For those who anchor offshore

[sunvalleylaw]

26 minutes ago, Bill_AirJunky said:

That was the 2012 MalibuCrew WOW on Banks Lake.

Figured it had to be WA with that Coug pirate flag proudly flying.

[RedOwl]

14 hours ago, Steve B. said:

Why are you trying to keep it so far from shore? Someone else's property? And 4' is plenty. 

If it was an entire summer, I'd want it at a dock, or out of the water. Unless it was the only boat on the lake. 

Steve B.

 

No docks available - 'beaching' only. We have to walk through 25' of state land to get to our 'picnic' spot. It is not my boat and (to borrow a phrase) the owner in question is so uptight you couldn't get a greased bb up his posterior. We want to do what is best for the boat and other water-goers.

At this point, we're only looking at anchoring @ this location during the day - we're not quite ready to commit to an overnight stay.

 

[RedOwl]

15 hours ago, ahopkinsTXi said:

Are you staying at the state land to where the boat would be tied up overnight? Or are just talking about breaks during the day?

With a primarily sand bottom 6-8' is a TON of clearance. 4-5' is plenty to anchor a boat unless you have really big waves coming in. At our cottage up north we keep ours in 3' between two fence poles augered into the ground. Off the poles we a mainline with shock cord and then a safety line just longer then the mainline with the shock cord fully extended. That would be what I recommend for overnight. 

For day breaks I would just use a multi anchor system to suspend the boat in 3-4' of water. 

We will be using an adjacent property to the state land for bathroom/meal/nap breaks. Do you worry about waves/boats/kayakers/fishermen/etc stirring up the water when you're only in 3-4' of water?

 

[ahopkins22LSV]

33 minutes ago, RedOwl said:

We will be using an adjacent property to the state land for bathroom/meal/nap breaks. Do you worry about waves/boats/kayakers/fishermen/etc stirring up the water when you're only in 3-4' of water?

 

No don't. If you are floating in 4's of water your draft is about half of that. Even if a 2-3' wave came though your boat isn't going to rock that much. These boats cut through waves.

[RedOwl]

15 minutes ago, ahopkinsTXi said:

No don't. If you are floating in 4's of water your draft is about half of that. Even if a 2-3' wave came though your boat isn't going to rock that much. These boats cut through waves.

Thank you.

[wakebrdr94]

16 hours ago, oldjeep said:

because a river has current and having your boat perpendicular to the current makes it damn hard to anchor. Boat will want to sit bow up river when anchored, unless you are in a river with no current.

You just leave it at a slight angle, nose up current.  

[Bill_AirJunky]

13 hours ago, sunvalleylaw said:

Figured it had to be WA with that Coug pirate flag proudly flying.

Lol, you should see the Shasta trips. Besides the Cougs, there are often other teams represented too, ie; Ducks, Huskies, Broncos & Trojans.

[sunvalleylaw]

Just now, Bill_AirJunky said:

Lol, you should see the Shasta trips. Besides the Cougs, there are often other teams represented too, ie; Ducks, Huskies, Broncos & Trojans.

It has been quite a few years, but I used to join my wife's Palmer West Chiro School buddies down at Shasta, where we rented houseboats, skied a bunch, had tequila pirate raids where we would storm the shores of unsuspecting other boaters and regale them with upside down margies, etc.  Fun times.  I was still on a redline I think at that time.  I am thinking of taking my family on a Lake Powell or Shasta trip also.  Powell would be easier to get to for us I think.  

[BadgerBoater55]

On 1/2/2017 at 11:03 PM, The Hulk said:

75Ft just does not seem that far to me personally. thats like someone driving between some wake board or tuber ropes and the boat... although dont put it past some idiots... 

Just going to leave this here...

[ahopkins22LSV]

^^ Exactly. If there are a bunch of docks out then 75' off the shore doesnt seem like much at all, but if there are no docks or other obstructions coming out from shore then you never know how stupid people will be.

[RedOwl]

5 hours ago, ahopkinsTXi said:

^^ Exactly. If there are a bunch of docks out then 75' off the shore doesnt seem like much at all, but if there are no docks or other obstructions coming out from shore then you never know how stupid people will be.

That's what my gut is telling me as well. I agree that logically 75' isn't that far from shore - but with no docks or structures to stave off the stupid, 75' FEELS like a long way.

 

[EchelonMike]

On 1/2/2017 at 2:09 PM, oldjeep said:

I sure would not be running 75 feet of rope into shore, someone isn't going to like that and it is a hazard unless you have it marked with buoys. Just drop your anchor and let the boat pivot. 

