Getting stuck with a c-dory

[ORCA]

Hi C-Brats

Does anybody can tell us how difficult it is to free a c-dory from a sand bank?

Is it possible to free a dory with human power and say a big piece of wood...
I think we will run in to these kind of problems on our trip.
We have the Jet Kayak witch will help as an "sounding guide", but even then I think we will get stuck...

My catamaran witch I used on the yukon river was about 3400 pounds heavy, i never had problems to free him from a sand bank with a big piece of would..
But that was a catamaran, so I have no idea what it will take to free our ORCA...

Any tip how to free a c-dory would be a big help for us

Regards from kalkaska,Mi

Chris

[patrick and linda]

hi chris,
interesting question.
on the ohio river, boaters have found themselves high and dry. one incident occurred several years ago, where the lock and dam lowered the river level and as a result boats beached for the evening had a problem.
most of us employ an aft anchor, when beached, this way one could pull the boat aft or another boater could simply pull you off the sand.
hope this might help for you.
good luck!
pat

[Fairbro]

Unless you run too hard aground I would try an anchor upriver with a tight line (from the stern or wherever appropriate) and then lighten the load which should be easy with all the equipment and portable gas cans you are carrying.

[flagold]

Chris:

If you go aground on muck or mud at speed and slide up (you will) there is where the problem lies. Carry a shovel as you'll have to dig under the boat and break the suction or you'll never get off. There's no help where you'll be, so a shovel could be used to even dig a channel to where you're "parked" if high and dry. If you go aground on sand, mud, etc., up to half the boat length you can usually get off by rocking the engine rapidly back and forth to break suction from the flat-bottom. I slide the boat up on sand and mud banks frequently to take a break from film activities and get a solid non movement platform to eat/sleep/load film/etc., and the rocking trick works to get back off (and I do carry a shovel at all times).

Hope that helps.

[Larry H]

Chris,

You need to be able to put a strong pull on the boat.

I would consider a large aluminum Danforth style anchor, a dacron line for low strech, and a portable winch (a 2 or 4 ton cable puller or 'come-along').

Stick the anchor in the ground or sand up to 100 ft (30 meters) away, with line attached, hook up the puller to the boat and line, and crank the handle. If there are any trees, you could tie the line to them.

[starcrafttom]

I have gotten the susan e stuck on the sand butwith water stillaround the boat. In that case I just got out,left three people on board, and push pulled the boat out bymy self. just walked it back to deeper water. As far as running aground on at speed, My buddy got his 25ft thunderjet sled high and dry on a near by lake. He did it at dusk and I was not able to get there until the next morning. we tried pulling itwith my old boat and with another larger ski boat. neither worked at all. We where able to move it some with two large danfords, chain, rope and some comealongs, also know as portable wench. We were able to move that boat ten ft and turn the bow around but unable to get it close to the water. Ended up getting a back hoe down on the shore to pull the boat toward the water and bac in to the lake. Now that boat weights around 9,ooo bls if I had to quess which I just did. That a lot more then any 2 22 ft c-dorys. A few logs would have been nice but not able to lift the thunderjet high enough to do that.

[Sea Wolf]

I know somebody is gonna' jump on this so it might as well be me!

Tom wrote-

"...and some comealongs, also known as portable wench"

Now that sounds like just the the ticket for a couple of guys on a long, lonley trip up North into MosquitoLand! Any volunteers?

And Chris_

If you ever do this again, consider a specially reinforced pontoon boat with a water jet drive, or even a pusher prop aircraft engine.

With a little engineering, you could get the pontoons very wide and flat, reducing the draft to under one foot, and the rocks in the prop problem could be history with the pusher aircraft engine.

You might have to lighten this up a bit, and the engine might not be as efficient and use more fuel, but those things could be accomodated with extra fuel drops and equipment selection.

We have a 24 foot pontoon boat, and it's 40 hp Mercury 4-stroke pushes it at 14 mph with ease, and has a top speed of about 17. With a 19 gallon tank and a 8+ mpg efficiency, we've got an ultimate range of 150 miles or so. (Not that you want to run the tank down that far w/o a safety margin.)

Another advantage of a pontoon boat is the incredible floor space available for storage: 8.5 feet wide (minus the outer railing) times your total length minus about 3 feet.

Maybe next time a pontoon boat manufacturer would be willing to build you a custom reinforced and outfitted boat for the benefit of the publicity?

Good Luck!

Joe.

[Bearbait]

Carry a rope-along and 100' of the proper rope and anchor and you should be fine. A parachute also works well as long as you were going upriver when you got stuck. If you do use a parachute, be prepared to cut it free if needed, they are difficult to retrieve and may drag you into more trouble.

[Not For Hire]

Chris,
I agree that a shovel (with a long handle) and a rope-along would be worthwhile items to carry. You may use the shovel for other purposes. The shovel could also be a lever. Most times a little digging and pushing will free the boat in a hurry. Are you taking waders or hip boots? The rope- along, see product Here is not that big and may also have other uses. Presume you will have sufficient anchors as well. Did you get a layer of brown ice/snow in that mess yesterday?

Mark

[thataway]

I have kedged some good sized boats with anchors and winches. I think that you will be able to work the C Dory off a sand bar, if you are not too far on--We carry a folding shovel. I also carry an axe. If you have to you can make rollers from tree branches/ trunks. There are also inflatable fenders, which can be used as rollers--and are used to roll small boats across sand, but I am not sure you want to add more gear.

I would strongly consider a used sailboat winch--a #40 non self tailing Aluminum to keep the weight down(should buy it cheap at a consignment shop) which will allow you to generate at least 2000 lbs of pull--maybe as much as 4000 lbs. I am not familar with the "Rope along" but have also moved some buildings on skids with rollers using a come-along. You can bury a "dead man" use a Fortress or Guardian anchor or to a tree. You can also rock the boat back and forth to break the suction if necessary. Keeping an anchor aft to drop at the first hint of grounding may prevent you from going further aground as you are in the current of the river. I think that you can also "lever" the bow around and wiggle the boat toward deeper water. Another trick is to set up some waves with the auxillary jet powered craft and have tension on the rope and as the boat bounces up and down, it will shift toward the pull of the line. For this nylon works best--for a straight pull Dacron works best--so you may want to have some 1/2" line of both.

The advantage of the flat bottom is that you will probably ground slowly and not be driven hard aground--with some lightening, an anchor to prevent further grounder down river, and a way to pull on a fixed object, should get you out of most pitches.

[starcrafttom]

the come a long is to get unstuck and the wench is in case you cant and have to stay a while. Give you something to do,..... and yes susan is not watching me today so beware...

[ORCA]

Hi C-brats

@Mark
No we where lucky, we just had high winds and lots of snow but no icy rain...


Thank's to all, for the advice

Regards from Kalkaska,MI

Chris

[Plan C]

I find in Puget Sound, it is hard to find water shallow enough to get stuck. However I have had one occasion. I was in the harbor at Nordland, on Marrowstone Island, and wanted coffee at the store. I tied to the dock at eight in the morning and found they didn't open until nine. The tide was low and going out, but we were intent on getting their good coffee. By nine, the boat was firmly on the bottom (with motor tipped up), and we weren't going anywhere. My solution: I read an entire issue of a New Yorker magazine, and by then we were floating again, as well as coffeed up. It was the easiest most pleasant grounding I ever experienced.

Dave

[Hunkydory]

[flagold]