I put Tsunamichaser aground. No I wasn’t sailing along not paying attention to navigation; I intentionally motored up onto the beach at mid-tide. On the way in, I set an anchor beyond the low tide line and then carried another anchor ashore so I could keep on station and kedge off if necessary. I cooked up some pancakes and had breakfast, while I waited for the tide to go out. It quickly receded from the stick I had stuck in the mud at the tide line.

I could inspect the bottom of the hulls and most way along the keels not long after finishing my breakfast, as the tide range was from about 13 feet to just less than two feet. With such a precipitous drop, it didn’t take long before the hulls were mostly dried out. I say most of the way as the hulls sank down in the muddy bottom mix of harbor sludge, barnacle-covered oysters and remnant clam shells. Thankfully, I didn't crush any of the beautiful Sea Stars that colorfully dot the low tide zone.

The hulls didn’t sink far but they did push their way down a few inches at the lowest points, about mid-ships so that part was left un-inspected. All was well, the only potential signs of the beach landings being some small chips of bottom paint missing on the outer side of the starboard hull. During the inspection, I checked the rubbing strips of UHMW HDPE too. All seemed well. If you remember from earlier posts, I glued and screwed this material to the bottom of the keels in lieu of the metal strips recommended by Wharram. They seem to be doing the trick and though taking the brunt of the beaching show no serious damage. The issue with using them is that it is next to impossible to get anything to adhere to them so they are really only well attached at each screw.

Being satisfied with how the bottom looked, I went about the days activities away from the boat. By mid-afternoon I decided to check on Tsunamichaser again. When I got to the beach, accessed through a swampy trail through the woods, I found her afloat again. I had to walk out through knee deep water to get onboard, no big deal. It did get me thinking of yet another bonus of sailing on a lightweight cat over a monohull. No haul out needs and no associated fees. And think of all the extra ocean available for exploration – all those tide flats that the monohull sailor avoids!


Aground on the falling tide.


The bow of the port hull looking great.


Missing paint chips.


Purple Sea Star.