Does beaching go under anchoring?

B

bmcminn

New member
Hi all. I've had a great time with the new boat and I began the power squadron ABC class. I wanted to ask you a question about beaching here in the San Juans.

My daughter and I where in Inati Bay on the SE corner of Lummi Island. The water was really calm, not sure about tide but lets say low side of slack for purpose of question.

https://www.google.com/maps/@48.6722696,-122.6227753,678m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en

The beach in there looked great from 20 feet out or so but I didn't have any idea if it was nice underwater or if there were a couple big rocks. So what could the procedure look like for bow or stern beeching? How much bumping on a big rock can the hull take? Would 1-2 knts hurt the hull? If you're looking at 50' of nice San Juan gravel is there a notion where the best spot could be? Just go in randomly and slow? Like reeeeealy slow.

I figure ideally I could let current and a slight breeze nudge the starboard side close enough so skipper could look at that last 10' or so while at the helm but I'm not sure if that's practical or even sound.

I know that's a big question and I'm sure I'll get some good ideas in the class but I wanted to hear from C-Dory folks.

https://treesandwavesmakehome.com/2019/09/15/crabbing/
 
Not sure I understand the question: but yes, many times we put the bow on the beach, or the stern in water so there is only an inch or so of water above the bottom. This is best done where there are no tides. Bow anchor to the beach, or two stern anchors from either aft or amidship cleats.

The stern to the beach--bow anchor set out to give proper scope, back down, and then cut engine, and raise it as you drift back. There is a learning curve as to when to cut the engine, take up slack on the anchor--and have the Admiral jump into the water with stern anchor.

The beach anchor can be a dead man, (log buried in a hole, covered with rocket etc), a chain around rocks, Poly propylene line around tree or bush, a stake or PVC pipe driven into the sand, a Helical anchor, or just a pair of #7 Fortress as we use.)--same technique for the stern.

Then there is "weed anchoring". as done on some rivers!~!!!
 
Well, I'm not sure what happened with that, the question didn't post. I had meant should beaching go under the anchoring heading in the forums. Thanks for the reply though Dr Bob. Hope you are staying safe and dry, between the storms and your extravehicular excursions!

Here is the original question:

I wanted to ask you all a question about beaching. I began the power squadron ABC course last night and I'm sure that'll be a great source of info, but I wanted some thoughts from C-Dory folks.

My daughter and I where in Inati Bay on the SE corner of Lummi Island getting some pots out. The water was really calm, not sure about tide but lets say low side of slack for purpose of question.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/I...d98c2a2c0eeadc!8m2!3d48.6730419!4d-122.620516

The beach in there looked great from 20 feet out or so but I didn't have any idea if it was nice underwater or if there were a couple big rocks. So what could the procedure look like for bow or stern beaching? How much bumping on a big rock can the hull take? Would 1-2 knots or basically drifting hurt the hull? Bumping probably wouldn't hurt but getting high-centered on a falling tide could be a super big bummer.

If you're looking at 50' of nice San Juan gravel is there a notion where the best spot could be? Just go in randomly and slow? Like reeeeealy slow.

I figure ideally I could let current and a slight breeze nudge the starboard side close enough so the skipper could look at that last 10' or so while at the helm but I'm not sure if that's practical or even sound. Usually I'm solo or with my 5 year old daughter.

I know that's a big question, thanks for your thoughts. I've looked at the the Anchor Buddy system and will eventually give that a shot and get a little dinghy as well.

Here's a video of the crabbing. Kinda funny at 1:30.

https://treesandwavesmakehome.com/2019/09/15/crabbing/
 
Well, I'm not sure what happened with that, the question didn't post twice in a row. I'll try it without URLs, doesn't seem to like them.

I had meant should beaching go under the anchoring heading in the forums. Thanks for the reply though Dr Bob. Hope you are staying safe and dry, between the storms and your extravehicular excursions!

Here is the original question:

I wanted to ask you all a question about beaching. I began the power squadron ABC course last night and I'm sure that'll be a great source of info, but I wanted some thoughts from C-Dory folks.

My daughter and I where in Inati Bay on the SE corner of Lummi Island getting some pots out. The water was really calm, not sure about tide but lets say low side of slack for purpose of question.

The beach in there looked great from 20 feet out or so but I didn't have any idea if it was nice underwater or if there were a couple big rocks. So what could the procedure look like for bow or stern beaching? How much bumping on a big rock can the hull take? Would 1-2 knots or basically drifting hurt the hull? Bumping probably wouldn't hurt but getting high-centered on a falling tide could be a super big bummer.

If you're looking at 50' of nice San Juan gravel is there a notion where the best spot could be? Just go in randomly and slow? Like reeeeealy slow.

