Hello from Down Under

[Fabio]

Hi, great site, just joined. Would love some advice on how best to anchor onto a beach? Worried about going stern in for obvious reasons but new to jet boating and it sounds like this is the best way. Please help?

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Stern in with anchor off the bow in waves but leave it deep enough under the stern so as to not bounce on the ground. If you are in an area without waves and on a sandy beach, then beach it bow first but leave the stern in 2-3 feet of water. Toss your anchor up on the beach to help keep it steady. If you are going to beach it, do your keel a favor and buy a KeelGuard first.

 

[Fabio]

Stern in with anchor off the bow in waves but leave it deep enough under the stern so as to not bounce on the ground. If you are in an area without waves and on a sandy beach, then beach it bow first but leave the stern in 2-3 feet of water. Toss your anchor up on the beach to help keep it steady. If you are going to beach it, do your keel a favor and buy a KeelGuard first.

Hi, thanks for that quick reply. Just concerned about tides... leaving it deep under the stern sounds great but if after a few hours later the tide has gone out the boat stern and intakes etc are bouncing on the sand. Would I just need to keep moving it? If I nosed in and this happened it would be harder to get it back into water I think due to the weight of the boat? Thanks again, and I'm sure this is a silly question to all the experienced boaties out there, but just don't want to get into trouble, especially if on my lonesome!

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Either way you do it, you'll need to plan on the tidal drop or rise. I am usually right there on the beach to adjust the boats position as needed but if you are leaving it there unattended, then the tide calendar is your best friend in order to know how to position the boat.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

You could also anchor away from the beach and use a bungee anchor (Anchor Buddy). This anchor line is a bungee and you can pull the boat to shore while anchored.

 

[jdonalds]

Here's what I always do while using the Anchor Buddy as Murfn'surf does.

1) Back up to the shore, set a Slide Anchor on land. https://www.amazon.com/Slide-Anchor...8&qid=1504505108&sr=8-6&keywords=slide+anchor. The Slide Anchor has a built in "hammer" which makes it easy to use. When backing do it at idle speed and shut the engine(s) off when the boat stern is in less than 2' of water or so.

2) Pull forward away from the beach using a 30 foot line from the stern of the boat to the Slide Anchor. Slowly pull forward until the stern line is tight.

3) Toss an anchor off the bow with the Anchor Buddy. I use a 25# Richter anchor. Others swear by the Box Anchor. A lot depends on the lake bottom.

4) Pull on the stern line to bring the boat close to shore for boarding. Let the line loose and the boat will pull away from the shore because of the elastic Anchor buddy.

This setup works well for a "lunch hook" short term situation when you can keep an eye on the boat. For overnight anchoring I use a 150' braided nylon line with 7 to 10 scope.

I always like stern-in because of how easy it is to board and leave the boat, and to move items such as coolers to/from the boat.

My boat never touches the bottom or shore if I can help it.

Happy boating

 

[Fabio]

That's awesome guys, thank you so much ... off to buy the anchor bungee and slide anchor this weekend!

 

[Fabio]

Quick follow up question to jdonalds - when you toss the anchor off the bow with the anchor buddy after pulling out and the stern line is tight, how much anchor rope should I put out? Twice the depth under the boat, or more? Again, I apologise if the answers to these questions are obvious, but I really am a novice and keen to get it right from the beginning!

 

[jdonalds]

Quick follow up question to jdonalds - when you toss the anchor off the bow with the anchor buddy after pulling out and the stern line is tight, how much anchor rope should I put out? Twice the depth under the boat, or more? Again, I apologise if the answers to these questions are obvious, but I really am a novice and keen to get it right from the beginning!

The Anchor Buddy is different than a typical rode because it stretches. It starts out at 14 foot, and at maximum stretch reaches 50 feet. The main consideration I have is if the wind blows or waves push the boat toward shore will the boat hit bottom. My anchoring situation is about as easy as it gets so my Anchor Buddy is almost never fully stretched to 50'.

So If you want to be certain drop your anchor far enough out so at the max of 50 feet of Anchor Buddy stretch the boat will still be held off shore. So with a max 50' length (perhaps more if you have chain), and the boat being 28 foot long, the anchor should be set somewhere around 80 feet from shore. The way to do this is to have an (for example) 85 foot stern line. Again slowly pull away from the shore until your stern is 85 feet from the shore, drop the anchor off the boat, or toss it a few feet out and your anchor will be in the correct spot. This does not allow for the anchor dragging while it gets set. You may have to experiment to get it right. Bottom conditions may alter this plan.

If your bottom is too deep to drop the anchor 80 feet from shore in heavy wind or wave conditions perhaps an Anchor Buddy won't be the correct choice for that day. I keep a 150' braided nylon line for less than calm anchoring conditions.

As I've said before anchoring is more of an art than a science. I've been boating for 50 years. The best thing I have going for me now is a sandy bottom and calm conditions. I've had a variety of anchors. All of them will fail to set depending on the bottom conditions. Some will work 90% of the time. A very popular anchor right now is the Mantus. I'm considering a 13# Mantus if it will fit in my boat. At 70 years old its becoming a bit much to haul up the 25# Richter

As I said the Anchor Buddy is good for daytime and needs to be monitored. If your anchor drags you want to be able to jump on the boat and take care of it.

The Anchor Buddy helps prevent the anchor from dragging because the elastic takes up the shock of the bow bobbing up and down which would otherwise be hard jerks on a solid anchor line.

Our anchoring situation is almost always relatively calm both in terms of wind and waves. I toss the Richter anchor out and it never moves. The depth is about 10-15 feet deep so my "scope" is from 1:1 to 5:1. Your situation may vary.

If I anchor in more windy or wavy conditions, especially if I'm anchoring overnight, I'll either replace the Anchor Buddy with a solid rode, or will put out a second anchor.

Over the years I've had two Anchor Buddy failures with the surgical tubing parting. That means I've lost the stretch and have a 50' line attached to the anchor. I won't have the shock absorbing effect. Since then I replace the Anchor Buddy every two years.

 

[Fabio]

Much appreciated advice.

 

[Julian]

Hi, great site, just joined. Would love some advice on how best to anchor onto a beach? Worried about going stern in for obvious reasons but new to jet boating and it sounds like this is the best way. Please help?

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