Running Aground.

[44'cruisingcat]

The loss of boats (and sadly crew sometimes) due to keel failures reportedly caused by groundings, has me wondering. Seems to apply to bolt-on keels mostly, but I'd imagine even an encapsulated keel could be weakened if you hit hard enough.

So, should you get your boat hauled and surveyed whenever you run aground? For a very soft grounding, probably no. But what about a fairly solid hit?

[RTB]

If it was my boat (fin keel, bolted on), I'd haul it to check for damage, even if there was no water coming in after the grounding. Why?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was also confirmed by the university that the boat had run aground as many as six times the year before and had undergone repairs to the keel. - See more at: Troubled Waters - Texas Monthly



------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So.....you going back to a mono in the near future? That's why you posted this?

Ralph

[barnakiel]

Depending on how the keel is designed&built and how (and how hard) you hit.

Lifting the boat up and having a look will not hurt in any case.

If in doubt, you can dive and investigate before you have a chance to lift.

b.

[RainDog]

I dive mine after a grounding or impact. If there is no visible damage, I don't worry much. Then again mine is much beefier than many more modern boats. If I had a more extreme design, I would haul it.

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by RTB

If it was my boat (fin keel, bolted on), I'd haul it to check for damage, even if there was no water coming in after the grounding. Why?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was also confirmed by the university that the boat had run aground as many as six times the year before and had undergone repairs to the keel. - See more at: Troubled Waters - Texas Monthly



------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So.....you going back to a mono in the near future? That's why you posted this?

Ralph

Interested to know. I never had a bolt on keel boat, mine was steel long keeled, and we never worried about groundings. Although we didn't hit anything hard anyway. (I don't worry about groundings now either.)

Just wondering... we saw a boat hit a bombie in the Whitsundays, hard. Foredeck crew fell over, rig shook for about 10 seconds etc.. just wondering if that boat would have needed to be slipped and checked afterwards. Assuming a bolt on keel of course.

[Tayana42]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

Interested to know. I never had a bolt on keel boat, mine was steel long keeled, and we never worried about groundings. Although we didn't hit anything hard anyway. (I don't worry about groundings now either.)

Just wondering... we saw a boat hit a bombie in the Whitsundays, hard. Foredeck crew fell over, rig shook for about 10 seconds etc.. just wondering if that boat would have needed to be slipped and checked afterwards. Assuming a bolt on keel of course.

Yes, and the bombie should be hauled and checked for damage.😀


S/V B'Shert

[transmitterdan]

At least the incidents I can recall all had one thing in common. The keel or hull had been damaged and repaired. Many of them more than once. I have not read a case where a grounding was ignored and then the keel fell off. I think this means that when there is significant damage after a grounding it is usually apparent; often from inside the boat or from the awful sounds of tearing fiberglass.

The problems come when the repair is not done correctly. That's when the boat is most in danger because the crew believes all is well when it is not.

I also think there are some boats with suspect design. The S/V Cynthia Woods case mentioned in a previous post had some controversy because the university that operated the boat found the keel design was inadequate and blamed the builder. But even in that case there had been repairs done to the boat after grounding. The US Coast Guard report blamed the repairs as I recall.

[FamilyVan]

I think it would depend how hard you hit, what you hit and the disgn of a keel. Also what noises, feedback you get when you hit.

When you hit something like a deadhead you tend to glance over top pretty nicely from my experience.

The last time I was aground, I didn't even realise it until I got into port and saw about a foot of soft mud on my skeg.

But if you hit a rock hard especially with a fin keel, or if you hear or feel any grinding or cracking, definitely get it checked out.

The other thing about grounding is, sucking mud and sand and overworking the engine trying to get off will often lead to dome engine troubles.

I've been aground more than a few times I don't generally sweat it too much, but I like heavily built boats with long keels.

Edit: I should also note, if it takes a lot of effort to free her, like if you need a tug or a truck on shore or something to drag you off, you should definitely get it checked then too.

Sent from my XP7700 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app