I figure ideally I could let current and a slight breeze nudge the starboard side close enough so the skipper could look at that last 10' or so while at the helm but I'm not sure if that's practical or even sound. Usually I'm solo or with my 5 year old daughter.

I know that's a big question, thanks for your thoughts. I've looked at the the Anchor Buddy system and will eventually give that a shot and get a little dinghy as well.
 
first don't confuse tide and current. Slack water may not be at low or high tide.

The concern about the boat taking the beach, would be any appendages, such as depth sounder transducers. Most C Dory's are on the transom, and can be flipped up.

The greatest "danger" would be grounding at a high tide--and especially at the highest tide of the cycle. That might mean that it would be very difficult to get off, without professional assistance. Even here in the Gulf of Mexico, where the tidal change is only a foot and often less, you can ground--and have to wait 24 hours for the next high tide. (We often only have one high tide a day.)

We dealt with this issue of "beaching" often when in the PNW, including AK with the RiB we carried on our Cal 46. Dogs had to go ashore at least 3x a day. The boat was smaller, at 12 1/2 feet and much lighter at about 400#, but the principle was the same. We would survey the area to beach the boat as we came in, looking at the shoreline, and contour. Usually any large rocks ere visible.

For a short time ashore, we would just tie the boat to a tree or bolder. We also carried an anchor and several hundred feet of line. If we were going to be gone for any length of time, we would drop the anchor and chain out about 100 feet as we went in toward the beach. We had a block (pulley) on the boat end of the chain, and the "anchor line" ran thru this block. One end of the anchor line, was attached to the bow eye of the dinghy (could be the bow cleat of a C Dory), and the other was kept in the boat. As we ran toward the beach (slowly) the line was paid out over the stern. The anchor was "set" when we had about 4:1 scope. Then the boat continued bow to beach--grounded. We unloaded, and then pulled the boat back out far enough it would be still floating at the lowest tide. The bitter end of the anchor line was attached to the stern eye of the inflatable, and the doubled line taken up to a point above high tide mark, so even if we came back at high tide, we could easily pull the boat back to the beach.

I consider this far better than the "anchor buddy" which is basically shock cord. If you were to have high wind or waves, that shock cord might allow the boat to come back to the beach. The anchor line of 3 strand nylon will not have this disadvantage. We used this rig hundreds of times both in the PNW, as well as high tidal ranges in N. Europe and the East Coast uf USA.

Having a ladder on the bow of the C Dory is the perfect way to get on and off of the boat when "beaching". There will be some wear on the hull of the boat near the "V" in the bow of the boat. That can be addressed with a "keel Guard"--or as we did--we added a sacrificial piece of cloth using epoxy and aluminum powder as thickener, over the area which was braided at the end of each "season" of boating. We then applied bottom paint to this area after it was faired in. Doing this avoided any wear on the actual fiberglass of the hull of the RIB.

bot411seamanship.jpg

Our difference with this rendering was that we wanted the bow pointing toward any wind or wave which might tend to push the boat toward the beach. We turned the boat around when we brought it in or took it out toward the anchor. we have rubber boots, for wading in the cold water and dealing with mud etc on the shores. For a short time, we just left our boots on. If a longer trip, we carried water shoes (like Keens--which are also fine for hiking)
 
We have really enjoyed our homemade "Anchor Buddy." The store bought ones seem to be for fresh water and I didn't find one that I thought would work for our tidal changes. I don't remember the exact length anymore, but it is about 70' of bungee cord threaded inside 150' of floating yellow polypro line with an eye on each end. It is kept on a spool under the splash well.

It is connected with a caribiner to a small Fortress anchor and dropped about 125' from shore. The regular anchor is dropped on the beach (or in inches of water). When solo, I then play out the anchor rode and see how far back the bungee cord pulls me. If all is well, I pull in the anchor rode (which pulls me to the beach) step off and then set the anchor above the high tide line.

I have to watch tides, of course, and it is much easier and faster with two people aboard. And there is still wind and current to consider. But it is much faster and easier than dropping a dinghy. Its use is shown in my folder on Battle Bay (West Coast of Vancouver Island) where we went ashore for several hours before an extreme low tide. The length was just enough to keep us floating.

Mark

http://www.c-brats.com/modules.php?set_ ... php&page=2
 
It looks like you are getting some great info for your main question, but here is my take on the question in the thread title.

Yes, the Anchoring forum is the most logical place for a discussion on beaching, so you got it.

That being said, we very much appreciate it when folks try to maintain a sense of order to the site, but we do not want you to get too hung up on trying to get things perfect!

Sometimes we will move a discussion to an appropriate forum so the info will be easier to find by others in the future, but usually we just let things run along smoothly however they get posted. This is not so big a site that we have to catalog every word that is shared and it has worked pretty well this way for a long time. Decorum is nice and all, but making rules around it takes some of the fun away.

Thanks!
 
Back
Top