MacGregorSailors.com

Hello all,

Well, I did it! I took your advice from a previous post I made as a guest "M vs X" and bought a used 26X. I haven't taken delivery yet but I have several pages of mod plans that I am dreaming about!

In looking through the archives I could not find much on beaching. I found the keel protector a great option for the bow. It seems to me, however, it would be real convenient to back into the beach with a bungee anchor line to hold the boat off the beach a bit. This would make for easy boarding.

I am trying to think of a way to protect the stern of the boat against the occasional pounding on shore. I am thinking that something removable that would protrude down below the hull would work.

Any ideas would be great.

Thanks,

Bham

i have had some experances beaching boats (since 1976). the chesapeake bay is full of nice places to beach,but i have had my hard lessons! Avoid beaches where waves are comeing in,they can turn your boat sideways and force it up on the beach,it,s best on this type beach to anchor out in at least 3 ft of water so you can power off easy.
the lee side is alwasy best to run up on,i just beach it gently up on the sand and secure a line to a tree or what ever,but pay attention to the tide
and don,t go for a walk and come back to find your boat high and dry!
HAVE FUN AND USE COMMON SENCE

"After all, Don helped develop the PowerVent system & is now a licensee. During the early testing, way back in 1992, I know they had an outboard mock-up."

Okay, Dave. Tell us all about 'Don' and the Power-Vent system.

I'm slipping to sleep but I'm here at the button. Honest.

Bham wrote: I found the keel protector a great option for the bow. It seems to me, however, it would be real convenient to back into the beach with a bungee anchor line to hold the boat off the beach a bit. This would make for easy boarding.

I bought an Anchor Buddy that is a bungy line. Haven't tried it yet.

If you buy a Keelguard, you might want to measure from the keel to the bowline, I found the one I purchased was too long. Cutting it voids the warranty.

On another thread, I had someone suggest an astroturf door mat to protect the stern.

I beach my boat A LOT... I usually just run it straight up onto the beach... empty ballast... bow first, then I attach an anchor line to the back and swing the boat around manually so the back is facing the beach... then I throw another anchor off the bow. With the back to the beach it makes getting off and on the boat easy, and with the bow facing the waves keeps it from being permanetly beached on it's side.

This technique works really good for beaches with strong current, just make sure to keep an eye on the tides or you'll really be "beached" I have no keel protector, my bottom paint is rustolem. The only time I damaged my keel in front was when my front line let go at the ramp and the boat tried to beach itself on the concrete.

Thanks for the great tips. I currently have a speed boat and I regularly use Erik's method of turning the boat around. I also use a bungie on the bow anchor line which allows me to keep the boat away from shore and pull it in for loading and unloading. I might try the astro turf idea to rig something up.

Bham

Erik Hardtle wrote:I beach my boat A LOT... I usually just run it straight up onto the beach... empty ballast... bow first, then I attach an anchor line to the back and swing the boat around manually so the back is facing the beach... then I throw another anchor off the bow.

Is there any reason to do this vs. backing in towards the beach, setting a bow anchor 100' or so off the beach, letting out rode as you continue to back in to as close as you want to to be, then setting a stern anchor on the beach?

Actually, as I'm typing this I think I'm realizing why you do it this way... is it due the prop getting into the shallow water as a result of backing in?

--Mike

Bham wrote:Thanks for the great tips. I currently have a speed boat and I regularly use Erik's method of turning the boat around. I also use a bungie on the bow anchor line which allows me to keep the boat away from shore and pull it in for loading and unloading.

Do you also keep some sort of "backup" line on the anchor (longer than the stretched bungie, of course) in case the bungie breaks?

--Mike

Ta Da!

The Anchor Buddy



(stump not included)