hitting bottom

[kellertb]

i have a 2005 390 sundancer in clearwater,fla. i have the boat backed into its slip. occasionally the tides get real low and the boat hits bottom (bottom is very soft mud) for a few hours per day. is there a chance i am damaging something? if so, i will most likely have to go into the slip bow first when i leave the boat for a couple of months. i know that only a portion of the prop and the rudder stick out below the hull bottom.

 

[trit21]

Maybe.....but I would change my slip if this was the case. What you may be doing is bending the shaft on your rudders. If the boat is bottomed out and then has a little bit of side thrust, current, wave the boat will move side to side potentially bending a rudder. I would move to a different slip immediately.

 

[rhoudini]

If your boat hits ground because the tide and you said that the bottom is very soft the only problem you might have is that the boat use water from the sea as cooler for the engine and motor. also it use salted water for the air conditional when you are at your dock. so if you touch ground because the tide the air condition system will take all garbage from the bottom to your boat :S and you will start have problems with...

 

[kellertb]

i cant change slips because i own this one. however, i can spin the boat around and leave it in the slip bow first. it is always deep enough 45 feet out.

 

[tobnpr]

Far better to have the bow resting in the mud than your running gear and raw water intakes.

Since you own the slip, why not dredge it and make the problem go away??

 

[kellertb]

supposedly not allowed to dredge in manadalay bay in clearwater.

 

[Carver370]

Tie it up bow first and throw it in reverse for a few minutes, your neighbors might not like this but you will have more water under you for a while!

 

[tobnpr]

That's what I was referring to- "prop dredging"...

 

[kellertb]

a couple of questions: first is there any danger in sucking sand into the engines when prop dredging? also why in reverse? lastly, the boat has probably sat in the mud for about 10 days for a couple of hours per day because i cant get to fla until sunday. what are the chances that i did some damage and should i be worried about sucking mud into the engines when i start them even after the boat comes off the mud at high tide? thanks for everyones suggestions.

 

[Boulder GT3]

I'm not a fan of prop dredging although I've seen it done many times. I hate the thought of sucking all that crap in the motors.

Keep the A/C off and check the sea strainers after you're done. I'd get the boat in some clear water after I check the strainers to let it clear itself.

My neighbors boat touches the bottom all the time and has for years. No damage to his. Still, common sense tells me if a big wake came through when his rudders are in the bottom it would be easy to damage.

I just bought a house and need about 18" taken out of the slip. I may be getting some first hand experience shortly...

 

[Hampton]

See if you can rent a boat for a day.

 

[kellertb]

renting a boat is the best idea i have heard yet, thanks. i will let you know what happens. i will be in florida next week. until then the boat sits on the bottom during low tide.

 

[Asureyez]

This a common condition this time of year in Florida with the very high tides. I share your issue and when returning to my slip at very low tide my props walk in the mud and make backing in to the slip unpredictible.

The only issue I've discovered over the many years I've been in this slip is that the results of prop dredging is temporary and the silt just flows back in to the lowest level in a few weeks. But it promotes rapid wear on cutless bearings and raw water impellers.

As long as the bottom under the boat is not hard, just fluid sand and mud, let the boat sit but be careful about running AC and engines at low tide as you'll suck up bottom trash too easily.:huh:

 

[sbw1]

I'd look into the permitting procedures for your state. In Michigan it can take months to a year to obtain a dredging permit, but if you own the slip and using it is a problem due to water levels, the state and feds will let you do it. On navegable water ways the Corps of Engineers and the state DEQ must consent. In most cases Michigan requires property owners to place the dregs in a landfill. It takes less than an hour with the proper equipment to dredge a large slip and costs about $1,500 in West Michigan.