Anchoring in shallow water

[Mstrlucky74]

Just bought my first boat a 47' ....lol..jk... Got a 1998 searay 215 express cruiser. Took my boating safety class 6-7 years ago and have driven a boat about 15-20 times. Went out with a captain once a few years back when I did a boat timeshare(what a waste of money) and went out again with one on this boat.

Me me and the wife drove the boat over to Kismet, Fire Island and there were many boats anchored close to the shore. Probably about 15' away. Didn't see anyone get off so not sure how deep the water was but people def got off their boats. Spoke to one guy leaving who had the same exact boat as me, he said you need two anchors. I asked about the prop getting stuck in the sand and he said it gets close.

Any my tips on how to anchor in very shallow water this way. Me and the wife would like to do this. Thanks

 

[src]

On our smaller boat, we usually drop an anchor off the bow some distance from shore, then back the boat in until we are at a safe distance/depth. From there, we walk in with a sand spike tied to a stern cleat. This holds the boat in position well enough to prevent any untoward movement. A second anchor would work just as well (which is how we do it with the big boat). You could do it bow-in or bow-out, depending on your preference and the situation at your beach.

 

[Sangster]

Mine's not quite as big, but I do it the same way. Drop a bow anchor about 20 yards from where I want the bow to be. Tie off to a cleat. Then hop off the back and walk a stern anchor up on shore, pull boat "tight" until front anchor is set then I set the stern anchor on the beach. Easy peasy.

 

[sdleo26]

The tide change should be your biggest concern; with a boat your size it's less of a concern, but if you account for tide drop assuming you anchor at high tide, assume 3 feet less water at low tide. If you do what is described above (i.e., two anchors ) and adjust your position for tide you will be fine. If your stern is in 3 ft of water at high tide you will come out to a beached boat at low tide etc.

 

[rcmafgny]

Having done it a number of times myself, the above information is spot on. Especially watch the tide..........

 

[PMC]

Respect the tides....

You have to find the spots...Many have great sand bars, with a deep water drop off where you can get very close without the above happening. 2 anchors is the way to go.

 

[sdleo26]

It's almost unthinkable that not one of those captains thought about outgoing tide; I guess after a few cold ones or 12 in a raft up you forget about outgoing tides!

 

[rcmafgny]

It was a sight to see. Especially from the beach side....

 

[kiloil]

Great advise from sdleo26

I can ony add when you drop the anchor on the bow, don't assume you have that anchor set by pulling the boat onto shore to set the rear anchor. I did this and wasn't a pretty sight.

 

[Mstrlucky74]

Thanks a lot guys so some questions.
how do you actually SET th anchor or know when it's set?
So if we want to park our boat to where we can get off an walk up the beach the water pretty much can't be passed our knees. So if it's up to our knees during high tide it going to be much lower(and probably ground the outboard) when low tide comes? The only way to avoid this is to go deeper during high tide which makes it difficult to get off boat and get to beach or park boat during low tide. But know I'm thinking..lol...it may be hide tide when we come back and too deep to get to boat.....wtf!!?? Lol

thanks

 

[src]

Someone's going to get wet. Take that as a given. It's a boat and a beach - there's going to be water. The people who don't want to get wet don't anchor - they beach. Run that sucker right up on the shore and you can just step off the bow and keep your knees dry.

If you want to try to have it both ways, you can try using an anchor buddy (essentially, an elastic anchor rode), but I don't think it would work well in a crowded situation - the same stretch that allows you to pull to boat into shore will also allow the boat to "wander".

 

[Craigalan]

We anchor in about 8 ft of water, somewhat away from the crowds. Turn on the electric air pump, fill up the Zodiac in about 7 minutes for the day, then putz around and beach and surrounding areas in the dinghy. Those who want to beach, its no problem. Those who want to stay on mothership, also no problem. Plus, the kids get a huge kick out of the Zodiac. So far, this has always worked for us.


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[sdleo26]

Thanks a lot guys so some questions.
how do you actually SET th anchor or know when it's set?
So if we want to park our boat to where we can get off an walk up the beach the water pretty much can't be passed our knees. So if it's up to our knees during high tide it going to be much lower(and probably ground the outboard) when low tide comes? The only way to avoid this is to go deeper during high tide which makes it difficult to get off boat and get to beach or park boat during low tide. But know I'm thinking..lol...it may be hide tide when we come back and too deep to get to boat.....wtf!!?? Lol

thanks

7ft of rode for every foot of water. Make sure u have enough chain on your anchor to your line, typically one foot for every foot of boat; it makes a huge difference in my experience. Your anchor will stay put and not drag. You will k ow when your anchor is set. Watch a few you tube videos or Google boating with Eddie. Long Island boaters club has a few good videos- anchoring being one of them.

 

[BritLady]

We're the same drop bow anchor in about 22' just off a sandbar ledge, back up until she sets then walk/swim back anchor onto beach which is generally 6' . Someone usually gets wet because they like to but we could dinghy the anchor in if we wanted..


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