Drying out in tidal marina

[Snowpetrel]

I speny a fair bit of time up a very muddy river with Snowpetrel 1. In places the mud was soupy soft and I sunk right down untill the boat was litterally floating in a sea of mud at low tide, maybe a few inches up on her waterline. Sometimes she would list a little bit or trim. Over a few tides she dug herself a nice wallow, and sat pretty level. There was always an interesting momemt when she sucked free as the tide came in. With a slurp she would pop out and be floating again. Local knowledge is really key here. You have to know the mud is soft all the way down. I had no issues with my prop, though blocking the water intakes might be a problem on some boats. (Mine was keel cooled).

For the record she was a long fin keel and skeg rudder, 6 foot draft.

I sat at another drying berth with a hard bottom for about 6 months. She dried out every tide. I had a line on a weight to the masthead to ensure she settled leaning against the wharf. Some boats have an issue with them going down by the head, and your rounded forefoot might allow a little rocking?

Its pretty important to inspect the bottom at low tide. In soft mud you can poke it with a boathook. You don't want to land on an isolated rock...

[Miran]

My 32' boat has a draft of 6', weighs 8.5t and has been lying in a tidal marina for a year or more, drying out twice a day with no problems. The keel gets totally submerged in the mud and floats out when the tide comes in. The tidal range is approx. 18 - 24'. After the first low tide the boat made its "hole" and sinks into it every time. My rudder gets partially buried as does my prop - no ill effects.

[racinejf]

You're welcome Mike. Glad I could offer useful (not stolen [emoji6]) informations.
Fair winds!
J-F

[Mike OReilly]

Thanks folks. I think I'll continue to avoid drying out. It sounds like it shouldn't be a problem, but I'd really want to talk to locals about the particulars first. And since we're just passing through, I don't really have the time to investigate. No biggie. So far we've been able to find floating anchorages, and we're nearly through the largest tidal areas.

No worries about rushing Deep... I live my tagline [emoji6]

[rognvald]

"Its pretty important to inspect the bottom at low tide. In soft mud you can poke it with a boathook. You don't want to land on an isolated rock..." Snowpetrel


You took the words out of my mouth, SP. Great advice! Good luck and safe sailing, Mike.

[zeehag]

drying out is easy. just ensure your boat remains upright. my keel is approx 2 ft width so we stand fine. was in mud in barra lagoon with 2 ft of hull out for each low tide for 2 weeks. no big deal. stayed upright and no sinking into muck.
under the muck n mud is hardpan or rock. you will only sink about an inch, if that.

[SecondBase]

The beaching legs are for balance not weight.

Having done this many times I like to have several things in the rigger's bag all ready to go and then it is swim ladder down, mud boots, fresh zincs for the prop etc, scrapper for any barnacles, extra lines to run to shore. Smart phone to take a full 360 video if you don't have them already.

[annualLeave]

I agree with others that in general there is not much too worry, as long as the bottom is soft mud and not gravel. In the UK there are many boats that sit on the mud twice a day. It is also true that the proportion of bilge keel sailboats is higher in the UK than in other countries, as many people don't like the idea of having their fin keel sunk into the mud.