How do you feel about beaching your boat?

[04Gravity]

I just bought a 92 Comp. Ive seen some pics of peoples boat on this forum where they have it up on a beach. Wouldnt this hurt the rudder/shaft/prop? If its sandy enough can I get away with it? What are your thoughts?

[iwakeboard]

I used to do it with my '86 I/O because I could trim it up and wade into pretty shallow water. I would never do it in my 24, I would never feel comfortable bringing it close to land. With the fins and all of the bidness up under there, including ballast gate, paddle wheel, etc I wouldn't (won't) risk it.

[tg0824SSVGG]

Same as iWakeboard - did it all the time in my I/O (Keel guard is a must) - I don't do it
in the Supra unless I have to (also have a keel shield just in case - put that on RIGHT AWAY).

[Fman]

My boat has never touched land, and it never will. I use a floating ball attached to a bungi-line/anchor and float it about 10 feel off the shore. This setup works great, attach a roap to the transom and you can pull the boat near shore and the bungi will pull it back out when you let go of the rope.

[thescott]

^^^same here. Never been beached - never will unless emergency forces me to. I also use a bungi style anchor line called an anchor buddy with a line to shore from the transom. Works great!

[wotan2525]

I beach mine (almost) every time I go out. My river has a really sandy water and I know where it's safe to do it and where it's dangerous. I also cut any prop movement before I hit the beach and (most times) actually end up backing in.

Backing in seems pretty weird but it makes it really easy to get in and out of the boat and faces the tower speakers straight at the beach party. The prop and rudder sit on the bottom but they always just end up in the sand -- I pitch an anchor out the front on windy days and two tie-down anchors off the back. Doesn't move and everyone enjoys it.

[Salty87]

i've beached mine before, will again if the conditions are right. there are spots around here where the prop is 8' deep while the bow is on soft river sand/mud. no big boats or waves, but there's always the occasional roller. you can see the wear on the gel but it's nothing worse than the marks left by the trailer bunks over the years.

[michael hunter]

My Sunsport has never been in less than 3' of water. I very rarely even put it on a dock. If its a sand bottom I dont think it will harm the drive or fins but it will scratch the gelcoat.
Even in sand and mud there is still rocks and debris unseen under water.

[tg0824SSVGG]

Same for me --- anchor buddy, with box anchor - what I meant when I said
"unless I have to" was really - only in an emergency, and that was a storm that
came out of nowhere.

[jonyb]

Backing in seems pretty weird but it makes it really easy to get in and out of the boat and faces the tower speakers straight at the beach party. The prop and rudder sit on the bottom but they always just end up in the sand -- I pitch an anchor out the front on windy days and two tie-down anchors off the back. Doesn't move and everyone enjoys it.

So you back you're boat in, and when the rudder and prop contact the sand, it stops the boat? Do you think that the hard surface won't bend or misalign the rudder? What about when you're walking through the boat putting more pressure on the parts that are contacting the floor of the lake? Good luck with that....

I line up to the beach where I'm going to be, pull forward, drop my 30# hooker anchor, then back up at least 20', dragging the anchor so it sets pretty deep. I stop when the water is about 4' deep at the transom. Anchor up front is tied to the bow loop, then an anchor is hooked in the sand out back, or I tie to the transom of a beached boat. I'll never touch land with mine on purpose.

[SZEH]

I've never beached mine. I still owe too much money on it! Besides, if you do beach it you better be changing your impeller every year. Being in that shallow of water stiring up the sand and mud you're going to be picking up a ton of grit that's going to eating that impeller up!

[87SunSportMikeyD]

Sand should get caught in your raw water strainer. I beach mine all the time without issues. If you beach the bow, it only takes 20-24" of water to float without the rudder touching ground. If I reverse it like Wotan says then I technically do not beach it. I make sure the entire boat is floating and the rudder is not bumping before anchoring. Sand or mud (most shorlines) shouldn't hurt your gelcoat but rocks or gravel could. You could also buy a $75 keel protector. No attitudes please.

I have had to dock in shallow waters and my rudder has bumped the ground / people walking around in the boat. The rudder is very strong and I cannot imagine it bending. However, it will move up and down and this caused my grease seal around the rudder to leak water into the boat. I had to add grease via the zerks (grease gun fittings) on the rudder cable.

[04Gravity]

Thanks for all the input! I thinjk I will probably buy that bungee system. Better to not take any chances I guess!

[87SunSportMikeyD]

04 VS 87 - I would get the anchor buddy too if I had an 04. :)

[wotan2525]

So you back you're boat in, and when the rudder and prop contact the sand, it stops the boat? Do you think that the hard surface won't bend or misalign the rudder? What about when you're walking through the boat putting more pressure on the parts that are contacting the floor of the lake? Good luck with that....

I line up to the beach where I'm going to be, pull forward, drop my 30# hooker anchor, then back up at least 20', dragging the anchor so it sets pretty deep. I stop when the water is about 4' deep at the transom. Anchor up front is tied to the bow loop, then an anchor is hooked in the sand out back, or I tie to the transom of a beached boat. I'll never touch land with mine on purpose.

I don't back up until the rudder hits. I get close and then pull it in by hand. The "floor" of the lake is just really soft sand. There's a lot of room between the prop/rudder and the raw water intake -- my intake never gets close to the sand. It might seem crazy to you guys but I've been doing it this way for years and have never had any problems. There really isn't very much pressure at all being applied to the rudder.... and I do usually toss an anchor out the front to keep it from being pushed into shore on windy days.

[jonyb]

From reading that post it sounded like you backed up until it stopped you. I've seen lots of crazy things around my area where people just run up on the sand full blast. 1 of the beaches on my lake is so flat that you can be 25' out and only in a foot of water. Beaching there is out of the question.

Mikey, I'm sure the rudder won't bend or break, I was insinuating the problem would be all the parts that are connecting the rudder to the boat, steering, etc.... It's a good way to screw up the seal.