Shallow water

[Jesperbrum]

Hi last year i bougt a Beneteau 331 and a Dock in a Nice Marina..
The only problem is the water is verry low..
Its a Lake so the tide is not a problem
Light winds and on shore is just fine and i got a littel water unter the keel and the boat i floating, but when it off shore Wind the boat is stuck 30-50cm in the mud and i have to push it hard out the slip with the Engine.
Yesterday i could feel the mud half the way out of the Marina..
I dont really like it and i feel im destroing my boat?

The board at the Marina tells me its not a problem and nothing happens with my boat..
Hope You understand me and hopefully got some more opinions

[boatman61]

That's around 18inches.. I don't think I'd be to keen on ploughing my way out every other time.. whatever..
But depends on the type of mud I guess.. does your rudder feel like its bottoming as well..?

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Jesperbrum.

[Jesperbrum]

My rudder is shorter than the keel so dont feel it in the steering..
The worst part is defently the slip, and it need 4-5 really hard push by the motor..
I dont know what kind og mud, or if the Buttom of the mud is sand..
But could it damage My keel bolts or area between the keel and boat

Thanks gordmay

[Stumble]

There is a lot of guessing below combined with a good bit of conjecture....

What it sounds like to me is you have a very soft mud bottom. So long as you can push thru it at low speeds you are not likely to do real damage to the boat. It is threat for it, but it also isn't going to be terribly harmful either.

To make getting in and out easier I would recommend trying to heel the boat over a little bit however. Making sure everyone is on on one side generally will give you just enough clearance if you could just power thru it. Or you can fill a bucket or two with water and hand them from the end of the boom, pushed all the way out. This will also help heel you over just enough.

In the slip... No good ideas. We had the same problem and just made sure the boat was tied up in the middle. When the water was low the boat would rest on the keel and fall over to one side or the other. This went on for years without any damage. Again it wasn't great, but it worked.

[RaymondR]

If you are using ablative antifouling it is probably ablating it but then again if the boats keel is down in the mud nothings going to grow on it anyway.

[Pete7]

Doing that regularly is going to take the cutlass bearing out far more quickly than one used in clean water.

Just getting ready to do mine again after 3 years because sometimes in the UK the water also disappears, about twice a day actually.

BTW not all cutlass bearings are made equal. The basic Vetus model is okay but if you want longer life you need to look around at a more robust model and the material type.

Pete

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by RaymondR

If you are using ablative antifouling it is probably ablating it but then again if the boats keel is down in the mud nothings going to grow on it anyway.

Sadly my experience is the exact opposite happens. A thin layer of mud over the antifouling stops it working and then all the beasties start to get a hold including barnacles.

Pete

[hugosalt]

Years ago I would suggest a trash pump and in about a hour boat would be floating in slip. Not in these times though.
With boat secured in slip you might try "charging your batteries" with boat in forward gear.
(forward less mud in intake)
When water is low better.
And if you have a clam rake you can stir up some bottom while you are claming of course. Or heard of garden hose tied to pole.
Can do little at a time.
Better if have powerboat friend with big motor.
Whatever you move will go somewhere, not so good if ends up in fairway or neighbors slip. Not so bad if out of way near shore.
Thinking will not occur fines if not too obvious, but i do know a good bail bondsman.
Also if problems in spring ...does water level lower later in season?

[Perstarebob]

Hugosalt is correct , running the boat in gear while still tied to the dock will move a lot of mud ! We have tied a 44 foot dive boat in a slip and cleared a channel out to the intracoastal in New Smyrna on several occasions . You might be ahead to do this at nite or when not a lot of people are watching .

[Jesperbrum]

The problem is not way as bad as PETE7's pic..
The boat allways stays in the water, but the log tells me how bad it is before ill try to get out the slip..
I tried to push mud both forward and reverse tied to the Poles, and it helped me a lot at High water, but at low i still have to push it hard into the slip..
Maby i have to push mud every time i have to go for a sail in off shore just to make sure i got some more depth

[maxingout]

I wonder how much silt is getting sucked into the engine cooling system?

[Jesperbrum]

Of cause this is a problem, but maby try to check the sea filter while its running and the imprellers after a few weeks..
My biggest concern is just if i could damage the boat (hull) by pushing it in and out..