[C320-list] Boat Draft and Grounding (Wing Keel)

[John Meyers]

If you want to get stuck on a rock you won't need to try very hard in the
North Channel of Lake Huron. You MUST be very careful not to find one the
hard way. But it is a very nice place to be in spite of tho$e na$ty rock$.

John Meyers #406 (Second Chance - New Name TBD)

On Sat, Aug 14, 2010 at 10:10 AM, Allan S. Field <allan.field at verizon.net>wrote:

> Sorry Warren but healing over is not useless.  We went aground in Knapps
> Narrows a few years ago.  I had 6 people on board.  I asked 5 of my crew to
> stand on the side deck, hold onto the shrouds, and lean out as far as they
> could.  I was behind the wheel and also moved to the same side.  The boat
> heeled over and I was able to power off very easily.  Before I put everyone
> on the side, I could not power off in any direction.
>
> 3 months ago under sail, we went up on an uncharted bar on the Miles River.
> This time I had 5 people on board.  I could not back off under power so
> once
> again, we all hung out the leeward side, the boat heeled over, and I easily
> powered off in reverse.  We also had 30 knots of wind on the beam so had a
> lot of help from the wind in getting a good heeling effect.
>
> The above 2 paragraphs are facts.  Now for the opinion.  I think what
> happens with our wing keels is that when we plow into mud, the entire wing
> goes in.  Between the mud and the suction effect, we are stuck.  But by
> heeling over, we break the suction and, instead of trying to move the
> entire
> keel out of the mud, we are now only trying to move one edge of the keel.
> While that edge probably buries deeper from the heeling effect, it still
> takes less power to power the boat off.  Until proven otherwise, that's my
> story and I'm sticking with it!
>
> If stuck and going in reverse is the only way out, an incredible amount of
> mud and sand are shipped forward and gets sucked into and through the
> seawater cooling system.  I always take the seawater pump apart after such
> an action and make sure the impellor is OK.
>
> Finally, our rudders are designed to breakaway a foot or so up from the
> bottom before the entire rudder is destroyed in a grounding.  The Gerry
> Douglas breakaway-rudder-theory is that enough of a stub of rudder is left
> that one can get home.  Fortunately I have never had to test this theory
> and
> know of no one who has.
>
> As for getting stuck on rock, I'd love to know where that happened.  I have
> been sailing the Chesapeake for over 40 years and the only rock I am aware
> of is White Rock on the Patapsco, and that puppy sticks out of the water
> maybe 20 or so feet high.  I always thought that any other rock (other than
> manmade jetties and such) were long ago covered by sediment.  Regardless, I
> have never heard of anyone going aground on rock in the Bay.  Did that
> happen to you on the Bay or somewhere else, like Lake Erie?
>
> Allan S. Field
> Sea Shadow - #808
> Columbia, MD
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com
> [mailto:c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com] On Behalf Of Warren
> Updike
> Sent: Friday, August 13, 2010 4:18 PM
> To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
>  Subject: Re: [C320-list] Boat Draft and Grounding (Wing Keel)
>
> It is said that there are only two kinds of sailors on the Chesapeake Bay:
> those who have gone aground, and those who soon will.  That said, we've had
> a number of "scrapes" with the bottom (pun intended.)  We've found that the
> best course of action is a quick change to reverse and try to power off the
> way you came in.  That is, of course, unless you are on rock which isn't
> too
> often on the bay.  Once, we were stuck on rock and opted to wait out the
> tide for fear of doing damage.
>
> If grounded hard on a soft bottom, healing over, as you said, is useless.
> If
> a tow is necessary, try pulling out the way you went in with all possible
> weight on the bow to raise the rudder.  Another approach is to sound the
> bottom around the boat to find the deepest way out. Remember, it's less
> than
> 5' deep. Often, it doesn't take a great force to pull you off. Another
> sailboat or small power boat is often able to do it.
>
> We also avail ourselves of Tow BoatUS unlimited insurance that is the best
> bargain on the Bay.  The one time I had to use it was with an overheating
> engine, stuck on the bottom, and storm approaching. The retail cost of that
> tow was over $900.  Cost us nada other than the annual premium of about
> $125.  Presence is important and fortunately BoatUS is all over the
> Chesapeake.
>
> Warren & Pattie Updike
> 1994 C320 #62 "Warr de Mar"
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Amirault Family - S&B [mailto:amiraults at sympatico.ca]
> Sent: Friday, August 13, 2010 2:58 PM
> To: c320-list at lists.catalina320.com
> Subject: [C320-list] Boat Draft and Grounding (Wing Keel)
>
> All:
>
> My sailing ground (Ottawa River above Parliament Hill, Ottawa Canada) is
> experiencing historic low water levels due to low rainfall and last
> winter's
> low snowfall. The result of this has been deep keel boats unable to leave
> harbour due to the risk of grounding at the harbour entrance. Yesterday
> afternoon on entering harbour I gently bumped the bottom at this entrance
> but did not get hung up. For the evening's races I took the same course in
> and out as that morning's departure and had no problem; although all of the
> crew was at the bow to raise the stern a bit in hopes that if I do hit
> bottom it will not be with the rudder.
>
> Two questions. Bear's nominal draft with wing keel is 4'10''. I was asked
> by
> the club manager (when I reported the bump with the bottom) whether this
> measurement was for salt or fresh water. Would there be that much of a
> buoyancy difference?
>
> My take on grounding is that trying to cant the hull to one side to float
> her off is a non-starter as this would actually deepen the draft as the
> wing
> tilts down further into the bottom. Is there any reasonable hope of this
> solution working by tilting the hull far enough over, or is a pull off by
> another boat the only solution (bearing in mind that the area has no
> tugboat-like craft available as this stretch of the river is an inland
> waterway)?
>
> I have yet to ground Bear, but if a grounding will leave her stranded then
> I
> may have to tie her up until we get appreciable rainfall.
>
> Regards;
>
> Brian Amirault
> 797 Waltzing Bear, too
>
>
>