Beaching small sailboats.

[SVDistantStar]

Ive got 2 small sailboats that im thinking about beaching here soon to clean the bottoms on. One of them is a 1966 Columbia 24 and the other is a 1973 Oday 27. I know the Columbia is a full keel boat that can handle beaching, but im not sure about the Oday.

Im also thinking at the same time the Columbia is beached to check its thru-hulls and try to seal them off any way possible. It has taken on water in the past due to one of them having issues.

Any ideas for me?

[danjarch]

I wouldn't beach them to clean them. You can clean them in the water with a pressure washer and a hoka rig. You don't have to be certified to use a hoka.

[CapnHand]

Hookah?

You might be able to get it done with a mask / snorkel and a scouring pad.

Other bottom cleaning ideas here:

http://www.sailnet.com/forums/showth...lean+bottom%22

http://www.sailnet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31782

[SVDistantStar]

Well both of them are anchored out, so no pressure washer around. Beaching just seems to be the easy answer since theres a nice little sandbar nearby. Beaching also gives me a chance to check out the thruhulls and try to figure out why the rudder is messed up on the Columbia.

[sailingdog]

Careening is a long, time-honored, way to clean the bottom of a boat. Careening differs from beaching in that the boat isn't run aground, but anchored in a spot that will have the tide leave the boat on the bottom and allow it to dry out.

Originally Posted by SVDistantStar

Well both of them are anchored out, so no pressure washer around. Beaching just seems to be the easy answer since theres a nice little sandbar nearby. Beaching also gives me a chance to check out the thruhulls and try to figure out why the rudder is messed up on the Columbia.

[Rockter]

I certainly would not dismantle a through-hull between tides!!!!

Ablolutely not.

[Tartan34C]

Careening is when you haul a ship down on her side with a tackle from the masthead to a fixed point on the shore while the vessel is still floating. It was common at one time but not so safe with today’s small boats. You can still see large steel rings in some harbors imbedded in the stone wharfs that were used to anchor the tackle used during the days of sail.

Letting a boat dry out on a beach is usually fine and a great way to change a seacock or work on the bottom. I have done it with both full keel and fin keel boats with no problems at all. Just make sure the boat heels towards the shore so when the tide come in you start to float before you have water flowing into the cockpit.

Drying out alongside a dock is common in places like England but you need to be careful and this requires some experience before you try it. If you are new to this or don’t have someone experienced to help be careful because some boats are not a suitable candidate for this.
All the best,
Robert Gainer

[Fstbttms]

Originally Posted by danjarch

I wouldn't beach them to clean them. You can clean them in the water with a pressure washer and a hoka rig. You don't have to be certified to use a hoka.

If you care about your anti fouling paint (or the integrity of your hull, for that matter) you will never use a pressure washer to clean your hull underwater. Underwater pressure washing (or "jetting" as it is known in the biz) is best done with equipment designed for the purpose, and none of that kind of equipment is available at Home Depot, I can assure you. Further, regardless of what you use to pressure wash your boat's bottom underwater, the resistance of the surrounding water will require that you have to get the washer tip so close to the hull that you will literally blast your anti fouling off the boat. If you are not careful you can actually damage the hull, as well.

BTW, you don't have to be certified to dive with SCUBA gear, either. But anybody breathing compressed air underwater (be it from SCUBA or a hookah) should understand the dangers involved. You could injure or kill yourself even at the depths required to do hull cleaning.