Careening a CD-30

[slaume]

We are staying wet this winter in hopes of being able to do some late season and even winter sailing. It will also seem more pleasant and easier to do much of the work I have planned in the water this year. I am in the process of installing a diesel heater to make it nice and toasty on cold winter days. There is also a savings of over $1000.00 which could be spent on up grades. Last winter was our first with the boat and the bottom came down to bare glass, was barrier coated and painted with ablative paint. My concern is that the paint may not hold up for all of next season. I had planned on the possibility of short hauling to get another coat of paint on her and regrease the seacocks. When I got curious about careening I checked the archives and found that some people had been using this method for working on their boats. I can't imagine how many well meaning people would come to see if they could help in your "grounding" situation. We have glass matt batteries so there should be no issue with them. One post mentioned having a 1/2 full fuel tank and emptying your water tanks. Securing everything would seem much like heading out on a rough day. What I would like to know is at what angle of heel will a CD-30 lay while careened. I have a couple of sheltered beaches in mind but what do you do about shells and small rocks (this is New England)? Do you put down anything for the hull to rest on other than soft sand? I am assuming that the hull rests below the water line and you would not have to worry about topside scratches. Is there ever a time during the process that the toe rail is submerged? I know this is not something that is usually done in our area but why? It seems like it was a very traditional way of working on a hull below the water line. It would seem like great fun running around in a bathing suit on a sand beach scrubbing and painting a boat that was gently laid over on her side with a light breeze blowing. If such work can be considered fun. The alternative would be crawling under a suspended hull in a hot and stuffy marina while standing on concrete. I also read an article about careening in deep water by suspending a barrel of water from your halyards and pulling the boat over. This seems much more risky and then you are painting out of your dingy. Am I missing something major here? Any careeners still among us, intentional or otherwise? Thanks for your thoughts, Steve.

[Neil Gordon]

I'll take a shot at some of this:

>>I can't imagine how many well meaning people would come to see if they could help in your "grounding" situation.<<

No kidding. Have plenty of paint brushes handy.

>>... at what angle of heel will a CD-30 lay while careened.<<

You can figure it from the line drawings. If the 30 isn't available, use the 28 and you'll get about the same answer. The keel and its lead will be grounded. The hull will ground at the tangent... draw a line from the keel. Adjust for the slope of the beach and you'll have your answer.

>>... what do you do about shells and small rocks (this is New England)? Do you put down anything for the hull to rest on other than soft sand?<<

Old mattresses come to mind, but then you're left with a beach load of wed, sandy old mattresses. Some boards strategically placed under the contact point might do it.

>>Is there ever a time during the process that the toe rail is submerged?<<

Not if you do it right. It's important that as the tide goes out and the hull settles, that you lean into the beach. Presuming a calm day so there's little wave action, you'll be leaning into beach that's already below the tide line.

>>I know this is not something that is usually done in our area but why?<<

Because most of us haul for the winter. Otherwise, it's still easier to short haul for bottom work. Remember that you can only do one side at a time... some of us would rather spend the two days sailing.

>>The alternative would be crawling under a suspended hull in a hot and stuffy marina while standing on concrete.<<

You can't avoid the concrete, but you can avoid the heat by short hauling in the fall or spring.

>>I also read an article about careening in deep water by suspending a barrel of water from your halyards and pulling the boat over.<<

Someone else can do the calculation... but for the keel to be accessible that way, I'm pretty sure the toe rail would be well buried, as would about half of the cabin top, etc.

One last point... since you'll be careening at high tide and painting at low... be sure that the tide you're counting on to refloat you is sufficiently astronomical.

[bess]

check out Duxbury bay plenty high and dry areas and would gladily put my boots on!!! Would be some thing to see and do
bess

[bess]

add a clambake over near bayfarm dux/kingston line and bet many will show! Gladly contribute and seaweeds is free
bess

[David van den Burgh]

Steve,

Thought you might be interested in this: http://www.sailnet.com/collections/arti ... baldwi0010

[Olli Wendelin]

Steve,

I careen my CD30 every two years or so for bottom painting. This is one of the great advantages of having a modified full keel. I do it on a sandbar in a river with not to much fetch to reduce wave action. One side on Saturday and one on Sunday. I have done it on a flat sandbar and one with a little slope.

I'll try to answer your questions. Last time I didn't drain the water tanks and got some spillage. I had previously used fenders at the turn of the bilge, but this caused oil canning of the hull. Now I just lay it on the sand. As I recall the water gets within an inch or two of the toerail. For a CD30 you need at least a tidal range of 4-1/2 ft. More is better. Also a shovel for digging out the keel on the high side. It's a lot of work for about 3 hours, then just sitting around relaxing. BTW this can be a one man operation on a 30 footer.

Carreening in deep water is usually for an emergency repair. I have seen it done lengthwise to repair the rudders on a catamaran with two dinghys full of water on the bow.

I also know a buddy who resealed his stern tube on a CD28 careened on a sandbar.

Let me know if you have any questions. I have pictures, but none up on the web.