Hands Creek enters Three Mile Harbor in the southwest corner. At low tide the gap is barely awash, but high tide puts just enough water over the bar that MON TIKI should pass with no problem. Inside the water is 4-6 feet at mean low water, with a sticky sand/mud bottom that offers good holding.
I thought about bringing MON TIKI here to ride out Hurricane Sandy. There’s good geographically relief, and the wing of the creek that runs off to the South gets deep in the trees, making snug anchorage from all directions with a good wind break.
I called the insurance company on Thursday to ask for a wider radius on our harbor coverage (that’s coverage for a boat that’s under construction or sea-trialing) and they were happy to extend the radius so I could do whatever I thought was in the best interest of the boat.
But in the end I decided to keep the boat in Montauk for two reasons. 1) MON TIKI had only been in the water for a week and I hadn’t had much time to familiarize myself with her. It’s a short run, but still, I just didn’t feel like was confident in my relationship with her, especially not under the duress of impending bad weather. 2) I didn’t want to be split between being with the boat and being with my family. Diamond Cove is also very well sheltered, and only a mile from our house. So Diamond Cove is where MON TIKI road out Sandy.
But Hands Creek is very picturesque, and it would be a real spectacle to see a big cat like MON TIKI anchored up in this little creek. Now that I have a proper camera I may not be able to resist, and the weather this next weekend is looking fine…
Just out of curiosity what is the draft of Mon Tiki.Report
About 2 1/2 feet. Our last boat, INTEMPERANCE, was a fin-keeled racing sloop that drew nearly 7 feet!Report
I was checking earlier and found out that John Cabot’s ship in 1497 was 78 feet long 20f t 6 in beam and drew 7 feet. It was listed as a 50 ton ship.Report
Tonnage is a funny thing. Mon Tiki measure 23 gross tons and 23 net tons. I have no idea what that means.
Her light ship displacement is about 4.5 tons, and we did our engineering specs to stress up to a laden displacement of about 8 tons.
George Beuhler’s Big Mel is a 65 footer with a draft of 6 1/2 feet and a displacement of 57 tons. Based on that, I’m guessing the figure given for Cabot’s ship is displacement.
In any case, we give up some weatherliness in exchange for MON TIKI very shallow draft (INTEMPERANCE was very weatherly, pointed like a witch) but her shallow draft has other benefits. If we’re ever in line for a direct hit, deep Hands Creek is where MON TIKI will hide. I don’t know of anywhere you could hide a boat with a 7 foot draft!Report