Stern anchor/shore Tie line

The rings are usually hung on a chain to make them accessible throughout the tidal range.

sunchaser said:

Buy a Waggoners book, all manners of shore ties covered in there. We have 600' of 1/2" floating line on an old cable reel. Such a pain to deal with so we pretty well know where to go to avoid the need for a shore tie. In rainy, cold and miserable weather lifting a hook is task enough.

When the wind is howling a shore tie will likely have your boat in the wrong position as opposed to a free swing. On several occasions we have been securely anchored in strong winds and had nearby shore tied vessels leave their shore tie and come swing with us.

When above Cape Caution unless you know the areas well a shore tie puts you nearer uncharted rocks (bears too) and stuff with no nearby help if you need it. In the social areas of Desolation Sound and lesser so the Broughtons there will always be someone there to assist you off a rock in the 18 foot tidal swings. Seen it happen, just last summer in fact in Skull Cove. Heard on the radio where the same had occurred in Grace Harbour.

Many will chime in and say they stern tie all the time. In quiet times and well charted waters yes they do. I may as well.

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I agree with Ted on this one. The first year we had our boat, our attempts at a shore tie in font of an audience ended in failure and we left the anchorage with our tail between our legs and we've not tried one since. I'd never seen a boat blush before! Perhaps we will try again when alone in more ideal conditions. Subsequently, we've since gone all the way to Rupert and never felt the need to stern tie.


Jim
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I've never done it.

Out in front of Culpepper Lagoon I tried to hook up a stern anchor very close to shore as the drop-off was quite extreme. Too much weed so I couldn't set the hook so we just used or regular anchor and set it at about 100' deep. We did set our anchor alarm that night.

koliver said:

The rings are usually hung on a chain to make them accessible throughout the tidal range.

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Well that makes sense!


Keith

There are places that are decent anchorages but you MUST shore tie if you want to stay in place, overnight or even for a few hours. The attraction may not be the anchorage itself but the surrounding area to visit, explore, fish, swim. The bottom may be steep and swinging will unhook you. It's the shore line that ensures you do not unhook. Of course weather dependent.

Our procedure is ours. We choose not to shore tie mostly now but we used to do a lot of it.
First anchor properly. I leave the engine in reverse so there is always pull on the rode. This limits the typical bounce back and the resulting wandering all over the place, especially out of range of the shore line reach. It also ensures that the main operator , me, is aboard in case something goes sideways like the anchor unhooking.

We carry 600' of 3/8 YELLOW line in three pieces. Each piece has a 12" eye braided in both ends. One eye has a carabiner braided in permanently. They are flaked and can quickly be undone and dropped on the back deck to be fed out readily as needed.

My wife gets in the dingbat. Clips the carabiner to one of several U bolts . As she rows to shore I feed line to her so she does not have to pull line. That is actually harder than it looks.

When she gets to shore our dingbat anchor , attached to a line which is also attached to the dinghy, can then be tossed ashore to hook on the beach/rocks so she can use it to pull herself up to the stepping out point. This way she does not have to find a place to also tie the dinghy.

She then pulls the shore line to the nearest securing point, wraps the line around and clips the carabiner to the standing part of the line. She's done other than returning. I can pull in excess and adjust the tension so the boat is not free to wander all over the place. I can now kill the engine.

Upon her return I take another piece of line back to shore as she feeds slack doing the reverse and connecting the two lines into each other. I can then fit in the strap to protect the tree. She then pulls up the excess on the second line.

Often getting the initial feed of line to the tree is easily done but the whole unravels when trying to pull the line back to the boat. The line no longer comes willingly from drag on the beach and/or tree. That's why we do it in two parts.

Its not foolproof of course but after a lot of trial and error and watching others we finally settled on this means.

A lot of people successfully use spools and a single length but I have not the space to easily store/mount that spool. The three flaked sections work and then if I don't need the 3rd piece it simply gets secured and put away.

As of last summer (first time I've noticed them), Melanie Cove does have several rings with chains.

Resurrecting old thread

Excuse my thread necromancy.

Looking to head North for the first time I am starting to plan for the potential stern tie. Lots of options, but amazingly my wife likes the Quickline Reel despite its cost. I have three concerns. The first is cost. I'm am a cheap SOB and it is simply expensive.

OK, the other two concerns are these. The first is what length of line would be needed. I hear lot of folks using 300', with some using 600' (likely 'cause that is what a full spool is). The large Quickline Reel will go to 377' of line. That isn't bad. However, to get that much on the reel they are using a lighter weight line with a breaking force of 2,750lbs. I don't have any experience, but that seems a bit light to me. They have a larger line to go on that same reel, but will only hold 265' of line but has a breaking strength of 4,400lbs.

