{"id":2341,"date":"2017-06-05T11:31:13","date_gmt":"2017-06-05T15:31:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unitedmarine.net\/blog\/?p=2341"},"modified":"2017-06-05T11:43:40","modified_gmt":"2017-06-05T15:43:40","slug":"ground-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unitedmarine.net\/blog\/index.php\/2017\/06\/05\/ground-rules\/","title":{"rendered":"Ground Rules"},"content":{"rendered":"

Published with permission from HeartLand Boating magazine. www.heartlandboating.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t make a bad situation worse by reacting carelessly.
\nBy Stuart Reininger.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a formation off the northeast end of Connecticut\u2019s Fishers Island Sound called Seal Rocks, because the critters hang out there. Occasionally, a boat joins them. This happens with such frequency that the towboat skippers there know by the level of panic on the radio where the grounding is. The latest incident happened when a delivery crew aboard a 72-footer dropped by. \"boat-insurance-grounding\"<\/p>\n

Yes, bad things happen. But, here\u2019s where human nature kicks in \u2014 the need to make things right again. Our instinct, when we kiss the bottom, is to find good water. When we ground, it\u2019s to get back afloat. This can make an \u201cuh-oh\u201d into a \u201cMayday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Take that delivery skipper, who turned bad seamanship into disaster. Having trashed one prop, shaft and strut, he used the other engine to back off \u2014 which he did successfully. Subsequently, the boat filled with water through the chasm left by his ex-starboard running gear. Fortunately for him, the quick response of three towboats and their heavy-duty pumps kept him afloat.<\/p>\n

Sure, that\u2019s an extreme example, but with any grounding, from a barely perceptible \u201cthump\u201d to a cliff climb, it\u2019s imperative to immediately stop the boat and look for leaks, paying particular attention to stuffing boxes and seacocks. Often, the problem doesn\u2019t show up immediately, but unless you\u2019re aboard a heavy-keeled trawler or sailboat, the odds are there will be some damage. <\/p>\n

Tickling the Bottom<\/b>
\n \tA friend of mine southbound in the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) ticked the bottom with his port prop. He did the right thing by stopping and immediately checking for damage. Finding none, he continued on. There was, however, a subtle vibration. He figured, correctly, that he had a dinged prop. As he kept running, the vibration got worse and he started taking water from the stern gland. The end result: What could\u2019ve been a prop repair became an expensive replacement of a scored shaft and stuffing box. Basically, if anything appears amiss, get the hook down and holler for a tow.<\/p>\n

OK, so you\u2019re hard aground. Are you in a tidal area? If you take the bottom on a falling tide, you\u2019ll be higher and harder aground shortly. After ascertaining that there are no injuries, an anchor needs to be set out into the deeper water \u2014 although no immediate attempt should be made to haul off. The deployed anchor will make life easier, for you or the towboat, when the decision is made to refloat. <\/p>\n

If the tide is coming in when the boat strikes, you\u2019ll most likely be floating off shortly, which might not be a good thing, as any small leaks will get worse when the water comes up. Go over every dewatering option. Even if you\u2019re not at the point where you need to holler for help, let the Coast Guard know the situation, and keep that commercial tower up to date.<\/p>\n

An Ounce of Prevention<\/b>
\n\tThe above is moot if we (duh!) just avoid grounding. The first step is to drive the boat. Sound silly? Ask your local towboat captains how many cases they\u2019ve had from boaters fiddling with their new autopilots in skinny water? I work with these pros, and I\u2019m still shocked by how many vessels are \u201celectronically\u201d grounded.<\/p>\n

Next on my hit list is the \u201cblind faith in buoys concept.\u201d Some years ago, I found myself flanked by red and green channel markers, thus secure in the knowledge of being mid-channel. True, but I was still hard aground. OK, this was in Florida\u2019s Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW), where buoys are considered decorative rather than functional; but still, it\u2019s always a good idea to follow an up-to-date navigation chart and check the latest Notices to Mariners.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t blame all my groundings (more than I like to admit) on channels. Being what they are, channels change due to less maintenance or natural features. Have you noticed? For instance, buoys are often set somewhat out of the channel (this is endemic in the GIWW). Therefore, it\u2019s not prudent to work too close to the edge of the channel, especially during periods of low water. As a rule, shoaling occurs at the apex of bends and turns, and often buoyage doesn\u2019t keep up with the shoaling. Drift towards the center \u2014 traffic permitting \u2014 when negotiating winding waterways. And, of course, reasonable and responsible speeds are a must.<\/p>\n

If after every precaution you find yourself aground, determine the tidal situation and where the nearest help is. Know in advance what it will take to dewater your boat. Then, have everybody don a PFD and dig out your checkbook.<\/p>\n

Visit HeartLand Boating magazine www.heartlandboating.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Published with permission from HeartLand Boating magazine. www.heartlandboating.com Don\u2019t make a bad situation worse by reacting carelessly. By Stuart Reininger. There\u2019s a formation off the northeast end of Connecticut\u2019s Fishers Island Sound called Seal Rocks, because the critters hang out there. Occasionally, a boat joins them. This happens with such frequency that the towboat skippers […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[242,237,238],"tags":[403],"class_list":["post-2341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-boat-insurance-2","category-boating-safety-2","category-boating-tips","tag-grounding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedmarine.net\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedmarine.net\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedmarine.net\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedmarine.net\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedmarine.net\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2341"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedmarine.net\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2341\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2351,"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedmarine.net\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2341\/revisions\/2351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedmarine.net\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedmarine.net\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedmarine.net\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}