Beaching tenders in high tidal swing areas

[bowball]

For those of us in areas like the PNW with extreme tide changes, what do you do when you bring your tender to shore?

Do you only go to the beach on a riding ride and set the anchor on the beach where the high tide will be?

For a dropping ride, Set a stern anchor deeper out in the water and use a stretchable bungy anchor cord motoring to the beach and let the bingo pull the tender back out to deeper waters, while using a bow and hot too on the beach?

Use two anchors, a buoy and a a loop so you can pull the tender back in?

Any great ideas?

It would be terrible to come back to the heavy tender and see if 20’ from the water, surf the tide continuing to recede!

 

[Russell Clifton]

If I am going ashore for more than 15 minutes I always go on a incoming tide. I have had to use drift wood to roll my 12' aluminum tender back into the water, not doing that again.

 

[Bmarler]

It’s a pain when you have a heavier skiff, that’s for sure. If I don’t have someone to tend it I have a long line and an anchor. Tie the line to the stern, loop through the anchor using a plastic block. Drop the anchor out a ways. Pay out line keeping it out of the prop. Take the line to the beach, loop through a beach auger or around a handy tree and back to the bow of the skiff. Pull the skiff out to the anchor and secure the line.
Or, just go ashore on the rising tide…

 

[CharlieO.]

tie off your anchor in the dinghy with proper amount of line for depth of water and tide.
Balance anchor on bow, tie line to anchor. give the dingy a good push when it is where you want it give a good yank on the line in your hand that is tied to the anchor to drop it in the water. secure to shore. pull on line to pull anchor to shore.

 

[Bmarler]

tie off your anchor in the dinghy with proper amount of line for depth of water and tide.
Balance anchor on bow, tie line to anchor. give the dingy a good push when it is where you want it give a good yank on the line in your hand that is tied to the anchor to drop it in the water. secure to shore. pull on line to pull anchor to shore.

Yeah, in our neck of the woods you can have 20 feet or more expose as the tide goes out. It’s hard to shove the skiff that far.
On a steep bottom it would work though.

 

[rslifkin]

The other option if the beaches are typically smooth enough is wheels on the dinghy to make getting it back down to the water easier.



The 2 anchors (or anchor and a tree/rock on shore) and loop to pull the dinghy in/out is another good solution.

 

[CharlieO.]

Yeah, in our neck of the woods you can have 20 feet or more expose as the tide goes out. It’s hard to shove the skiff that far.
On a steep bottom it would work though.

Yes, and if there are big rocks it doesn't help pulling the anchor in. We used this method around Kachemak Bay, drops off were abrupt and an out going tide could be helpful.

 

[Portage_Bay]

I think the Anchor Buddy will be a good solution. I've got one but haven't put it to use yet. Before learning about Anchor Buddy I used an anchor off the stern set below low tide line on a very short scope, then a longer line to something on the beach and push the tender out as we step off. It worked OK but not perfectly. It could take a lot of fiddling around to get things just right. Occasionally required a weight attached mid scope on the stern line. I never had to struggle getting the tender back in the water the usual problem was the tender rubbing and scraping against the rocky, as it almost always in the PNW, shore.

For those of us in areas like the PNW with extreme tide changes, what do you do when you bring your tender to shore?

Do you only go to the beach on a riding ride and set the anchor on the beach where the high tide will be?

For a dropping ride, Set a stern anchor deeper out in the water and use a stretchable bungy anchor cord motoring to the beach and let the bingo pull the tender back out to deeper waters, while using a bow and hot too on the beach?

Use two anchors, a buoy and a a loop so you can pull the tender back in?

Any great ideas?

It would be terrible to come back to the heavy tender and see if 20’ from the water, surf the tide continuing to recede!

 

[phillippeterson]

Our tender has a small remote controlled windlass that can lower and raise the anchor. The motor has a remote start and can shift in/out of gear and steer using the remote. We bring the tender to the beach to disembark, send it out about fifty feet and have it drop anchor and shut down. When we're ready we use the remote to start it up, raise the anchor, and steer straight for us.

Get back in and we're headed to the next spot to explore.

