How bad of an idea is "beaching" my Nautique?

[xrichard]

one more question. Since I am on a river. Should I through the anchor behind me or upstream such as in the picture?

Don't throw it at all. Throwing doesn't get you anything--maybe five extra feet away from where your boat is at the moment. Just drop the anchor where you want it and your boat will drift away from it and swing on the rode. If you're pulling up to a beach to use something like an anchor buddy and stake combination, then drop it toward whatever is pushing you the most. So if current is pushing your boat more than wind, drop it such that you angle into the current a bit at your final tie off point. If the wind pushes you more, then drop it so you angle a bit into the wind.

BTW, the holding power of an anchor is largely determined by scope--the amount of line you have out relative to the depth of the water. The other big factor is matching the anchor size and type to the bottom type. For short stays, mushroom anchors are mostly worthless. For all-purpose, I've found the Box anchor to be the best by far (...I've also used Danforth type and Richter anchors on small boats--neither come close for the mix of rock and mud bottoms I'm on).

If you're having problems losing anchors to junk on the bottom, you can tie an additional line to the anchor and float it so you can pull the anchor from the opposite direction if it gets stuck. Won't work every time, but it helps.

[cedarcreek216]

Yes, a box anchor in combo with the anchor buddy is the best we have found. If you use a bow and transom combination the current and wind should not be that big of an issue because they will work together to keep the boat in line. Once you use the anchor buddy you will wonder how you ever made it without it. We do this all the time to beaches and houseboats. Set your front anchor with the anchor buddy attached and get it hooked, then you are pretty much done. Back up to stretch the buddy so you can hop off then set a line on shore, no need to use an anchor buddy on the transom line just make sure it has enough slack so the anchor buddy can do it's job and pull it away from the beach. If you are going to be moving and returning through out the day, just leave your front anchor in place with a fender or buoy attached to it so it floats and all you have to do is pull up, hook the D ring up and you are done.

[slidin_out]

We have sandbars on our river. We just slowly coast up, let momentum slide it up there, and then give it a little throttle if it needs to be more secure. Have a red hull and it will eventually need to be fixed but it's on the bottom and that is always in the water. Myself I don't really worry about it. Using anchors and line and crap just takes away from the fun for the day and it's more crap to store and deal with. By the time it needs to be fixed it will be time for the whole thing to be buffed and cleaned up anyway in a few years. I have never seen anyone anchor their boat off the sand on our river.

[Noahsark]

Has anyone used KeelGuard on their Hulls for beaching? www.keelguard.com This is what I had on my I/O and all of my brothers used it on their boats also.

[swankster]

+3 for the anchor buddy. You'll get use to it as it varies with the current, wind and depth of the water, but toss out the anchor upstream from where you want the boat to set, let the anchor hit bottom and then let the boat drift back to where I want it.

[obd666]

i too love the anchor buddy, used just as described above. here in NC there is sand and beaches but very little of it without rocks all in it. that aside, if you have it far enough on there to stay put the skegs are pretty much already jammed in there too. its hard to imagine that being good for them ... now with runabouts, pontoons, outboards, etc i used to do it routinely.

[chevy350]

Has anyone used KeelGuard on their Hulls for beaching? www.keelguard.com This is what I had on my I/O and all of my brothers used it on their boats also.

I love Keel guards. Thetc help a lot when you beach your boat. Also, they help if there is a rock in the water.

[Rossterman]

Anchor buddy. A float ball, and the rope method is SO easy and keeps boat clean as well as folks get a chance for mud and dirt on their feet to be washed off before boarding the boat.

[HS]

one more question. Since I am on a river. Should I throw the anchor behind me or upstream such as in the picture?

Upstream. The boat will then "lay" with the flow be it from current or wind, and with the anchor set up on your bow eye, she will ride the current just fine, or settle riding into the wind -- likely in between of the forces equalize. Watch for how she will swing through a potential 360 degrees so your running gear does not foul or ground.

When we go to the Columbia River in Central Washington, the river flow is a few knots of current, and I set up at a beach bow out and I also use a sand spike with a shore tie line to hold the boat perpendicular to the shore line. (The sand spike is the second part of the perfect beach setup). Get the medium sized one. The sand spike comes with a "shore tie" line and a clip I fasten to the transom.

So, I pull towards shore, do a 180 to go "bow out" when we're in about 6 - 8 feet of water. I then tell my bow man to toss the anchor (he's already hooked it to the bow eye with a caribiner that come with it) and I then put it in reverse to start heading the aft end into the shore -- but not too close. (You need to make sure your depth sounder is reading correctly and that know if it is reading from the hull or if it has been offset to read from the water surface). With some "way" (reverse momentum) towards shore, I then put it in neutral, and switch off the engine, and then walk to the swim step and I'm in about 4 feet of water (your conditions may vary from this based on underwater topography). I step into the water with my sand spike and shore tie in hand (line is already looped around d the tow point or hooked up to the transom u-bolt, and walk to the beach and set the sand spike in the wet sand just above the water level. Once you get the hang of it it's a snap. And it looks smart, too.

The reason I go "bow out" is so that the bow rides over the waves (if any -- mostly wakes are what we get). If you put the aft end towards the waves -- if they are heavy enough, you could have a big problem on your hands.

When it's time to leave, I pull on the shore tie and bring the boat in a little ways to load my crew, put the engine compartment blower on and get set to leave. Then leaving, I do the process in reverse, without the 180 degree turn. Pull the sand spike, coil the line and the anchor buddy pulls us "seaward" and knowing I am in deep enough water and that the engine hatch is open and the blower has been running, fire up the engine, recover the anchor and head back to the marina / boat ramp up river.

Sorry for the overkill reply, just wanted to share my experience with the Planet.

[lucky7t]

I have never beached a san simply because the prop is low and expensive. I would recommend an anchor I bought "the digger" it's awesome and catches every time .

[lance2skyhigh]

Think of sandpaper, what ever size the sand or rocks are will determine the equivalent of the sanding being done to your hull. The amount of movement from current, wind, waves, and wakes will cycle the sanding of the hull. I never beach, and have owned 4 nautiques over the last 25 years. Anchor like all the posts suggest.

[LakesideRec]

My experience is that beached boats will eventually turn broadside to the beach if there is incoming wave action. I have seen this happen with PWC's, run-abouts, and pontoons. They all eventually work their way loose and then get pushed sideways. Its easy enough to muscle a PWC back in the water when its washed broadside up on the sand, but a 5000 lb wake boat might get stuck up on the beach pretty good if it washes up sideways. Plus your prop will be hitting the bottom.

So if you beach bow-in, you may still want an anchor off the stern to keep it from getting pushed around into shore.

Another technique to keep it from going sideways is to tie the bow tightly to a ground anchor or tree up on land so the boat cannot slide back and turn.

(apologies for posting to a long-dormant thread. Didn't realize how old it was).

[RDT-G23]

Hey guys I am old to boating but new to expensive wakeboard boats. We typically river boat and ride south a find a beach area to camp on for a day or two and ride throughout the day. Is beaching my boat as bad as an idea as I think it is or is there a safe way to do it without hurting the under neath.

On word - no.