I would skip the shore line rope because it is dangerous for other boaters.  75 ft out from shore in an area where the water is 200+ yards wide is not obnoxious or rude, but I guarantee you that some idiot will blast between your boat and the shore going 40 MPH+ and when they hit the rope it will ruin the day for both of you.  A delta-type anchor will grab HARD in sand with plenty of rope length-to-depth ratio and you won't have problems with staying power.

Anchoring and swimming conversation as I look out my window at snow...this was a nice break from reality!  Ha!  Bring on summer!

 

[Sixball]

I got four of thees for our sand bar. don't use them much but have worked fine.  For deeper water we built two longer pools with the screw end for a dock pols up to a T handle so you don't need to go under water to set them. Non of them take much room in a boat and don't need more the my normal docking ropes. https://www.amazon.com/Dogit-Cork-Screw-Tie-Out-Stake-Large/dp/B001B7P83A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483807095&sr=8-1&keywords=dog+chain+anchor and http://www.buyhewitt.com/large-pointed-mud-auger-db400/

Edited January 7, 2017 by Sixball

[ahopkins22LSV]

21 minutes ago, Sixball said:

I got four of thees for our sand bar. don't use them much but have worked fine.  For deeper water we built two longer pools with the screw end for a dock pols up to a T handle so you don't need to go under water to set them. Non of them take much room in a boat and don't need more the my normal docking ropes. https://www.amazon.com/Dogit-Cork-Screw-Tie-Out-Stake-Large/dp/B001B7P83A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483807095&sr=8-1&keywords=dog+chain+anchor and http://www.buyhewitt.com/large-pointed-mud-auger-db400/

Those would be great if you were staying with the boat. It sounds like he is going to be walking inland to have lunch/breaks and won't be able to see the boat. I wouldn't leave my boat held with those. I would only trust a bow and rear anchor correctly sized for the boat and with the correct amount of chain.

[Sixball]

1 hour ago, ahopkinsTXi said:

Those would be great if you were staying with the boat. It sounds like he is going to be walking inland to have lunch/breaks and won't be able to see the boat. I wouldn't leave my boat held with those. I would only trust a bow and rear anchor correctly sized for the boat and with the correct amount of chain.

Yeper I don't go far from my boat at the sandbar. They may not work with bigger boats also. If I had a big boat or in wave areas I would weld the eye shut.  I just like not having long anchor lines out in hi traffic zones.  The pole with the drill head  and a tee handle would work with a good bottom.  All subjective to the lake bottom! 

[dlb]

http://sandsharkanchor.com/

This type has a better auger for holding.....

Edited January 8, 2017 by dlb

[Bill_AirJunky]

16 minutes ago, dlb said:

http://sandsharkanchor.com/

This type has a better auger for holding.....

Agreed. I gotta think something built specifically for the purpose works better than something made to hold a dog. 

I've used Sandspikes for years & never had an issue. Easy to stab it in, even with bare feet. The folks who make the box anchor make one too.

[dlb]

22 minutes ago, Bill_AirJunky said:

Agreed. I gotta think something built specifically for the purpose works better than something made to hold a dog. 

I've used Sandspikes for years & never had an issue. Easy to stab it in, even with bare feet. The folks who make the box anchor make one too.

My Springer would pull hers out of the ground in 5 minutes.  She was only 40 pounds, but was determined....

Edited January 8, 2017 by dlb

[The Hulk]

 I could NOT sleep at night if my boat was being held by anchors nor could i even let it out of sight for a few mins. I know there are some good ones but seems cray cray to me.

make yourself some PVC or Metal dock post augers with 1-1/2" or 2" pvc/metal pipe and augers. twist those bad boys in a few feet at an angle . the key is to NOT tie the rope at the top of the auger as shown like the sand shark. Thats fine if your in light wind/wave area but tying at the top could possibly pull it over over time.

