Drying Out ?

[redbreast]

Any thoughts on which Catamaran is able to be used on a drying mooring. Cat around 40 feet . ?

[northerncat]

easy 37
sean

[2Hulls]

Any cat can be dried out.

But this is where fixed keels have the slam dunk clear advantage.

Boarded cats require some sort of protective blocking to keep from being set on their rudders/drives or the right bottom contour + care to place the blocking in the right places. Just like being stored on the hard.

I've seen numerous pictures of board boats sitting in the mud or on the sand. There was a story in a recent Cruising World (I think) showing a Catana 521 or 581 dried out. Barring some unavoidable need, I have no plans to ever try it.

Dave

[ssullivan]

I have an add-on question to this thread:

If you are drying out frequently, how do people prevent damage to the fiberglass and/or bottom paint from constant abrasion?

This is a concern of mine, although I have dried out several times on my recent delivery from the FL Keys to Maine.

[chicagocat]

Are we talking about laying off the Maker's Mark? 'Cause after last night I'm thinking about slowing down a little...

Seriously, though, I'm not familiar with the terms "drying out" and "drying mooring". Are we talking about letting the tide drop and setting the boat on a sand or mud bottom?

[ssullivan]

Originally Posted by chicagocat

Seriously, though, I'm not familiar with the terms "drying out" and "drying mooring". Are we talking about letting the tide drop and setting the boat on a sand or mud bottom?

That's because you're in Chicago.... no tides!

But yes... we are talking about letting the water drain away while you are aground with the tide. Handy for working on the bottom of the boat.

Also, many harbors far from the equator go completely dry with each tide cycle. There are moorings in some of these harbors where boats are left "dried out" when the tide is out.

Here is a photo of this type of harbor/mooring:

http://donorahog.org/pictures/NovaSc...low%20tide.jpg

[chicagocat]

Thanks. That's what I figured.

I've often thought that working with tides is one of the gaping holes in my sailing knowledge. I've done a ton of great lakes sailing, the BVIs, and I even did the ARC across the Atlantic a couple years ago, but I've done very little sailing where the tides and currents were large and really mattered. I wish I had more experience with it. It sort of scares the hell out of me.

[2Hulls]

Originally Posted by chicagocat

I wish I had more experience with it. It sort of scares the hell out of me.

It has its highs and lows.

Dave

[ireaney]

Originally Posted by ssullivan

I have an add-on question to this thread:

If you are drying out frequently, how do people prevent damage to the fiberglass and/or bottom paint from constant abrasion?

This is a concern of mine, although I have dried out several times on my recent delivery from the FL Keys to Maine.

1" Stainless steel shoes - I think? meaning the s/s incase of galvanic reaction, I am no scientist. But I have heard that ogten people use steel shooes to protect the keels.

[catty]

Originally Posted by ssullivan

I have an add-on question to this thread:

If you are drying out frequently, how do people prevent damage to the fiberglass and/or bottom paint from constant abrasion?

This is a concern of mine, although I have dried out several times on my recent delivery from the FL Keys to Maine.

As 2hulls says this is were mini keels shine. Gluing a sacrificial sole on the mini keel is the go. This can either be timber or better still 19mm thick conveyor belting. Utilizing a cats ability to dry out level opens up a whole new world in tidal areas. Suddenly the number of anchorages available increases 3 fold.

[fastcat435]

If a FastCat is often dried out we mount stainless plates under the keels to prevent from abrasion and than it can be dried out af often as you like

Greetings
Gideon

[catty]

Originally Posted by fastcat435

If a FastCat is often dried out we mount stainless plates under the keels to prevent from abrasion and than it can be dried out af often as you like

Greetings
Gideon

How does the weight of stainless steel shoes compare to Basalt fibre?

[Joli]

Originally Posted by catty

How does the weight of stainless steel shoes compare to Basalt fibre?

Bad kitty, bad kitty..........

Cheers,

Joli

[Joli]

But Chicago does have seiches just like the other Great Lakes...... strange to stand on a dock and watch 2~3 feet of water disapear in a minute.

"Great Lakes Seiches
Wed Oct 26, 2005

Compared to ocean tides, tides in the Great Lakes are pretty small. Yet, other forces can produce significant periodic changes in their water level. One such mechanism is the seiche. Hi, I'm Bryan Yeaton for The Weather Notebook.

Like water splashing in a bathtub, seiches are waves racing back and forth within the lake basin and diminishing with each transit.

Several mechanisms can initiate the Great Lakes seiches. Most often, strong winds blowing along the lake's axis will give the initial kick, but fast-moving squall lines, having strong pressure gradients and downdraft winds, can do the trick, as well. In either case, surface waters are pushed toward the downwind lakeshore.

When the wind dies the accumulated water flows back across the basin, sloshing from one end of the lake to the other. This causes rising and falling water levels of several feet on both sides of the basin. With each circuit, some energy is lost, and the seiche decreases in height before finally washing out.

The wind can cause seiches on almost any day, but most fluctuations are small less than a foot in height and go unnoticed amidst surface wave motions. However, during storm conditions, water-level variances of greater than 16 feet have been measured on opposing lakeshores.

Lake Erie is the most affected of the Great Lakes because it is the shallowest and its basin is often aligned with the forcing winds. The typical seiche on Lake Erie has a period of around 14 hours and water-level range of 6 feet.

Seiches on Lake Michigan have reached ten feet. On June 26, 1954, an 8-foot-high seiche struck Chicago's lakefront. People fishing on the dock in Montrose Harbor, were caught unaware. Eight were killed.

Thanks to our contributing writer, meteorologist Keith Heidorn. Our program is funded by Subaru, and The National Science Foundation."

Originally Posted by ssullivan

That's because you're in Chicago.... no tides!

But yes... we are talking about letting the water drain away while you are aground with the tide. Handy for working on the bottom of the boat.

Also, many harbors far from the equator go completely dry with each tide cycle. There are moorings in some of these harbors where boats are left "dried out" when the tide is out.

Here is a photo of this type of harbor/mooring:

http://donorahog.org/pictures/NovaSc...low%20tide.jpg

[2Hulls]

Speaking of the Great lakes, I saw a guy wearing a t-shirt in the airport the other day that simply said, "Lake Michigan - unsalted." Gave me a chuckle.

Dave