Beaching a boat overnight... would you?

[marcoalza]

We are of to an island tomorrow and planning to camp overnight with some friends off the coast.
I've never anchored overnight and am sure I will not rest with the boat anchored and will worry all night about change of wind direction, currents etc.
However...
Could this be a plan?...

High tide tomorrow night is at 21:00 (1.5m)
Low tide: 3:15 (0.9m)
High Tide back at 9:55 (1.4m)

Would you, anchor close to the beach at 21:00, let the boat beach to then re-float early morning?

Is this a total stupid rookie dickhead no-no or what?

I can take your criticism if it's really stupid or if you have any other advise I'd be happy to hear it.

Just seems that the tide could be in my favour tomorrow night and I wouldn't have to worry about not having my baby in the morning!

Would be great to hear your views.

 

[dingbat]

Humm...where are you at that a tide change only takes 4 hours and 15 minutes? Don't know your hull, but most will roll over to one side when out the the waterunless you block them up I want by boat floating

 

[marcoalza]

Humm...where are you at that a tide change only takes 4 hours and 15 minutes? Don't know your hull, but most will roll over to one side when out the the waterunless you block them up I want by boat floating

Hull is pretty flat astern with a slight V so it would only roll a little.= but I feel that's the cheats way out.

Am I worrying too much about wind change?
Forecast is for minimal change and I'll anchor well with plenty of rode and will also have another line to the beach tied to a post!
Thinking about another line tied to my leg!

 

[Robbabob]

Humm...where are you at that a tide change only takes 4 hours and 15 minutes?

I see 6 hours and 15 minutes (using a 24 hour clock).

And I also see a half meter difference in the tide. How deep will you be anchored in at high tide? Assuming you bow in to shore, you can buy spring stern anchor line that pulls your boat 10'+ out, then you just pull it back in using the bow line.

 

[rbh]

Check your depths as per the tide change before you drop anchor, and enough line to adjust the the boat (bow and stern anchors if you need to reposition)

Bow out, stern in in case a big set of waves comes in.

Thats all I have to offer, good luck, have fun.

 

[marcoalza]

Check your depths as per the tide change before you drop anchor, and enough line to adjust the the boat (bow and stern anchors if you need to reposition)

Bow out, stern in in case a big set of waves comes in.

Thats all I have to offer, good luck, have fun.

Wind will be coming off shore all night so bow will be towards the beach anchored normally...

So, should I anchor way off, bow out and then I tie a line from the stern to the beach to hold the boat round the right way for waves?

 

[Robbabob]

I think everything just changed as you mention waves...

 

[marcoalza]

I think everything just changed as you mention waves...

I didn't mention waves tip rbh did.

Never thought about that really, so I'll probably force the bow out by lining from stern to the beach just in case.

 

[rbh]

Wind will be coming off shore all night so bow will be towards the beach anchored normally...

So, should I anchor way off, bow out and then I tie a line from the stern to the beach to hold the boat round the right way for waves?

It depends on depth, your bow and stern rode/lines allow you to move the boat in and out as the tide changes.

After watching a few boats get flooded and full of sand/gravel from beaching bow first during a storm I will never ever beach/or anchor bow first.

 

[marcoalza]

Gotcha. I'll anchor out and pull the boat round with a line to the beach so the bow will be facing any potential waves. Reall appreciate the advise guys.

 

[dingbat]

I see 6 hours and 15 minutes (using a 24 hour clock)..

Oops, 24 hour clock on one side of the brain, 12 hour on the other.

 

[redneck joe]

bow out, if you miss one tide you have another one coming...



A bit different but when I was a kid went camping with mom and we beached for the night (Willamette or Columbia don't remember which) and the river dropped overnight. Get up and the boat was about 20' from the water. No tide to wait on but being as mom was a 1970's hottie there were a few guys camping on the island as well and pushed the boat back to the water for her.

 

[redneck joe]

oh and as far as the boat on the ground, on another forum I've got a friend that ties up in the Bay of Fundy where there is a 40'+ swing in tide - his sits on the ground twice per day.

 

[Ned L]

Nothing wrong with beaching (or careening) a boat. As has come up, what you need to be careful about are any waves beating her as she grounds out and then also as she starts to float again. Only you can know what the water conditions will be like.

 

[moosehead]

We beach frequently, but on a rather protected, benign lake so full disclosure - apples to oranges, no tidal concerns, and substantially lesser weather and boat traffic.

That said, without doubt, the safest setup is bow out, anchored a bit offshore, with stern tied to shore or pointed to shore and anchored to provide best defense against biggest potential waves both craft and wind caused.

YMMV, but you'll likely get a crappy nights sleep so plan on it.

 

[thumpar]

We don't ever beach this boat. Get an anchor buddy bungee line. You can add more line to it if you need. We will throw the anchor off the bow and tie the stern up to a tree. It will have some movement but the anchor buddy will always pull us back, even in a heavy wind. We can sit all day. This is with only a 10lb anchor. We used to have a rope on a 15lb anchor but with the waves it would get picked up and we would drift. The anchor buddy keeps the anchor on the bottom.

 

[marcoalza]

Thanks for all your input guys, really helpful.
I won't beach but will go for bow out and tie back to a tree.
Don't have an anchor buddy but I'm off out now to see if I can get one!

I'll let you know how I get on.

BTW, renewed the boat insurance last week too...

 

[tpenfield]

My thoughts . . . . you indicated that the tide goes from 1.4 m to 0.9 m so only about 0.6m. Not much of a tide, so if you anchor deep enough, you should be OK. I would not let the boat become grounded though . . . nothing good can happen to it during that process.

The more sheltered from wave action, the better. Anchor should be a bit on the overkill side, if there is any significant wave action. Outdrive/outboard up in case there are waves or wakes from other boats.

Second anchor off the stern can also do the trick of keeping the bow pointed out towards the prevailing waves/wind.

You will need to know the weather details, in case a wind change is in the forecast.

 

[ssobol]

When I anchor overnight on a big body of water (e.g. Lake Michigan) I set an anchor from the bow. I use sufficient rode and set the anchor so that the boat will not get in too shallow water in the worst case position. I attach a long line to the stern and tie it to something on shore. The stern line has enough length so that the boat can swing where it wants. When I want to get back to the boat I pull the stern line to get the stern as close to shore as possible so I can wade out to the boat (about 2.5' deep water). I can leave the boat unattended at night this way with no worries.

 

[nwcove]

(<---bay of fundy tide) every modern fish finder/depth sounder ive ever owned had a programable deep and shallow alarm that would wake the dead.