Beaching?

[foxsealady]

Hi guys, We camp a lot and like to have the boat near shore. However, when we tie off at the bow, the boat keeps hitting the shore and putting nicks in my gelcoat. Would it be better to anchor the stern and tie off at the bow or turn the boat around and tie the stern to the shore and anchor the bow? We're trying to figure a way to keep the boat off the sand/rocks yet not be in deep water and be able to get back on the boat from shore. We have a beach ladder.

 

[wish2fish]

I used to use an anchor rope called "anchor buddy". They have them at overtons but an online search only revealed the smaller PWC version.

Anchor buddy is a stretch rope that allows you to get close to shore and then have the boat pulled out to deeper water once you get off. I used to tie another line to the anchor buddy and the other end to the something on the shore. I would leave the anchor buddy in the water so when I returned I would just have pull up to the anchor to the front and the line to the rear. I would pull the boat in with the line tied to shore, unload the boat and then let the anchor buddy then pull the boat out. When I wanted to go boating I would pull the boat to shore and get on.

found this online:

[/list]

 

[OneMoreHour]

We also camp and boat. If we leave the boat in the water overnight, we anchor bow towards the shore using both a stern anchor and a bow anchor (or bow line tied to a tree). Once the anchors/lines are set, I'll adjust them so that there is at least a foot of water beneath the front of the hull so that the boat won't hit bottom if there are any wakes coming ashore. We then just use the bow ladder to board the boat.

On the lakes we camp on, there's not much boat traffic at night, and the boats are usually small, so anchoring stern out is not a problem. But if there is a chance of large waves or wakes coming ashore, you'll want to anchor stern towards the shore to keep water from coming over your stern and swamping the boat.

Another option is to install a keel guard and just beach the boat if you have a sandy beach by your campsite. We had a keel guard on our previous boat, and would beach it when possible, but many times, the shoreline by the campsite would be rocky or too muddy to beach.

If you do beach the boat, keep an eye out for changing water levels. One night we beached the boat, the water level in the lake dropped over six inches, and it took a bunch of guys to push our boat (and three others) off the beach.

 

[foxsealady]

Thanks so much for your help. I really like that anchor buddy system. Very handy indeed!
I've looked into the keel guard and it looked like a lot of work. I've tried backing the boat in but the waves on the lake kept pushing it into the shore and banging up the motor. I've tried the stern anchor and bow line but it kept moving on me. I'll give the anchor buddy a try and let you know the outcome. Again...thanks guys.

 

[OneMoreHour]

From your description of what's happening to you, it sounds like you are not getting your anchors set, so they are not holding your boat where you want it. If the anchor you have deployed away from the shore is set properly, you should be able to use it to stop your boat from hitting the shore when backing in. Even if you use the Anchor Buddy system, your anchors still need to be set well, or your boat will move.

Here's the general procedure we use to anchor on our lakes.

First, note the steepness of the shoreline and the depth of the water where you think you need to drop your anchor. You will generally need a scope of 4:1 to 7:1 to obtain a proper anchor set. Scope is the ratio of length of anchor line to height of deck cleat to the bottom of the lake or sea. That means if it is 10 feet from your cleat to the bottom of the lake where you plan to drop your anchor, you will need to pay out 40' to 70' of anchor rode (anchor line) before you set your anchor. If the water depth is 25', you'll need to pay out 100' to 175' of anchor rode.

On our lakes, we can usually get a good set with a scope of 4:1. And if we are only staying put for a short time, I'll sometimes use as little as a 2:1 or 3:1 scope.

So if you need 100 feet of anchor rode, you're going to have to drop the anchor very roughly 100' from shore before you start backing in. After you drop the anchor, raise your outdrive some, start backing in while someone else pays out the anchor rode. While backing in slowly, before you get close to shore where you want to stop your boat, maybe 15'-20' from where you want to stop, have the person paying out the anchor rode either cleat the rode (tie the anchor line to the cleat) or very carefully pull and hold the anchor rode. This should set the anchor and stop the boat from moving backwards. Be prepared to put the boat back into forward gear if the anchor doesn't stop the boat.

If the anchor doesn't hold, pull forward, pull in the anchor rode, increase the amount of rode (start further out from shore), and try it all over again.

If the anchor sets and holds, uncleat the rode and start to back the boat in again. Once the boat is moving backwards, you can usually put the boat in neutral, raise the outdrive, and slowly coast back to where you want to stop. Cleat the rode to stop the boat before your outdrive hits the bottom.

At this point, you have to send someone ashore with a stern anchor or line to secure the stern. And again, make sure you have plenty of scope on the stern anchor so it sets and holds. Once both anchors are set, you can adjust the rodes to move the boat in or away from shore as needed.

The same procedure applies if you are going to anchor bow towards the shore. You'll just deploy the stern anchor from the stern before heading in to shore.

This may sound complicated, but just make sure you and your crew understand what's going to happen before you start, communicate clearly, go slow, and practice. We now do this almost without having to think about, and we don't have to keep worrying about whether our boat is going to pull loose and ground itself. Good luck.

 

[First Born]

Great explanation Bill...thanks!!!

 

[cr0ck1]

I used to use an anchor rope called "anchor buddy". They have them at overtons but an online search only revealed the smaller PWC version.

Anchor buddy is a stretch rope that allows you to get close to shore and then have the boat pulled out to deeper water once you get off. I used to tie another line to the anchor buddy and the other end to the something on the shore. I would leave the anchor buddy in the water so when I returned I would just have pull up to the anchor to the front and the line to the rear. I would pull the boat in with the line tied to shore, unload the boat and then let the anchor buddy then pull the boat out. When I wanted to go boating I would pull the boat to shore and get on.

found this online:

[/list]

That rig is very gangsta.

 

[foxsealady]

We bought the anchor buddy and it works great. Found it at Boaters World. A little getting use to with the bungee and anchor line together but we finally got it to work when we went camping last weekend. Now we just need to figure out how to get ashore without stepping into 3' of mud!! Thanks so much for the info wish2fish!!