Now, maybe I am worrying too much. 3/8" Sampson MFP Floatline which is what many use has a minimum breaking strength of 2,700lbs. The 1/2" MFP Floatline coincidentally has a minimum breaking strength of 4,400lbs.

So beyond my first concern which is cost, the convenience of the flat line and ease of storage seems pretty nice. What about length and strength?

Typically you will stern tie in a protected moorage, the lines only job is to keep you from swinging. Your anchor provides the holding power.

Many use poly from stern to ring and back. Never have seen more than 150' to the ring.

Bob Cofer said:

Typically you will stern tie in a protected moorage, the lines only job is to keep you from swinging. Your anchor provides the holding power.

Many use poly from stern to ring and back. Never have seen more than 150' to the ring.

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Thanks Bob. So maybe the lighter line isn't a problem then. The extra length could be handy.

Bob Cofer said:

Typically you will stern tie in a protected moorage, the lines only job is to keep you from swinging. Your anchor provides the holding power.

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If the wind turns and comes from the side a tremendous strain can be placed on the stern line, no?

I will normally use two stern lines forming a "Y" together with the anchor rode to avoid excessive strain, except when anchored in a very narrow cove.

Since we have dredged this up again, I'm interested in advice on another aspect of stern tying. How the heck do you get ashore to run the line around a tree? It seems that stern tying is most needed where there are steep drop offs of the ocean bottom and hence no room to anchor and swing. When the ocean bottom drops off quickly, the shore also tends to ascend quickly. Assume an arrival at anything below high tide, and you somehow need to get out of a dinghy, scale a shore of slimy slippery rocks to reach a tree, thread the line, then scale back down, all without killing yourself or ending up in the drink. And one person needs to hold station in the boat while the other is performing shore-side gymnastics. I'm having a really hard time envisioning my wife and me doing this.

twistedtree said:

Since we have dredged this up again, I'm interested in advice on another aspect of stern tying. How the heck do you get ashore to run the line around a tree? It seems that stern tying is most needed where there are steep drop offs of the ocean bottom and hence no room to anchor and swing. When the ocean bottom drops off quickly, the shore also tends to ascend quickly. Assume an arrival at anything below high tide, and you somehow need to get out of a dinghy, scale a shore of slimy slippery rocks to reach a tree, thread the line, then scale back down, all without killing yourself or ending up in the drink. And one person needs to hold station in the boat while the other is performing shore-side gymnastics. I'm having a really hard time envisioning my wife and me doing this.

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That's when the young'uns come in handy!

Well Peter, you have pretty well nailed the question. Add to it wind and current pushing on the beam side of a plus 50' vessel weighing over 40 tons and the theory becomes interesting for many.

That said, my stern tie line is mounted on the plastic spool the line came on. Then used a length of clothes rack dowel and Velcro straps to hold it onto the rails on either side of the stern boarding gate. Cost about 5 bucks for the mounting DH!

Yes, we deployed someone in the dinghy. A lot of the time we ran a poly line around a rock (if not jagged) or a tree, not just a ring as those aren't everywhere. And brought the line back to the boat, so upon departure, no need to go back in the dinghy. Now I guess that's like having two lines astern, but they were light weight. Given you have that and the anchor line, it would take a heck of a wind to test the strength. When for and aft anchoring (not a Bahamian moor, or when there is substantial current or wind shift forecastes), we often use lighter tackle for the stern.

dhays said:

Looking to head North for the first time I am starting to plan for the potential stern tie. Lots of options, but amazingly my wife likes the Quickline Reel despite its cost. I have three concerns. The first is cost. I'm am a cheap SOB and it is simply expensive.

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dhays - I think line strength has been covered, but cost has not. Yes, they are mucho expensive. But once you have one, and master the art of stern tying, you'll love it. As far as cost, there is a TF discount (free shipping) on them in the Commercial Market section.

twistedtree said:

Since we have dredged this up again, I'm interested in advice on another aspect of stern tying. How the heck do you get ashore to run the line around a tree? It seems that stern tying is most needed where there are steep drop offs of the ocean bottom and hence no room to anchor and swing. When the ocean bottom drops off quickly, the shore also tends to ascend quickly. Assume an arrival at anything below high tide, and you somehow need to get out of a dinghy, scale a shore of slimy slippery rocks to reach a tree, thread the line, then scale back down, all without killing yourself or ending up in the drink. And one person needs to hold station in the boat while the other is performing shore-side gymnastics. I'm having a really hard time envisioning my wife and me doing this.

