"Terry Spragg" wrote in message
...
root wrote:
My 28ft bilge keeler bounces around a good deal when the tide has moved
to
be settling or lifting the boat. Not only does it get damn noisy but it
can get a bit frightening when wind
& wave combine to cause it to pitch up on one keel. But thats not my main
worry, I'm more curious to learn from folk who permanently moor in the
shallows and effectively have their boat on the dry once or twice a day.

Does this long term bouncing about cause any strutural damage? I'm
thinking it cant be doing my radar dome any good either.

I've just done an ad-hoc solo 2200mile voyage from southern New
Zealand to north Queensland. Conditions went as bad as 55knot gales with
7m seas the boat handled it a damn site better than I did.

cheers
bruce


I had a Westerly 30 Bk on a thames estuary mud berth near tilbury for many
years where there was a strong tidal flow reasonably rough water in gales
and very heavy wash from large ships in close proximity. The boats on
swinging mud berths rotate about the mooring root twice a day and point
direction is influenced by tidal flow, wind and river current. After a boat
has been on its mooring for a while the boats sit in a circle of very soft
mud surrounded by harder mud that hasn't been affected by the boat. In
severe or unusual conditions the boats are thrown against their moorings and
outside the usual circle of soft mud. The rudder is then very vulnerable and
I have lost one before in these conditions removable or lifting rudders can
help. The replacement for the grp spade rudder I fabricated out of stainless
steel rather like a model aeroplane wing and it lasted fine.