Beaching a boat

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bones774

Petty Officer 1st Class
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Nov 11, 2008
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After just now acquiring my first boat can anyone tell me all the whys and hows of beaching.
I want to beach the boat and work on shoring up my dock so it could be a few days project.
it's a 22 ft bowrider with 350 i/o engine.
Thanks
 
rjlipscomb

rjlipscomb

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Jun 2, 2009
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Re: Beaching a boat

Yeah its real easy...

When about 100 yards from the beach, go WOT and jump on plane as quickly as possible. When you hit the beach, turn off the engine and raise the drive. You'll certainly be on the beach. Okay?

Maybe you can give us a little more information as to what kind of beach, where it is located, what the beach is made of and the water depth approaching the beach. Then, I might be able to give you a little more help.
 
Thad

Thad

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Re: Beaching a boat

Hey, what was wrong with the 100 yds, WOT, and sticking it?:D

Save a lot of money on anchors and rope that way:p
 
B

bones774

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Re: Beaching a boat

rjlipscomb said:
Maybe you can give us a little more information as to what kind of beach, where it is located, what the beach is made of and the water depth approaching the beach. Then, I might be able to give you a little more help.
Click to expand...

Well if we wanna be smart, the beach is made of sand if it was rocks I would call it rocking the boat or crashing the boat, the water depth goes from 50 feet in center of lake to no depth at the shoreline, if it was deep water I wouldn't be able to "beach" it.

Anyway, It is a lake beach, sandy, very shallow approach, with a dam releasing water 24 hours a day.
 
ScottinAZ

ScottinAZ

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Re: Beaching a boat

typically, I start raising my drive when I am on the approach to the beach, I get it up to just where the "tilt" function starts to kick in, 82 Evinrude, YMMV). This has my skeg and prop about even with, or slightly above, the transom on the boat, so that I dont bury it in the sand. I take my approach at 90 degrees to the beach, and just fast enough to "coast" into the shore. about 15-20 feet out from the waters edge, I cut the helm into neutral (I approach with the engine at idle, but in gear (for steering) and let momentum do the rest. Try not to come in at anything more than a slow walking speed, as more can cause you to hit harder than you planned. once the boat has coasted to a stop in the sand, I get out (or have a helper do it) and manually pull it up on the beach a bit more. I then bury my anchor in the sand a good ways up the beach, and keep a constant vigil on it, because passing boats (if in a wake area) can cause it to come loose of the shore. If you beach it too hard to start with, you can have a bugger of a time getting it loose.
 
Bondo

Bondo

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Re: Beaching a boat

I want to beach the boat and work on shoring up my dock so it could be a few days project.
it's a 22 ft bowrider with 350 i/o engine.
Click to expand...

Ayuh,.... Set anchor say 50' from shore,...
Swing the transom to shore, pull it in til it's Knee Deep or so,.....
Tie off the anchor,+ run another line to Shore....

No sense in Scratchin' the hull for nothin'....
 
H

highN'dry

Petty Officer 3rd Class
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Mar 3, 2006
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Re: Beaching a boat

I never beech the boat, I anchor it and swim the stern but it never touches bottom.
 
rjlipscomb

rjlipscomb

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Re: Beaching a boat

Okay, thanks for the mental picture of the conditions. The dam releases water every 24 hours? How much and when does the water level change?

Beaching can scratch up or damage the bottom of the boat. Some people don't mind and are willing to take the chance. Bondo's approach to anchoring stern to shore is certainly the safest for the boat. Make sure your drive is all the way up.

If you're intent on beaching, okay, approach the beach will minimal wake speed. (if you can, do this at high tide, if the boat will remain beached for an extended period of time) Watch your depth gauge, and trim your drive accordingly. When about 10 feet from shore, kill the engine and trim up the drive. You'll float to the sand. Jump out the bow and secure the boat with stern lines to beach anchors on each side. If you want to get further up on sand, use more speed, but you risk more damage to the boat's finish.