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I had some stainless steel rod in my garage, so I got out the welder and made a big treble hook. As long as I can get close enough to shore I can throw it and catch something that's good enough for a temporary line, which gives me a little time to get my main line set in place. I've used it 4 or 5 times now and its never failed me.

Moonfish said:

dhays - I think line strength has been covered, but cost has not. Yes, they are mucho expensive. But once you have one, and master the art of stern tying, you'll love it. As far as cost, there is a TF discount (free shipping) on them in the Commercial Market section.

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Thanks Darrren.

The only time we tried to stern anchor was at the head of a big inlet where the bottom dropped of rapidly from the river delta typical of such inlets in the PNW. Went almost up on the beach and deployed our faithful 13lb Danforth. It was a light green grassy bottom that offered no purchase to the anchor. It was like dragging an anchor over a greased FG deck.
We have over 400' of rode so we just anchored out a bit and deep.

We never did have another need to stern tie or anchor. Most of the stern tie prone anchorages are in the Gulf Islands, Desolation Sound and similar places. If your Alaska bound you probably won't need or want a stern anchor or tie rig.

We stern tie quite a bit...if you sneak into the corner of a small bay the distance to shore can be pretty short, and the terrain easy going.

We sometimes leave Badger to go hiking all day, and have deployed a stern anchor on the windward midship cleat if a 'brisk' wind is expected...this eliminates any side loading.

Dave

We stern tie a lot. I like the spool on a staple on the swim grid, as the neatest setup. However, you need a West Bay Sonship 58 first.

What I use is a pair of yellow milk boxes, one with 200' of 1/2" nylon 3 strand, the other with 300'. I often start with the longer one and swap it out once pulled back in to the shore. In most anchorages, I try to get there by noon, so most people leaving have left, most people arriving haven't arrived. This gives me the most room and the fewest gawkers. I anchor, pull back in to where I want to be, then put one engine in reverse, at idle. I turn the boat over to Janet (SWMBO). If she can't hold position until I get my line into the dinghy, I will put the engines both in neutral and let the boat drift out, put the extra line into the dinghy and head for shore, paying out line as I go. Where we like to go there is usually a steep climb to the nearest tree, so I grab the box of line and pass it around the tree, still paying it out as I go, rappel down to the dinghy and head back to the boat. If the boat has drifted too far, I tie off the line on itself, at the waterline, go to the boat and start hauling line in, with or without help from the engine, depending on winds and currents. Once settled in position I will swap out the long line for the shorter one, doubled around the tree and tied onto the self tailing winches on my davits, so further adjustment is easy.
I know this sounds too involved to be worth while, but it took me just as long to type up this post as it would to tie back in an anchorage. When the current and wind cooperate, it can be done quite quickly.

As for the West Bay 58, the procedure is: Have SWMBO pull the stern tie line from the spool to the foredeck, stand on the bowsprit with the line in hand, step off onto the steep shore when the bowsprit reaches it, pass the line around the tree and step back onto the bowsprit, pull the line with her as she walks back to the swimgrid, all the while waiting as the boat is swung around, pay out more line as the boat is positioned for dropping the anchor, pull in the slack as the boat backs down on the anchor, tie off. The skipper doesn't leave the wheel.
I was very impressed to watch this done in Desolation, by a friend who lost the use of his legs 40 years ago. After that display,they hosted happy hour. All I had to do in that anchorage was tie on.

All this is great information. Keep it coming.

What I use is a pair of yellow milk boxes, one with 200' of 1/2" nylon 3 strand, the other with 300'. I often start with the longer one and swap it out once pulled back in to the shore. In most anchorages, I try to get there by noon, so most people leaving have left, most people arriving haven't arrived. This gives me the most room and the fewest gawkers. I anchor, pull back in to where I want to be, then put one engine in reverse, at idle. I turn the boat over to Janet (SWMBO). If she can't hold position until I get my line into the dinghy, I will put the engines both in neutral and let the boat drift out, put the extra line into the dinghy and head for shore, paying out line as I go. Where we like to go there is usually a steep climb to the nearest tree, so I grab the box of line and pass it around the tree, still paying it out as I go, rappel down to the dinghy and head back to the boat. If the boat has drifted too far, I tie off the line on itself, at the waterline, go to the boat and start hauling line in, with or without help from the engine, depending on winds and currents. Once settled in position I will swap out the long line for the shorter one, doubled around the tree and tied onto the self tailing winches on my davits, so further adjustment is easy.
I know this sounds too involved to be worth while, but it took me just as long to type up this post as it would to tie back in an anchorage. When the current and wind cooperate, it can be done quite quickly.

