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Getting Off (The Bottom) Using the Pivot Tactic
by Tom Neale
In my current column and Tom’s
Tips section on www.boatus.com,
about getting off when aground, I mentioned turning your bow
with the anchor. Often this won’t work or isn’t
practical. If your boat is large enough to have a tender,
you may be able to accomplish the same basic effect, much
more successfully, with the tender. (Because of the groove
you’ve made in the sand or the mud, often your boat will
turn easier in a pivot motion than it would going straight
forward or in reverse.) This can be a dangerous tactic.
It requires skill of both the operator of the tender and
the big boat. But sometimes it’s the best thing that’ll
work quickly. If you have approaching weather or other conditions
that won’t allow you to wait for professional help, you
may decide that it’s worth the risk. Essentially, you
place the bow of the dinghy against the bow of your grounded
boat, on the shallow water side. You push the bow of your
large boat toward deeper water, turning the big boat on its
keel. As (if) your boat turns toward deeper water, the person
at the helm shifts into gear, turning the rudder to steer
toward the deeper water, and tries to motor out. It’s
important to cushion the bow of the dinghy in a way that not
only will prevent its damaging both boats, but also in a way
that will prevent the dinghy from slipping out sideways as
you push, possibly injuring its operator (who should be wearing
that safety kill switch and a life jacket), possibly even
flipping. (We use several layers of heavy wet towels over
the rub rail of our aluminum tender. Inflatables may be better
suited for this as they are full of air and have relatively
flat bows.)
When setting up for the tactic, the dinghy operator should
approach the shallow side of the bow gently, and snug the
dinghy bow against the side of the big bow far enough forward
to get good leverage, but not so far forward that it’ll
slip off under the prow, which could cause injury. While pushing,
the dinghy operator must carefully control the outboard speed
and direction of thrust to prevent the dinghy bow from slipping
off the bow of the big boat, with the possible result of hurting
the dinghy operator. If the big boat begins to break free,
it may at first do so almost imperceptibly. The dinghy operator
must see this and adjust his steering angle so that the dinghy
bow remains safely and firmly implanted against the bow of
and at a right angle to the bow of the large boat. The large
boat may then suddenly surge forward as its operator is gunning
the engine. The dinghy operator must be ready for this so
that the dinghy doesn’t pop out and flip over when it
happens. I prefer to not tie the dinghy onto the big boat
for this tactic. I want to be able to get the dinghy clear
quickly so as to not impede the progress of the big boat.
Some prefer to rig a bridle with a towing line from the stern
of the dingy to the big bow and try to pull the big boat’s
bow around toward deeper water. But I’ve found that I
can get more done quicker by pushing. Also, once the big boat
surges free, you’ve got to do some real scrambling in
the tender to stay out of its way and undo the tow line before
it gets into the prop of the outboard or big boat.
Hard bottoms, heavy seas, or approaching storms usually require
different
tactics. Often the best thing to do in those circumstances
(and many
others) is to immediately call for professional help, such
as TowBoatU.S,
as well as trying to extricate yourself, if it is safe to
do so. Always
remember: personal safety is far more important than property
damage.
Anytime you’re aground, as is the case with so many other
situations in
boating, you’re facing certain risks and whatever you
do will probably
involve other risks. These tactics involve risks. It’ll
be your job to
decide whether they’re worth taking, weighing possible
adverse
consequences and risks of whatever you do, and weighing those
risks
against those of other actions or inaction.
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