 

[rslifkin]

Our tender has a small remote controlled windlass that can lower and raise the anchor. The motor has a remote start and can shift in/out of gear and steer using the remote. We bring the tender to the beach to disembark, send it out about fifty feet and have it drop anchor and shut down. When we're ready we use the remote to start it up, raise the anchor, and steer straight for us.

Get back in and we're headed to the next spot to explore.

Now that's a cool solution! Probably a bit impractical on smaller / lighter tenders however due to the weight required for it all. But once you're up to the size where you'd consider a console, etc. it seems like a cool way to do it.

 

[hollywood8118]

We are in the camp that uses the bungee approach and use a folding grapnel anchor. We have a reel that is 60% bungee attached to 40% line. In deep water we drop the anchor and motor to the beach. Wen we hit the beach we preload the bungee and tie it off to the transom. We then tie off the line portion to the bow eye and give the dink a shove. Then tie off to the nearest hard point with something to tie to. I pick the landing spot to coincide, unless I an suffering from an acute case of cranial rectal syndrome that day.
It works great and takes a couple minutes max. We made the mistake ONCE in Roscoe bay and it took 6 of us to get our 40hp equipped Avon back into the water.
Hollywood

 

[syjos]

We use the long bungee/anchor approach.

I screw one of those dog leash screws into the beach and tie painter to it.

 

[koliver]

We made the mistake ONCE in Roscoe bay and it took 6 of us to get our 40hp equipped Avon back into the water.
Hollywood

I have been in that spot.
I now look for a place that is deep enough, should the tide recede (it always does) too much, as my 750# dinghy would have to wait till the next high if found aground when returning from that great fresh water swim. Even Roscoe has deeper water to anchor in, though sometimes a slow clamor over the steeper part of the shoreline.

 

[Slowmo]

Its a good question. We had to help an old couple in Grace Harbor who's Avon was high and dry. Boy was I surprised how heavy that thing was! What we do depends on what we are doing and what the tide is doing. For an incoming tide we put some sticks (to reduce friction) under the keel and pull the skiff fully onto the beach , then tie the painter to a a log. Since we only do this in calm harbors the worst outcome is a floating dingy when we return. On outgoing tides I drop an 'anchor' (i.e. weight) off the stern and tie the bow to a log and leave it floating. I don't bother with a lot of special equipment, worst case I've had to put some rollers (sticks) under the keel and roll it a few feet. But I just do what I grew up doing, i.e. what my father and his father before him did.

 

[bowball]

I remember a Kenmore pilot beaching a seaplane (pretty common) and the incoming tide floated it a bit, and the wind started sailing it out in pro the bay. The pilot dove in and swam after it but the wind can push these surprisingly fast so he had to swim back. Embarrassing.

 

[bowball]

I’m intrigued by the bungy cord so,Union. Amazon had some that were 15’ stretching to 50’.

Any more good set ups?

 

[Marco Flamingo]

I made my own "Anchor Buddy" for PNW conditions. The commercial ones claim to stretch to a max 50' and have galvanized fittings. No good for PNW saltwater tides.

I bought +120' of yellow polypro and 40' of bungee and used a fid to run the bungee inside the poly (easier than it sounds). It all fits on a plastic spool about the size of a loaf of bread.

I drop an anchor (Fortress aluminum) attached to the anchor bungee outside calculated low water and motor on into the beach to tie off above high water (usually driftwood). I then add more tension to the bungee and let out the shore line. That pulls the boat back 50'-60' off the shore.

I use this system when cruising in my 16' C-Dory. If it gets stranded on the beach, I have no option but to wait for the tide to come back. Here is a picture at Battle Bay on the Brooks Peninsula where we went for a 3 hour hike w/bath in the Battle River. Came back at low tide and the boat was still floating despite the tide having gone out 60 feet. Before the bungee system, I would have to climb in the boat and wait 4 hours (some of which was napping).

I double check the shore line to make sure that I won't need to swim (or worse) when I return. Battle Bay would be a bad place to lose a tender.

 

[AlanT]

For those of us in areas like the PNW with extreme tide changes, what do you do when you bring your tender to shore?

Do you only go to the beach on a riding ride and set the anchor on the beach where the high tide will be?

