drying the boat out for the very first time.

[bosun higgs]

I posted this elsewhere but it occurred to me that you hairy chested northern yotties might dry out against harbour walls a bit more often that Solent sailors do.

Anyway, one boating task I have never done and am very nervous about is drying the boat. But having finally bought a fin keeler and sailing the bristol channel, I am going to have to alternative but to try it this year

So what is the procedure from the time you come alongside the harbour wall? And bear in mind I dont yet know whether the boat goes down by the stern or the bow or what. The keel bottom is a rounded lead bulb which slopes upward at the front.

And once it is down successfully, what do you do then to allow it to go up and down unattended on subsequent tides. Or dont you?

[marisca]

I have dried Marisca out quite a few times but only over one tide for bottom polishing purposes or overnight parking. Good fenders, stout bow and stern ropes to hold her level (if necessary) and a rope round the mast or the spinnaker halyard to a suitable point to keep her leaning the right way form my basic modus operanda. I have also dried out on a shingle bottom and a rope from the jetty to the genoa track and winch on that side reassures me that the keel wont gradually slip out. 'Cos I'm a nervous soul, I have been present adjusting the ropes until she finally settles - I don't think my constitution would cope with abandoning her for several tides though others seem to manage.
Remember you have to get off and on the boat so park near a ladder!

[Fingal]

Marisca's advice is as good as you would expect from a man with such impeccable latin grammer. When you say 'fin keel' that covers a wide range; as a rough rule of thumb I would say the higher the aspect ratio of your kel the more fraught the process will be.

[Silkie]

Educashun is a wundurfull theng.

[sahona]

Have a look at your intended drying berth on the previous tide, and make sure it's a friendly bottom - not forgetting where the rudder will be.
If you're going to antifoul, do you need 2 tides (turning the boat between) or can you lay your hands on giant fenders which will give a bit more space at the wall side. Ropes have been covered already but our preparation includes laying long shorelines about 1-1/2 boat lengths forward and aft from the centre of the berth to the centre of the berth, dangling.
They can then be grabbed as you come alongside, and used to centre the boat before you clamber up the mucky ladder and add more knitting. The masthead line (halyard) can be made self adjusting by hanging a heavy object to it.
Put a doormat at the top of the ladder, and another on deck!
Usual caveats about neaps, springs and draught apply. Other methods are available.

[claymore]

Nicely covered so far - I always make a point of getting her to lean in by having a bit of weight on the side nearest the wall just about the time of touching.
A big preventer amidships going across the boat - perhaps to a carabiner at the foot of a shroud or onto a midships cleat and then preferably back to a winch is a good way of stopping her falling over. Spinnaker pole handy for if she starts to go down at either the bow or stern and make it fast as soon as it seems she is doing one or the other.
I've seen some neat arrangements with a block running up and down the main shroud and tied off tight to a ladder or railings on the quay - I've not done this but is seems a good scheme so long as it doesn't interfere with a spreader.
I tend to just have a rope loop around the mast which does the job ok.

[Mehitabel]

If you only dry out alongside infrequently it is only too easy to forget that you diligently attached the mashead to the quay with a spare halyard during the drying out process. It is a most odd feeling to have your increasingly furious efforts to motor away the following morning rewarded only by heeling over and a gentle return to your original position, and it can take a while to work out the cause - no doubt related to the quality of the harbour-side hostelries. Or at least so I have observed.