How to anchor at a beach??

[polymack]

I'm going to start doing a bit of camping at a few of the islands near by, and was wondering what would be the best way of keeping our boat in the water with out having to move it all the time and without having to swim back to shore. ( keeping in mind we can go from 5.5m tide to 0.07 ) I have an idea but i requires a lot of rope.

Any ideas??

[mickatbowen]

this may be seen as being a little silly, but I was thinking a one/two person inflatable would do the trick.. If you can find one that folds up small enough..
take one of those 12v blowers with you too..

Cheers
Mick at Bowen
________
Weed (http://wwweed.com/)

[Dave]

Mack, the guys up here seem to favour anchoring the boat as usual, but then using a stern line tied/anchored in the shallower water which you can use to pull the boat closer to shore.

Another way to do it is to anchor and have a loop of rope which you can pull the boat in or out as required. But it does require a lot of rope.

Its certainly a pain at times to go somewhere and then have the worry of keeping the boat afloat so you can get home when you want rather than at peak tides.

We have a similar problem up here with the fringing reefs which are dry at low tide. I havent found a solution yet which is workable.

[Will]

Three options:

1. Let her bottom out on low tide in a sandy spot. Requires good timing with tides but can work if you don't need the boat all the time.

2. Loop system or variation thereof. As mentioned this requires a lot of rope and some stuffing around to set up properly. Can be hard work to pull in boat against wind/tide but is worthwhile if you're staying for a while.

3. Some sort of tender. This is what I normally do. I have a small kayak which used to fit in the boat. It does take up a fair bit of space so might not work if you have a smallish (<5m) boat.

Location is also important - obviously very shallow bays are more hassle to anchor but too deep water makes unloading/loading the boat a problem.

[4.50_Drifter]

double anchoring technique is in youtube, have a look.

[Nemo]

Take a look at http://www.etrailerparts.com.au and look at "Anchor Mate".
It is 50' (when stretched) length of surgical rubber tube with nylon outer cover that stops over-stretching.
Pull up 50' off bank, drop pick attached to "anchor mate" then motor to bank, and step off with small anchor in your hand (attached to boat). bungy cord pulls boat back out to deeper water and when you want to get back on, just reel in the boat, get on with small anchor and out you go into deep water again.
I have used mine whilst camping, but not in strong tides or rough seas.
Also good for day trips so don't get stuck on beach during outgoing tides.