For a dropping ride, Set a stern anchor deeper out in the water and use a stretchable bungy anchor cord motoring to the beach and let the bingo pull the tender back out to deeper waters, while using a bow and hot too on the beach?

Use two anchors, a buoy and a a loop so you can pull the tender back in?

Any great ideas?

It would be terrible to come back to the heavy tender and see if 20’ from the water, surf the tide continuing to recede!

We do this all the time in the Gulf Islands and San Juan Islands, as well as closer to home in S Sound. I was taught this by a liveaboard in the Caribbean when we were sailing there:

I have a small claw type anchor on bungee cleated to the stern of our very heavy 14' Rendova dinghy with about 50' of heavy duty bungee (buy a whole reel on line its much cheaper than getting a length cut at WM, and you'll have tons left over).

At the bows a conventional danforth type clone on rope rode.

Drop the claw about 75'-100' off the beach. Ride up to the beach, disembark, step ashore with the danforth and wrap around a tree or rock, Dinghy will settle well off the beach until needed.

I've been doing this for 16 years and only once was it a real pain to retrieve the claw. The bungee does make retrieval a little trickier than would a rope rode, and once we were in a harbor in Croatia and it stuck presumably under another anchor chain. I did eventually get it up after a lot of circling, but one difficult retrieve out of several hundred is not bad, and if you ever lose the claw they are less than $25 at WM.

Picture is off a small island in the San Juans with our old 11' Rendova.

Incidentally we like to go ashore in some pretty rugged places so for each of my dinghies I reinforce the underside of the inflatable bows with one or two extra layers of sacrificial hypalon. I can nose up to a rock to let the dogs ashore without damage to the integrity of the dinghy.

 

[jungpeter]

I think the Anchor Buddy will be a good solution.

Yup, an Anchor Buddy (or equivalent) is your friend in the PNW. Never had an issue throughout the PNW, BC, or SEAK when using one. Sized appropriately for your tender, of course, with a suitable anchor and long bowline attached. I've never found the need for more elaborate solutions. And never been stranded ashore on a falling tide, nor had to swim on a rising tide. Works good, lasts long time. And I've found a sand anchor (there's a BOZILLION versions) is handy sometimes, when a convenient rock or log isn't handy.

Regards,

Pete

 

[syjos]

I removed the galvanized hooks on the Anchor Buddy bungee and spliced in two SS hooks when the galvanized hooks began to bleed rust.

 

[AlanT]

And I've found a sand anchor (there's a BOZILLION versions) is handy sometimes, when a convenient rock or log isn't handy.

Regards,

Pete

Pete makes a good point here. Your land-side anchor will not likely work in dry sand, it will easily drag. So a Sand Anchor (corkscrew) is a sensible back-up for where there are not objects to secure an anchor rode to.

 

[GoneFarrell]

No matter how much or little the ding weighs, learning where best to beach is equally important.

A major low tide mud slog in Fox Bay on Sucia Island comes to mind, all part of learning the islands!

 

[Snapdragon III]

tie off your anchor in the dinghy with proper amount of line for depth of water and tide.
Balance anchor on bow, tie line to anchor. give the dingy a good push when it is where you want it give a good yank on the line in your hand that is tied to the anchor to drop it in the water. secure to shore. pull on line to pull anchor to shore.

This is the way. A couple details I would add. Use a folding grapple anchor, they store nice in your dingy and work great for this. Put about 3' of chain on it before the anchor rode. Get a couple hundred feet of 1/4" three strand anchor line for the retrieval line, you need it long because sometimes you will have to walk it way up the beach to find a log to tie it to. Keep the whole rig in a bucket, anchor on top, retrieval line below, when you set up the anchor on the bow, it will be out of the bucket, and out of the way. have a small clip on the end of the 1/4" retrieved line and clip it onto the little fitting on the crown at the top of the grapple anchor. That way when you pull it in you will be pulling it backwards and it won't dig in. Cleat the anchor off at the approximate depth or rode necessary then balance the anchor and chain on the bow of the boat so you can pull it off into the water with the retrieval line. When you go to the beach, take the whole bucket of retrieval line with you, and play it out as needed. Give the boat a big push to get it out into as deep of water as you can, then give the retrieval line a quick tug to pull the anchor off the bow, Take the bucket up the beach and tie the line to a rock, or log or something. It doesn't take much, as the anchor is actually holding the boat. When it is time to go, it is easy to pull in the anchor, because you are pulling it in backwards from the crown.
The two big reasons I think this system is better than the anchor buddy/bunggy solutions are A, it is easier and quicker to set and retrieve. And B, this is the bigger one, it keeps the boat with it's bow into the wind, so waves coming into the beach won't be splashing over your transom, like they would be if you were pulled up on the beach, or anchored off with two lines, and your bow toward the beach.

