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Ran aground .. advice?

3K views 20 replies 13 participants last post by  CaseyJones 
#1 ·
This is my first post, been reading the forums for a little while..

I sailed a lot as a kid, and recently got back into it after a few years of not sailing

So a friend and I were cruising on his Tanzer 22 on Lac Deschene, and we suffered a touch of 'is that the channel marker or the shoal marker?' ..

.. Well.. it was the shoal marker.. .. sailing on a close reach in light winds, doing maybe 4 knots and *thud* / slight bounce we come to a dead stop..

Dropped the sails immediately and kicked on the outboard while trying to heel the boat using our weight .. we were able to pivot around a full 360 degrees, but not make headway in any direction, so it looks like our keel hit and bounced on top of a rock

Thankfully it was race night and a crashboat heard our whistle.. A couple of friendly gents took our spring line and towed us our while we hung off the port shroud to heel the boat as much as possible..

no discernable 'scraping' or knocking as we came free.. so i guess we were not held as badly as we thought..

checkd the bilge when we got back to the marina, and it was was dry as a bone as were the keel screws (what's the proper term for those) .. Anyways we're wondering 'how bad could the damage be?' and should we haul it out early, or let it soak as long as possible to see if there's any cracks or leaks that may surface over the next few weeks.

Any advice is appreciated! .. It was quite a scare, and the first grounding for both of us.. .. a story to tell and a learning experience that *hopefully* won't result in an expensive repair ..
 
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#2 ·
Sounds like little to no damage done. I'd just keep an eye on things around the keel bolts and wait to assess any damage at your normal haulout which can't be too far away! We all hit bottom and most boats are tougher than we think and most damage is immediately evident if serious. Chances are all you will need it a bottom paint touch up. Welcome aboard!!
 
#4 ·
Casey-

Doesn't sound like too bad a grounding... Just remember there are two types of sailors—those who go aground and those who lie about never going aground. :D
 
#5 ·
Oh I'll admit to my own stupidity any day of the week! .. I'm just happy my first experience grounding was in a relatively indestructible Tanzer 22 ! .. Apparenltly they're well known for their ability to take a beating and sail away from it :)

We made the mistake of following the guy ahead of us isntead of reading and thinking about the markers.. he cut the buoy on the wrong side too, but got lucky

Never assume the guy in the other boat knows what he's doing I suppose :)
 
#6 ·
With the motor running, trying running out the jib to heel the boat over. Unless you're really stuck, that usually does the trick.
 
#7 ·
I ran aground a few times...but never on a full keel boat...yet...and I hope not to do it....

However, this summer, on a particular anchoring place, when the tide went down, my keel touch the ground, and we had a 10º list....so she's not a virgin anymore...bottom was sand. Took the opportunity to clean water line on one side!!
 
#8 ·
Giu-

You have ten feet of draft.... I take it you were using the dinghy to clean the bottom.. ;)
 
#9 ·
.. Well.. it was the shoal marker.. .. sailing on a close reach in light winds, doing maybe 4 knots and *thud* / slight bounce we come to a dead stop..

Dropped the sails immediately and kicked on the outboard while trying to heel the boat using our weight .. we were able to pivot around a full 360 ..
I wouldn't have dropped the sails....I would have cranked the engine to hopefully get pointed in the right direction and then put up more sail.

I'm in North Carolina, so I can think of very few sailing seasons when I haven't hit ground. I've had anchors on halyards and winches many times. But fortunately it's usely mud around here.
 
#11 ·
Hey, it happens. That's why it's always a good idea to keep some extra beer on board in case you get REALLY stuck.

I bumped the J/30 for the first time pretty hard when I was sailing up a narrow channel over the Labor Day weekend. I was in the channel, but in the fairly big chop, I hit bottom in a trough. It's sandy/muddy in Lake Pontchartrain though, so no worries about rocks (thank God).
 
#12 · (Edited)
no tide here.. it's a 50km long lake/river system that's dammed on either end.. variance between spring and fall is about 2-3 feet but there's no tide to speak of

not dropping the sails is definately a good call..my mate who was skippering told me to (ayeaye sir!) .. He seems to get a little uncomfortable if the sails are up and there's a dicey situation .. I think he's spent too much time getting capsized on dinghy's and it's scarred him :D
 
#13 ·
Casey,

Lac Deschene can be tricky with a keel. lots of hidden rocks and the charts are really only a guide as to relative depth because the water level does drop and rise (it is after all a reservoir) with human control over inflow and outflow.

Which is why a centerboard is not a bad idea....

With time you will learn which spots to avoid, keep an eye on the charts and have a pretty good idea about clearance.

Which marina do you sail out of Aylmer, Brittania or Nepean...?

When home we sail out of Kingston. Our draft of 5'9" is not Giu's but still have to be careful. and yes have hit bottom a few times, luckily never hard.. and did manage to work our way off, combining hanging on the boom and some engine work. never had to resort to more drastic tactics.
 
#21 ·
Yep .. Lesson definately learned and I'll be buying a copy of the local charts ASAP! .. My buddy sails out of Nepean.. I myself don't have a boat (yet!) but I'll likely join the OSS SailShare program next year so that I'll have access to some.. Both Britania and Nepean participate in the program, but I believe I have to 'choose' a marina to sail out of if I join the program.. So far I'm leaning towards Britannia .. Nicer clubhouse .. Though Nepean is closer to my work, so I've not decided yet .. Just found out a good friend of mine has an Antrim 27 in Kingston and he's invited me to sail w/ him anytime I like, so I'll likely be making a few trips down to your neck of the woods next year!
 
#14 · (Edited)
The coast guard recently replaced an old green day marker near the Salem end of Marblehead harbor with a can. So far, I know of four, well sailed boats with lots of local experience, that have grounded hard. Two of them are total losses and one an old ship named Fame had to have all of her passengers taken off by the coasties, thankfully she's still afloat.
I think people used to cut the marker and aren't familiar with the new can yet, or its drift.
 
#16 ·
Had that happen coming out of Destin this spring. If I hadn't had local knowledge, I wouldn't have known to go on the wrong side of some of the red markers.

Currently at 38 20 10 N 76 27 42 W , Solomons, MD
 
#19 ·
Ran aground in San Antonio Bay (I wasn't at the helm - sitting in the cockpit fighting chair) doing thirty knots in a Bertram. Hard aground at dusk in two feet of water. Dark closing in fast. 360 degrees around there is no sight of land land. That was a very expensive night . . . very expensive.
Lesson learned. DONT"T stray from the black cans in the ICW.
 
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