[C320-list] "drying out" - do you/have you done this?

[Bruce Stanley]

Hi Graeme

I would like to see the photo. It does not get attached to C320Lists. If u
can send it direct, I would enjoy.

re flexing ... the MkI #1084 that I owned in Sydney Australia and one a bit
older #1072(?) both flexed when pulled from the water (and she sat on her
keel).

No apparent damaged was evident over the 6 years I owned her. Cabin doors
would jam ... that is about all.

Regarding the Rudder ... mine was a Wing Keel and the Rudder was equal or
deeper than the Keel.

This was always a concern. If yours is a Fin 6'2" keel, you will be mostly
free from hitting it before the keel touches!!!

I like the idea of avoiding expensive marina hoisting.



Regards

Bruce Stanley / Sydney Australia

now a C36 Fin Keel owner

On Wed, Apr 22, 2015 at 7:13 PM, Graeme Clark <cg at skyflyer.co.uk> wrote:

> I’m not sure if I have asked this before - if so my apologies
>
> In Britain it is not uncommon to have a tidal range of 15ft or more and
> most locations will get at least 6 to 8 ft as a minimum
>
> It is thus common practice for boat owners to ‘dry-out’ a practice I
> gather is not that common in the US?
>
> picture here img_1344.jpg
>
> For those that dont know what this is, it bascally means tying up along
> side a harbour wall or what are ofetn called ‘scrubbing posts’ - wooden
> piles driven into the seabed - and allowing the boat to settle on it’s keel
> as the tide ebbs, having taken suitable precautions to prevent it toppling
> over, of course!
>
> This  saves the cost of a lift and gives  a good few hours to scrub the
> undersides or make some minor below waterline maintenance task.
>
> I wrote to Catalina to ask if the boat was designed to do this and the
> initial repsonse I got was that they didnt know what i was talkinga bout,
> so is ent them a photo and then they said “oh, we’ve heard of people doing
> that sort of thing in Alaska, but no, we didnt specifically design the boat
> for this”
>
> We dont have many catalina owners in the UK, but I know of at least two
> who have dried out their boats at least once or twice.
>
> This year when mine was hauled out for winter, the new yard I am using
> doent use a cradle but ‘shores up’ the boat with timber shores. As she was
> being lowered to the ground and the keel started to take her weight I
> noticed a significant degree of flex in the hull -  basically it starts to
> squash as the weight - normally supposretd equally along its length by the
> water - is supporte donly at the hull-keel join.
>
> Which makes me wonder whether it is a safe practice, or is that flexing
> likely to crack and/or delaminate the GRP?
>
> There are other issues, like the fact that the tip of the rudder is about
> the same depth as the keel (I think?) so if the seabed is uneven, a
> proportion of the laod will be taken by the rudder.
>
> I realise the simplest and safest answer, is if in doubt, dont do it -
> but if someone somewhere says “I have been drying out every two months for
> the past ten years” then I know its not an issue.
>
> msny thanks, as always, for any comments.
>
> (By the way, not sure what the costings are in the US bit in the UK, to
> have a 320 craned out and craned back in, will cost in excess  of US$600 -
> so there is a good reason tio want to do this!
>
> Graeme
>
> #366
> Falmouth
> England