 

[AlanT]

This is the way. A couple details I would add. Use a folding grapple anchor, they store nice in your dingy and work great for this. Put about 3' of chain on it before the anchor rode. Get a couple hundred feet of 1/4" three strand anchor line for the retrieval line, you need it long because sometimes you will have to walk it way up the beach to find a log to tie it to. Keep the whole rig in a bucket, anchor on top, retrieval line below, when you set up the anchor on the bow, it will be out of the bucket, and out of the way. have a small clip on the end of the 1/4" retrieved line and clip it onto the little fitting on the crown at the top of the grapple anchor. That way when you pull it in you will be pulling it backwards and it won't dig in. Cleat the anchor off at the approximate depth or rode necessary then balance the anchor and chain on the bow of the boat so you can pull it off into the water with the retrieval line. When you go to the beach, take the whole bucket of retrieval line with you, and play it out as needed. Give the boat a big push to get it out into as deep of water as you can, then give the retrieval line a quick tug to pull the anchor off the bow, Take the bucket up the beach and tie the line to a rock, or log or something. It doesn't take much, as the anchor is actually holding the boat. When it is time to go, it is easy to pull in the anchor, because you are pulling it in backwards from the crown.
The two big reasons I think this system is better than the anchor buddy/bunggy solutions are A, it is easier and quicker to set and retrieve. And B, this is the bigger one, it keeps the boat with it's bow into the wind, so waves coming into the beach won't be splashing over your transom, like they would be if you were pulled up on the beach, or anchored off with two lines, and your bow toward the beach.

Some pros of the bungie approach:

Easiest IMO. Drop an anchor on the way to the beach, power tilt the outboard as you approach the beach, cut engine, a dinghy lightly scrunches on to beach. Step off onto dry beach in shoes (no wet feet/shoes/cut feet). plant anchor.

I love that I can step off the dinghy onto a dry beach and don't get wet, while the dinghy self-retreats to its correct position off the beach.

I don't have to try to push the dinghy out into the water, getting knee deep at least and possibly trying to push it out against incoming wind/waves.

Finally when departing all that is needed is for last person aboard to give a light push as they come aboard and dinghy will pull itself back into navigable water on the bungee giving time to untilt and start outboard without risking grounding.

We all have our ways and what works for one won't work for another. I can say that when you master the bungie technique it is slick and draws admiring looks!
~A

 

[Slowmo]

When I more my dingy off the beach I actually don't use an 'anchor' but rather a mushroom or a weight. Why? Because when I retrieve it via the bow line the anchor (off the stern) will drag through the sand. My experience with even small anchors is that they can dig in and you can't pull the boat ashore when you want it! In this I only leave the dingy for hours, not days.

 

[AZ2Loop]

I just drop my wife off at the beach, then back out and anchor the dinghy. I then wade or swim in.

 

[AlanT]

I just drop my wife off at the beach, then back out and anchor the dinghy. I then wade or swim in.

Ahh the joys of warm water boating! Current water temp here is 48 Degrees F.
~A

 

[magna 6882]

Does anyone worry about getting the ding stolen? Thats more on my mind then the tide in puget sound.

 

[AZ2Loop]

Ahh the joys of warm water boating! Current water temp here is 48 Degrees F.
~A

In that case, I would solve the problem by relocating.

 

[Bmarler]

Does anyone worry about getting the ding stolen? Thats more on my mind then the tide in puget sound.

Hasn’t been an issue in all my years boating in the pnw. I take reasonable precautions though. Like not leaving the key in the ignition. That’s about it though.
You never know about thieves though, they come when you least expect it.