Hello all,

I have a seal 22 with an inboard engine (Vire 7HP). I have seen her dried out only once or twice on a fairly hard bottom and pondered how apparently unprotected the propshaft/prop is, not being far off the ground (compared at least with boats that don't get down on their belly!). Any advice please about how 'safe' drying out is on softer or uneven bottoms...

Trev

I'll jump in as no-one else has.No doubt others who own Sinbads will then follow.I have a 27 but the principle is much the same.
The stern gear is typically protected by the upsweep of the hull from the keel area - not much clearance is required,and there may also be a skeg.The Sinbad hull is described as having additional GRP layers and reinforcement to allow routine drying out.In my experience the hull will settle happily in soft mud and in effect will float in it so that the stern gear lies clear.There is sometimes concern that mud/sand particles will enter the cutlass bearing and accelerate wear,depending on you mooring situation.
But whether hard or soft the main concern is whether projecting debris on the seabed will provide a point load on the settling hull.Shingle areas which displace to the form of the hull are normally OK for short term anchoring and are illustrated in the original brochure.Drying moorings are normally placed in clear areas of bed.My manual suggests walking the bed around a temporary anchorage just in case there is the odd half brick present.Obviously you have to time this and mistrust over-soft areas.
Small bits of debris will gradually sink into soft mud and would be driven down as the hull settles anyway.
From reading it sounds as though the Sinbad will sit on it's raised keel to give a little more clearance on a hard bed.
If this helps.
Peter

Welcome Trevelyan
It's been a long time since I owned a 22 but I took it all over and dried out a lot, usually with the legs I made.
My long shaft outboard probably stuck down further than your prop but was never a problem.
In soft mud (at least 9" deep) legs are not needed but the prop will also go in the mud. This is also no problem unless there are hard bits in the mud, but I never found any!
The cutlass bearing and wear is more of a potential problem with the flat bottom hulls such as my 26 or the newer 27,275 etc. where the prop is nearer the ground. I have fitted a water fed shaft seal which discharges down the shaft and so cleans out the cutlass bearing, which seems to have greatly reduced the wear.
Philip superseal 50 rascal