Add a through pipe eyelet near the bottom of the auger or simply wrap/tie the rope tightly around the pipe and slide it all the way down to the sand/bottom and she will never budge. use about 10-15ft rope so the angle is not pulling the augers directly up. if you are in a river with heavy current then id use two up front for peace of mind. At times when i was at the edge of a sandbar right on the drop off i would use one auger and then throw an anchor off the other end and pull it tight with the anchor. Two augers if you are within less than 3-5ft will never budge if done like this. again the biggest mistake folks make is do not tie the rope to the top of the auger as it "could" pull it over if the lake bottom is mucky/soft, move the rope to the bottom and there is nearly ZERO leverage on the augers this way makes it impossible to pull them out. Obviously do not put the augers directly down under the boat either as you dont want your boat bouncing up and down and landing on the top of the augers: while that seems obvious a new boat owner made that mistake and gouged the heck out of his bow on his brand new boat last year, although i think he did not tie up his back and assumed the wind would keep it pulled away from the front. Anyhow like this diagram and she will not budge and you can sleep at night! Best part it only takes a min or two to auger in. This method is used nearly all across IN/MI areas and others from what i've seen and works great. Not sure how popular it is elsewhere. you can make a set of augers or around 20-30 bucks. if you have a hard sand bottom then many people dont use the auger part and simply cut the pipe at an angle and twist them in, i prefer the augers because different areas of our lake are softer than others so i like having the augers for the softer parts for added safety. 

our sandbar gets windy and some massive surf rollers come in at times and two of these will never let her go anywhere. 

Edited January 10, 2017 by The Hulk

[ahopkins22LSV]

lol I would never trust my boat to pvc posts. Dock posts, yes. That is how I leave our boat in at my parents cottage. Although you don't want to just have one line. You want something to take the shock and a safety line. We bought high strength bungee cords and rigged them our selves. Really simple to do. If you go the route of posts I can take pictures of our line setup. 

Although for just a few hours a day I'd still just anchor. Anchors take up way less space to store in the boat. The boat is going absolutely no where if you anchor it correctly. 

[RedOwl]

Thanks everyone!

Clear as mud...

 

[minnmarker]

On 1/2/2017 at 1:03 PM, RedOwl said:

This boating season we will have the opportunity to use property abutting state land for our boating day trips. Because we don't own the waterfront, we have to tie off to the shore and 'beach' during our breaks and down-time.

Are  you doing this in the same place all the time?  Is the water level consistent (e.g. behind a dam)?  If so how about a more permanent anchor like a small engine block?  If you dig a hole for it, it won't stick up off the bottom and won't move.  Locate it well with shore landmarks (or GPS) so you can find it and also tie a submerged floater to it with light line.  We have three permanent anchors done this way at 8 to 25 feet depths.  The floaters are at least 4 feet under so they don't catch props or get caught in the ice during the winter.  During the summer the anchors secure the swim raft and a buoy where the Bu stays during the day.

[RedOwl]

Just now, minnmarker said:

Are  you doing this in the same place all the time?  Is the water level consistent (e.g. behind a dam)?  If so how about a more permanent anchor like a small engine block?  If you dig a hole for it, it won't stick up off the bottom and won't move.  Locate it well with shore landmarks (or GPS) so you can find it and also tie a submerged floater to it with light line.  We have three permanent anchors done this way at 8 to 25 feet depths.  The floaters are at least 4 feet under so they don't catch props or get caught in the ice during the winter.  During the summer the anchors secure the swim raft and a buoy where the Bu stays during the day.

Yes, it is a permanent location that simply lacks docking. The water is dam-controlled but does not fluctuate a great amount. How illegal is it to submerge a foreign object and is there a major impact on the environment/fish/foliage/etc?

I never considered this, but now you have me thinking...

[minnmarker]

9 minutes ago, RedOwl said:

Yes, it is a permanent location that simply lacks docking. The water is dam-controlled but does not fluctuate a great amount. How illegal is it to submerge a foreign object and is there a major impact on the environment/fish/foliage/etc?

I never considered this, but now you have me thinking...

As long as all the oil is cleaned/removed and you submerge it so it is not a hazard I would go with asking for forgiveness instead of permission.  LEO is not going to know if you are using a regular anchor or a permanent one.  You are doing no harm environmentally nor impeding navigation.  I'm not a waterway lawyer but, since the river is publicly owned, whether off shore from your property or state property, you would have the same status as a riverfront property owner and people put permanent anchors off their own shorelines all the time.  All that being said, I wouldn't make a big deal about it when placing an anchor and would not spout off about it.  You would not want to advertise the mooring to other boaters.

PS, if your spot has some solid ice on it now might be a good time to get out there with the anchor on a sled and a chain saw.  You can move it and bury it in the Spring with a wet suit and snorkel.

Edited January 10, 2017 by minnmarker
addition

[Michigan boarder]

Or submerse a 5 gallon bucket filled with cement maybe?  With an eyebolt sticking out of the top?  That would seem more like putting an anchor in than putting trash in the lake.  Not that an oil-free engine block is a bad thing, but I'd just feel better with the bucket.