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Good description of our approach, nice post!

Make One

Dhays,

We made a spool from PVC pipe. This was just a few bucks at our local hardware store. It mounts in our one and only deck fishing rod holder.

We purchased a full spool (600') of yellow poly line, also from the hardware store. They gave me a spool from sold stock that was slightly larger than the spool the line came on. It will not be possible to get all of the line back on the original spool, at least while blowing around an anchorage in the rain in the dark with your tender on a painter while swatting mosquitos.

I made a PVC crank handle for the bigger spool, and put the line on it.

I figured out the total cost to be forty-something dollars and about an hour of time. I don't want some half-baked gear on my boat, but this works and looks acceptable. There is nothing to corrode or maintain. I would take the same path again.

It DOES generate some interesting speculation/comments/questions from people around the dock.

Best Wishes

Dave-for a cheap reel, go to any contractor supply place, or search on amazon for "cord reels". We got a nice reel, with handle for retrieve, originally meant for long extension cords (so you can even plug it in!), rated for 150' of 16 gauge, 3 wire cords. Actually holds just about 300' of 3/8" poly. Cost me like $32. It stands nicely on its own, is light, has a top handle and is easy to store in the lazarette.

THD said:

Dave-for a cheap reel, go to any contractor supply place, or search on amazon for "cord reels". We got a nice reel, with handle for retrieve, originally meant for long extension cords (so you can even plug it in!), rated for 150' of 16 gauge, 3 wire cords. Actually holds just about 300' of 3/8" poly. Cost me like $32. It stands nicely on its own, is light, has a top handle and is easy to store in the lazarette.

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I bought 600' of line from Fisheries and a hose reel at Lowes. I just place the reel in my cockpit stern door and away you go.

IRENE said:

Dhays,

We made a spool from PVC pipe. This was just a few bucks at our local hardware store. It mounts in our one and only deck fishing rod holder.

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Not a bad idea. Might be a good use for the fishing rod holder that I would never use. I have two very nice ones that the PO had installed on the back cockpit transom on port and starboard.

Dave

For those who want a strap to go around a tree and don't want to spend a ton of $$$ or it, check out this strap at Lowe's. 2" x 20' for $28 and change, and it will match your yellow poly line so you're not being gauche when you stern tie. .









Shop Secure Tite 2-in x 20-ft Tie Down at Lowes.com

koliver said:

Dave


As for the West Bay 58, the procedure is: Have SWMBO pull the stern tie line from the spool to the foredeck, stand on the bowsprit with the line in hand, step off onto the steep shore when the bowsprit reaches it, pass the line around the tree and step back onto the bowsprit, pull the line with her as she walks back to the swimgrid, all the while waiting as the boat is swung around, pay out more line as the boat is positioned for dropping the anchor, pull in the slack as the boat backs down on the anchor, tie off. The skipper doesn't leave the wheel.

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Cool approach. Someone else may have said it, but stern tying is also courteous when you are in a small bay as it makes room for other boats. As for line dimension, 3/8 poly at least, looped around ring, rock or tree on shore, and passed back to and cleated to both stern cleats. Generally poly floats, but don't gun it or you can pull it under and wrap it around your gear--did that once towing a dinghy. It can be a challenge when the bottom drops off quickly but usually you would not try to anchor/tie there anyway. My technique is to drop anchor at a distance from shore so that when you have your stern pulled in, you have the appropriate scope for the depth. Once you have the anchor down, run the line ashore and back, then pull the boat toward shore until you have the boat as near shore as possible for available depth under your stern. You kind of play with the line/rode balance letting out more rode as you pull in and the result is you get to know whether you are truly set, and increase your scope as well. Kind of fun unless you get caught in a strong crosswind, in which case the line will "sing" all night long and I can tell you its a nerve wracking song at that. Good luck and don't get frustrated if it doesn't go well the first time.

As an update!

It's now day 123 of our travels here on the Inside passage and have not used the stern tie system. But now that we are back in Desolation it may be used as the traffic is a Zoo!

Guess we got spoiled up North. ASD and us parked in Squirrel Cove last night along with at least 60 other boats.

Cheers everyone and thanks again for all the Ideas!

Crusty Chief said:

As an update!

It's now day 123 of our travels here on the Inside passage and have not used the stern tie system. But now that we are back in Desolation it may be used as the traffic is a Zoo!

Guess we got spoiled up North. ASD and us parked in Squirrel Cove last night along with at least 60 other boats.

Cheers everyone and thanks again for all the Ideas!

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This sure is a zoo. Never heard so much traffic on vhf 16