Beaching Legs

[Peter]

Peter,
That beaching process is pretty amazing...can you give some more detail on how you perform this? - first time you attempted this, what type of bottom you must ground on, etc...
Thanks,
Brian

(Continued from the bottom of this thread)

I gotthe plans for the legs from a member of the Vega Association of Great Britain. They were drawn by a gentleman who has used them since the '70s on a Vega that (I believe) is beached every low tide at it's mooring.

I used materials I had on hand for the legs, a couple of 4x4 pressure treated fence posts that had also served as a building jig for an Acorn dinghy. The only part that made me nervous was drilling the two holes in the side of my boat for the pivot point thru hulls. But I went ahead and did it anyway, as they are above the water line.

The bay I beached in is right at the marina where I dock. The day before, at low tide, I donned waders and went out on the mud testing the bottom with a length of 1/2" re-bar. I found a fairly solid area in the creek bed at the head of the bay, where gravel had washed down and formed a firm bottom. I was still able to drive the bar into the mud 4 feet by hand! The legs have a 10" square pad on the ends to distribute the weight so I wasn't worried ... much.

I drove the bar in at the spot where I wanted the bow to sit and tied a ribbon around it up a distance equal to my draft plus 12".

Next day I attached the legs. It really helped to have 2 lines attached to the bottom of each, one led forward and one aft. Otherwise, working solo, it was hard to keep the legs from floating up lengthwise before the nuts were tightened. I left the ropes on ... just in case..

Motoring slowly up the bay, I dropped a stern line off at the dinghy dock, and motored a couple of boat lengths past my rod in the mud, ribbon just showing. Here I dropped the bow anchor and cut the motor. From the stern I winched back on the line to the dock until the bow anchor set, then adjusted the lines so the bow was at the rod.

As the tide dropped I felt the keel take to the mud, and after another few minutes (seemed like forever) I could rock the boat from side to side and feel the legs make contact. The legs are a couple of inches shorter than the boat, to allow the keel to settle a bit. The Vega has a long keel, so forward/aft support was taken care of.

Pictures here.

As I mentioned in the other post, my second attempt was not quite as elegant, as I slept in and almost missed the low tide. In my rush I parked one leg over an underwater "pothole" and the boat started to lean when the tide dropped. An anchor attached to the main halyard and set off to the side kept things straight.

I plan to make a better set of legs, using telescoping aluminum pipe instead of fence posts. This will allow me to compensate for an uneven bottom, and to stow the legs on board in a cockpit locker. I'm happy with the design ... I like the large padded contoured pads that support the hull and splay the legs at a slight outward angle.
Ah, no end to the list of projects :-)

[The Froon]

Thanks Peter..I gasped at the bolt-thru swivel fittings, are you just in a place which is difficult for haull-outs?

Brian

[Peter]

I'm about a day's sail from the nearest haulout, but the real reason is that I like to be independent no matter where I go ... and I'm cheap :-)

[Triton 185]

Hi Peter,

Please post pictures of the aluminum models when you make them.

[Allen]

James Baldwin had built something like this for Atom. Here's a picture of it being used on another boat. Always looked a little precarious to me though.



Link: http://www.atomvoyages.com/projects/atomprojects1.htm

[Zach]

Really cool!

Any closeups of the through hull attachment thingamajig?

Zach

[Idon84]

... and I'm cheap :-)

Don't forget Self Sufficient!

I've seen similar set ups as well. In Ferenc Mate's book, ShipShape there is a picture of a small boat with legs.

I've been wondering how to do this on my BCC but because of the gently sloping curve of the keel, the boat would rock forward as the tide leaves it. I've seem some similar keels use legs up forward near the bow at a 45 degree angle. They are not bolted through and halyards are used to stabilize the boat.

I think I read somewhere where that the Pardey's had Lyle Hess design a flat square section integrated in the bow , Port & Starboard, for a flat pad where the beaching legs would rest. These pads were way up forward of the centerline. The idea being the forward legs held the bow and the keel did the rest. Wish I had a picture!

[Peter]

Any closeups of the through hull attachment thingamajig?

I just updated my Picasa album, Zack. There's some detail on the first few photos.

Please post pictures of the aluminum models when you make them.

That's a way off, maybe next spring. I'm not sure if my list is getting longer, or if I'm just slowing down!