Moorings with a fin keel.

I've taken the mud in Carnarfon several times back in the late 70's - in a coastal oil tanker. I see from Google maps, though, that the oil terminal we used to deliver to has gone, although the pier is still there. (It's the flat open area just north of the yacht harbour)

The ship was specifically designed to ground, though - for example, each cargo tank had a suction in each corner so if you happened to dry out down by the head and listing to starboard, you could still pump the tanks dry.

What I do remember specifically about drying out in Caernarfon was how sticky the mud was. If we took the ground fully loaded and discharged, we'd be empty by the time the tide came back in - yes, a 'very' small tanker - but the water would come up almost to the loaded draft marks before she'd pull herself out of the mud with a great sucking and a mass of really foul smelling bubbles.

I'd hate to risk grounding a fin boat there. Even if she didn't sink the keel into the mud and dry out upright - puting all sorts of wrong stresses on the keel root - I'd be scared that when she lay on her side the mud would grip the hull firmly enough to allow the rising tide to flow over the side as it came back in.

Richard

 

Hence my comment:

The "other" Richard

 

When I saw Caernarfon the habour opposite the castle had a large number of what appeared to be abandoned, rotting boat carcases. At the time I thought “what a horrible way to go” but now I realize just how horrible.

 

fin keel on mud

i have a gk24 standing on legs just fine, she's also dried out a few times without.
ideal conditions for legs are mud around 300-500mm with a firm bed that's nearly flat, for laying on its side 1m or more mud suction is not an issue as long as your topsides are watertight because they will se plenty of the tide before the boat lifts.
as for pounding on a tide a mud bottom helps a lot.
would not recommend for anything other than iron fin as encapsulated keel will eventually leak, not a cheap repair!

my GK24 has survived several force 9 encounters and almost no pounding as we have very little open water here and gives little room for waves to get any bigger then 200mm.