You know the beach conditions better than we do. It's your boat and ultimately your responsibility for any damage. Anchoring it with stern to shore is safest for the boat.
 
skargo

skargo

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Re: Beaching a boat

Bond-o said:
Ayuh,.... Set anchor say 50' from shore,...
Swing the transom to shore, pull it in til it's Knee Deep or so,.....
Tie off the anchor,+ run another line to Shore....

No sense in Scratchin' the hull for nothin'....
Click to expand...

Sounds like the best plan to me ;)
 
G

geeco1

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Jul 16, 2009
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Re: Beaching a boat

Ok guys..... why is "stern towards shore" better than bow towards shore?

Somewhere I saw a device that acted like a giant rubber band. You tied it to your anchor rope and dropped anchor off shore. Then you powered the boat up to shore so that you can get out. Tie another rope to the bow and the rubber band will pull the boat back out to deeper water. Tie bow-rope to something on shore. When you need to retrieve your boat, you just pull on the bow-rope. Obviously you are limited to how far it will stretch but I believe that it was good for 10-20 feet and keeps the boat of the rocks.
 
WAVENBYE2

WAVENBYE2

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Re: Beaching a boat

Yep pretty much do as the others, I head in to bank "that I know is safe" and use often, and when I am at the right speed I shut down the engine and then raise the sterndrive as i am still moving toward the bank, I throw in a stern line in first and let it get tight then pull the bow line taunt, I use a concrete form stake and drive it into the ground and tie her off if I have nothing to tie off to.
 

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redone4x4

redone4x4

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Re: Beaching a boat

Bond-o said:
Ayuh,.... Set anchor say 50' from shore,...
Swing the transom to shore, pull it in til it's Knee Deep or so,.....
Tie off the anchor,+ run another line to Shore....

No sense in Scratchin' the hull for nothin'....
Click to expand...

thats the method I have been using for years.....havent had to beach one yet.
 
ezez

ezez

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Jun 3, 2009
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Re: Beaching a boat

geeco1 said:
...
Somewhere I saw a device that acted like a giant rubber band. You tied it to your anchor rope and dropped anchor off shore. Then you powered the boat up to shore so that you can get out. Tie another rope to the bow and the rubber band will pull the boat back out to deeper water. Tie bow-rope to something on shore. When you need to retrieve your boat, you just pull on the bow-rope. Obviously you are limited to how far it will stretch but I believe that it was good for 10-20 feet and keeps the boat of the rocks.
Click to expand...

Anchor Buddy is the name of the bungie anchor line. I have been using one for years and love it. Depending on the conditions I use it for anchoring the boat either way (bow in or out). You can essentially pull the boat in and walk off the boat to knee high water... which is a lot better than getting totally soaked. Release and the boat goes back out to a safer depth.

BTW I never beach my boat.
 
B

bones774

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Nov 11, 2008
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Re: Beaching a boat

Thats the kinda advice i was looking for. Thanks everyone.
 
B

bob johnson

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Feb 25, 2009
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Re: Beaching a boat

oe thing I can think of for anchoring stern to shore is the waves will always be bigger the long they have to develop...so a boat n20 feet from shore cant have much waves action FROM the direction of the shore....

but the waves COULD build BIG one day when you are not watching from across the lake and then you should really have the bow facing into those big waves...


so ver all it is safer to anchor with the bow facing away from shore when you are really close to shore and plan to leave the boat through the course of several weather patterns

I hunt tidal waters a lot and have always thought about getting an anchoring sytem that uses pulleys so I can PULL my boat out to deep water from shore!!

and then puller her back in when i want to board her.

instead of constantly having to watch for the tide to keep her from getting stranded


good luck

bob
 
davemoore

davemoore

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Jul 7, 2009
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Re: Beaching a boat

Be very careful that you don't kick up any silt or sand that could get sucked up in your drive and damage your impeller... it only takes once. ;)

DM
 
S

soaringhiggy

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Jul 1, 2009
Messages
167
Re: Beaching a boat

A system like Bob Johnson is talking about is what I use, but I just use rings back spliced into the anchor lines instead of pulleys. With good anchors and an understanding of single fall block and tackle and a few good proper knots you can shuttle the boat in and out from shore very easy while you stand in no more than a foot or two of water and the boat never touches the shore or bottom.

Works well.
 
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