Do You Beach Your Boat?

I can understand why you wouldnt if you have rocky shores, but for those of you that have sandy shores - do you beach your boat?

Beaching is a common practice in my part of the world in the Gippsland Lakes, Victoria, Australia. Frequently one of my friends and I go find a beach tie up to provided mooring posts (first photo) or use 6' S/S or steel spikes hammered into the sand (in mild weather only) (second photo) or beach and tie up to adjacent (hidden) trees (third photo).

In the past I have only had aft port and starboard lines to secure Gemma, but after a recent storm experience when the bow moved out of its central position between the two securing lines to parallel the starboard line and allow Gemma to be blown almost side on to the beach, I will also be using port and starboard bow lines to ensure the bow stays central.

The ramp you see is to let the dog get off and go for a run.

I don't beach my boat. Rather I do my best never to run aground at all.

Again, I mean.

Tony B said:

I can understand why you wouldnt if you have rocky shores, but for those of you that have sandy shores - do you beach your boat?

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I would think it would depend a lot on the tides where you boat. With tidal action of more than a few feet and it may get tricky to beach for more thn an hour or two depending on your hull shape. The powercat guys have it nice for this discussion.

The only craft I participated in purposeful full-beaching were old wooden, single screw, full keel, long skeg lobster boats in Maine’s Penobscot Bay... For quick repairs or bottom scraping.

Currently owning a twin screw planing hull with completely exposed props and rudder I would only beach her on purpose if sinking was otherwise imminent.

That said, I do gently nose our Tolly into Bay Delta tules with 9’ depth at midships and 19’ at stern for diving and swimming! See attached...

Not intentionally.

Art said:

That said, I do gently nose our Tolly into Bay Delta tules with 9’ depth at midships and 19’ at stern for diving and swimming! See attached...

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I would imagine the skeeters would be hell in a spot like that!

I would not beach my trawler unless it was about to sink otherwise. Now the dinghy or my Porta Bote, I'll beach them if appropriate.

We're the tri-hull. Lake Jocassee SC.

We regularly beached our C-Dory (very light, very shallow draft) at Lake Powell, on sand or silt only, when there was little wind. We would even walk her into the head of an inlet and have her sitting almost from bow to stern on the very flat and soft silt. Very occasionally we beached her in BC and SE Alaska, only on a rising tide.

We don't beach New Moon, as she's much heavier, deep V, and has a deep forefoot, so we figure there would be a lot of pressure on a relatively small part of the keel. If there were rocks mixed in with the sand, we could wind up sitting right on one.

GonzoF1 said:

I would imagine the skeeters would be hell in a spot like that!

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Surprisingly few skeets, and they pretty much come at night only. Many, many knats appear at dusk to about midnight, none in daylight. We have every window and door well screened and keep a solar light shining on sun deck during night – that attracts nearly all of them. During day next to no bugs and more often than not a nice light breeze!

PNW, not alot of beaching goes on - at least not on purpose.

This is at Sidney Island, later that evening this gent was towed off to a repair yard to fix what got damaged.

This even though the beach is pretty sandy.

In my avatar it looks like I have, but that is a pic from the PO. The beach behind my house drops off incredibly quickly to 11' depth. So, I have been considering beaching. I figured I'll drop a stern anchor on the way in, run the nose up on the sand and run a line from the bow to the beach. The prop is going to be 30' off the beach and in deep water.

The stern anchor is to try to keep the boat perpendicular to the beach and to assist in kedging off, if necessary.

Does this sound reasonably or am I out of my mind?

A lot would depend on the size of the boat. I beach our 19 ft run about and 12 ft Livingston all the time. We had a 28 ft with out drives that could be raised that I beach on occasion . The 58 ft beach/grounded once on purpose in the mud, and once no intending behind the U of W. However, I am planning on preparing the 58 ft so it can be beach/grounded with out rolling over and/or to much damage.

I vote Don’t on any shore but the hard bottom dinks I do beaching them.

40' Tolly - Few years ago in PNW. AP was on and 80 yr old watch fell asleep. Hit at 12 knts... OUCH! No one too hurt. Hull was fine, sans bottom paint required!. Just a real red face on watchman and plenty of boat dollars to repair props, rudder, shaft, strut... Ain't boating FUN!! You Bet Cha!

BaltimoreLurker said:

In my avatar it looks like I have, but that is a pic from the PO. The beach behind my house drops off incredibly quickly to 11' depth. So, I have been considering beaching. I figured I'll drop a stern anchor on the way in, run the nose up on the sand and run a line from the bow to the beach. The prop is going to be 30' off the beach and in deep water.

The stern anchor is to try to keep the boat perpendicular to the beach and to assist in kedging off, if necessary.

Does this sound reasonably or am I out of my mind?

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I wouldn't do it. It's going to be hard on your bottom paint and gelcoat. Boats tha big aren't meant to be grounded. If you have any rise and fall from tides, it will be a problem.

I'm with Art, nose in the tules is as close as I'd come to beaching.

BaltimoreLurker said:

In my avatar it looks like I have, but that is a pic from the PO. The beach behind my house drops off incredibly quickly to 11' depth. So, I have been considering beaching. I figured I'll drop a stern anchor on the way in, run the nose up on the sand and run a line from the bow to the beach. The prop is going to be 30' off the beach and in deep water.

The stern anchor is to try to keep the boat perpendicular to the beach and to assist in kedging off, if necessary.

Does this sound reasonably or am I out of my mind?

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Is your boat on a lake? If so that would be fine. I'd do it.

But I beach mine every year or so to check out the bottom and replace the zincs.

We have big tides that can run 20+ feet a nice sandy bottom and let the tide go out.

SD

BaltimoreLurker, I agree with Skipperdude. So long as there is minimal tidal action you should be fine. I've done it for 3 years now, my friends for much longer and there is no damage to the hull. Just scrapes a few barnacles off.

Art said:

Surprisingly few skeets, and they pretty much come at night only. Many, many knats appear at dusk to about midnight, none in daylight. We have every window and door well screened and keep a solar light shining on sun deck during night – that attracts nearly all of them. During day next to no bugs and more often than not a nice light breeze!

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I agree with Art. I rarely see mosquitoes in the Delta, but we have 'em in Sacramento in the evenings. The gnats will come out at night, but that happens whether you're nosed into the tules or not.

They seem to seek the light source, so if the lights are concealed behind a valance, they don't seem attracted to them. I'm looking at multicolor LED strip lights to mount behind my valance for this purpose. I have red incandescent lights I use now. The red glow makes it look like a brothel (or so I'm told...I wouldn't know), but the bugs stay away!!

FlyWright said:

They seem to seek the light source, so if the lights are concealed behind a valance, they don't seem attracted to them. I'm looking at multicolor LED strip lights to mount behind my valance for this purpose. I have red incandescent lights I use now. The red glow makes it look like a brothel (or so I'm told...I wouldn't know), but the bugs stay away!!

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Valances? Something like this? Sorry, not a red glow; yellow, maybe.

These are the valances I have at the top of my mini-blinds port, stbd and aft in my salon. If I mount the strip lights behind these valances, the light will bounce off the headliner and provide indirect, not task, lighting. I plan to install 12V multi-color dimmable 8 ft strips port and stbd.

The big boat? God, no. The dinghy? Yes, all the time. I thought that is what you mean when you asked. Most of our beaches are too shallow to get that close.

I meant the big boat. Most people beach their dinghys, that is usually what they are for.