plain. So the only weight-bearing connection to the yacht is through the toe rail. Part of my nervousness due to the toerail showing some evidence of some past misadventures ie a small amount of distortion in places and in one instance the sawing away of the toerail to presumably release a errant leg.
My main concern is that the Tonic is a very lightweight boat albeit with a relatively heavy keel (around 500kg of the boats 1500kg). Might the crews weight moving around put excessive strain on the toerail especially as the boat inevitably would settle with a degree of list? Also I worry that any swinging of the yacht as it grounds or refloats (due to swell perhaps from a passing boat) might cause a leg to swing in or out-wards buckling the toerail.
Does anyone have experience with the use of these legs especially with the Tonic or a similar yacht? Can they advise on their general use and especially on how to rig them and on the range of circumstances and sea floors where their use is appropriate. Thanks.
(UPDATE: an older posting from a Tonic owner suggests that a couple of vertical u-bolts aligned bow to stern on the side deck, just inboard from the toe rail amidships are in fact to take the yacht legs, not the toe rail. That makes sense although they seem somewhat lightweight for the purpose. Because they are slightly inboard, they would give the legs a degree of flare which would make the load bearing leg more vertical in the event of drying at a list . Next time I visit the yacht I will examine what reinforcement there is under the side deck to allow these U-bolts to take that strain.).
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