Drying out against a quay wall
This technique is handy for quick underwater maintenance jobs – clearing a fouled prop, scrubbing and even antifouling. It can have its drawbacks if you’re planning to stay aboard overnight, though. A suitable bottom is always required; hard sand or concrete are ideal (a slipway is usually OK if you’re not going to block it), or shingle. Mud can be difficult in terms of getting the work done.
The bottom shouldn’t slope away too steeply from the wall, and there clearly shouldn’t be any obstructions like large stones or concrete blocks. In an unfamiliar place, local knowledge is essential in this regard (I once asked a fisherman if a spot on the wall would be a good place to dry out and he said, ‘Ah no, you’d want the hospital for that’). You need some means of getting down there when the tide’s out, but that’s not usually a problem. For some jobs, the boat doesn’t have to dry out completely.
The underwater profile of the boat needs to be considered. A long keel boat will always dry out safely but may lie bowsdown. With a fin keel, the boat will almost always sit happily on it, but with a very narrow fin (fore and aft) it may be wise to keep heavy weights and people away from bow and stern. Lines can be rigged to the pier to protect against the risk of the boat tipping forward or back. With a wing keel, or even a wide fin (side to side) with a flat bottom, the boat may tend to resist leaning in to the wall, and the mast may have to be hauled in quite hard (see below) to get her past her tipping point or at least secure her. On a level bottom, it can be best to let a boat like that sit upright, but the mast must be really well secured. If a keel surface is GRP rather than metal, it is important to avoid drying out on a hard obstruction.
The actual process will vary depending on the location, the boat, and the tidal range, but a few general principles always apply:
■ Don’t ground the boat too soon after high water – you want to be sure she floats off on the next tide.
■ Rig long bow and stern
lines to cope with the falling tide, and set plenty of fenders.
■ Before the boat takes the ground, take a halyard (a spinnaker halyard is ideal) as far as possible out across the pier (extend it if necessary) and make it fast to something secure – make sure nobody is likely to drive through it. The wider the angle between the taut line and the mast, the better. Winch in the halyard to give the boat a bit of a list towards the wall, but
mind the stanchions and the capshrouds. As the tide falls, keep the tension on the halyard. I have seen a five-gallon drum of water tied to a halyard and hung over the far side of the pier, but I’ve also seen a boat secured like that tip away from the wall, dragging the drum with her, and land (fortunately with only a splash, and on a rising tide), still aground and with a 30-degree list. The dog got the fright of his life and the front-opening fridge painted the cabin sole with yogurt.
■ Once most boats are aground and leaning a few degrees, they will be quite stable – but keep that halyard tied. If you are concerned that a wing keel boat may want to spring upright again and perhaps fall outwards, set a second halyard.
■ Once the boat is within a few inches of floating again, releasing the halyard(s) won’t be risky, because if she does roll away from the wall, she won’t roll far. But if you refloat and forget about the halyard(s) you’ll obviously have a problem.
■ Heavy weights can be placed on the side
deck to induce a heel, but it’s not secure.
Two more cautionary tales. An eminent yachtsman of our acquaintance, sadly no longer with us, once dried his boat out and draped a heavy anchor on a halyard over the parapet wall on the far side of the quay. Selfadjusting, of course. Hours later, he and his crew returned to the boat, threw off the lines and headed out, forgetting about the halyard. The anchor hopped over the wall and landed on the bonnet of a new BMW.
We once found ourselves, in a borrowed boat, hard aground on a falling tide, 12 feet away from a stone pier, after allowing a boat inside us to slip out. I rowed an anchor out on a halyard and pulled her down, away from the wall, and she developed a 30 degree list at low water. Obviously being from the only yacht around, we got some funny looks in the pub, to which our response was ‘unorthodox, but very secure’. We hadn’t heeled on the overnight low tide, so we must have been leaning on the inside boat (a Galway hooker, she was well able to take the weight). I still don’t understand why the echo sounder showed enough water.
When drying out against piles, the main issues are fendering and access to the bottom. In this case the halyard can be attached to an anchor. Fender boards and a ladder may be necessary. Tyre fenders are good for this and any drying-out situation, and they don’t tend to pop out.