Sandbar approach/anchor/tie-up tips

[WiskyDan]

So, this came up in another thread that I was active in and we got to talking about tying up at sandbars - approaching and anchoring safely/securely.

I'm going to my first sandbar on Friday and I'm a bit nervous - don't want to be "that guy" - so any tips/tricks would be appreciated.

Here's what my sales guy who owns a Yamaha told me:

Come in slow, do a 180, put the bow anchor out, go slowly into reverse to set the anchor. Then attach the bungee line for my Sandshark to one of the stern cleats and walk out until there is good tension on it, drop the bungee line, auger in my Sandshark so it's at least 50% buried, then attach the bungee line to the Sandshark. I bought a box anchor for the bow that should arrive today and the Sandshark was part of the accessory pack that I bought with the boat so I'm hoping it's solid. I don't want to be "that guy" at the sandbar.

Here's some really good info from anmut:

I've considered that move in pulling up to the sandbar but decided against it. Our sandbars are 2-4' deep for a good length of distance until you hit the channel and it drops off. Because reversing needs more throttle than going forward, it causes a lot of thrust disturbance right into the sand below the intakes, and the buckets are down that sounds like a good way (to me) to jam something up in your impeller or buckets.

I pull in the fun way - get some speed coming in at 5' of depth, set throttle to first forward detente, then just watch the depth finder. At 3', cut the throttles, open the buckets all the way up (forward) to allow pass-through, and jump to the back of the boat. Jump in the water, grab the pull handle, and swing the boat around. Then I auger in two land anchors into the sand about 5' away from both stern cleats and use the airhead dock bungees to clip the boat to the land anchors. This allows the boat to float with waves but also keeps it planted between the two land anchors in all directions.

 

[Babin Farms]

I know my sandbar well so I just pull in bow first, shut it down, jump off the front or rear depending on depth and spin the boat by hand. Set the bow anchor first & make sure its out far enough to hold and then pull the boat back closer to my final spot, screw in rear anchor, tie off and enjoy a cold beverage.

When leaving, blowers on, unscrew the rear anchor, let the bungee pull the boat towards the channel, walk out to pull the front anchor push the boat out from the rear and when I'm in waist deep water fire it up & go.

 

[Floridaman79]

I beach mine like other boats on the sandbar. I kill the engines before I get too shallow so generally won't hit straight because it'll wander as soon as engines are killed. Then i hastily make my way to the front I then throw the anchor off the bow onto the sandbar then hop off about the time the boat contacts the sandbar. I then straighten the boat by hand, tie the anchor rope to the cleat, pull the boat onto the sand with the anchor line, then manually set the anchor and use throw cushion to keep people from tripping over it. Going out i spin the boat by hand then give a good pushoff and start engines in deeper water. When pushing off the sandbar have people move to the back, makes a big difference. Most of all relax and have fun!

 

[Elliott]

I use a long (50 ft) standard dock line between the Sand Spike and the boat, and I use an Anchor Buddy attached in parallel (with slack in the regular line) with the regular anchor line. This setup allows me to: set the regular anchor, pull the boat in closer to shore for unloading, let line out as the Anchor Buddy pulls the boat back out to deeper water and then plant the Sand Spike on the beach.

It works well in our 8+ ft. tides versus constantly adjusting the lines like the other boaters.

 

[adrianp89]

Every sand bar is different so can't give much advice, except to go out often and learn!

Some I pull up to a do a 180, and tap reverse. Some I go into, spin the wheel and kill the engines then walk it back (current puts me exactly where I want). Some I just go nose first, kill the engines and spin the boat by hand.

As long as you go nice and slow, and toss out your front anchor with some length - you will almost always never be 'that guy'.

 

[anmut]

Can we all just take a moment to remember and laugh at all the pontoon boats we see come in at full throttle, beach the boat with 15 people on board, then need everyone's help to get off the sandbar? LOLOL!

 

[WiskyDan]

I'll be tying up in a cove tomorrow so both anchor points will be under water. Hopefully there are some boats ahead of me so I can see when they throttle down and hop out into shallow water. My plan is to walk it in, set the box anchor on the bow, and auger in the Sandshark on the stern. I don't think I want to tie up to anyone my first time trying this but I have plenty of fenders and will see how it goes.

Maybe I should have named my boat "That Guy" ...........

 

[scubasteve87]

The sand bar/beach area by me out on Long Island does have some wicked currents and boat traffic, so plenty of rode for an anchor and knowing your boat are key.

For me, I find a good area to pull in, point my nose into the current and give myself about 50-100 ft to the beach. Fiance tosses the front anchor, I spin, aft to to the beach, compensating for the current and go hard in reverse to minimize the current pushing the boat laterally along the beach. Once I have good momentum, I kill the engine, I tell my fiance to tie the front anchor off so it begins to set well and I walk out to the back with my rear anchor, jump in and hold the boat with the platform grab handle. I tie the rear anchor and set it out into dry sand on the beach.

Here typically its about 10' deep and stays that way until very close to shore. So the aft of the boat can be in 2-3' of water, but you can walk off the platform almost onto dry land, whereas the bow can be in 6+ feet of water. Speed, commitment, no hesitation is required to set a boat here so you don't swing around or hit anything or anyone. Also need to know if you're not going to make it first try, no shame in bailing out and trying again. Better than ending up into the neighboring boat.

From there its just monitoring the tide and wind and letting or taking in line up front and in the back accordingly. I typically have about 50-75' of line for an SX195 in only about 8-10' feet of water due to the current. I use a danforth/fluke anchor up front and a smaller one for the rear, but I have looked into a shore spike for the rear and think it may be a new upgrade for me in the future.

 

[Inthrustwetrust]

AR240 x2 8# fluke anchors. Our spot is usually about 3-4 ft of water, bow into the current, kill motors to avoid sand ingestion, tie off about 15-20 of line, have some throw front anchor Let the current/wind push us back and tighten line/set anchor. Set up the rest of the boat, let everyone get drinks/sunscreen and deboat. Walk back anchor out with 15-20 ft of line, set anchor, usually end up with little slack but that’s ok, I like that one back there to keep us from swinging around as the currents and wind shift through out the day. Has worked great so far, except for other idiots getting to close and almost cutting lines. Going to start putting some sort of floaty on the lines so people stay away. Or just start shooting bottle rockets at them, ‘it’s the season! (Just kidding, I think)

 

[AZMark]

Doesn't the bungee rope generally go on the deeper (front) anchor and the solid rope to the sand anchor?

 

[Elliott]

Doesn't the bungee rope generally go on the deeper (front) anchor and the solid rope to the sand anchor?

That it how I do it - it allows the boat to be pulled into deeper water. Of course when it is time to leave, you can pull (using the Sand Spike rope) the boat back into the shallow water to load.

 

[Floridaman79]

So, this came up in another thread that I was active in and we got to talking about tying up at sandbars - approaching and anchoring safely/securely.

I'm going to my first sandbar on Friday and I'm a bit nervous - don't want to be "that guy" - so any tips/tricks would be appreciated.

Here's what my sales guy who owns a Yamaha told me:



Here's some really good info from anmut:

So how did it go?

 

[the MfM]

Can we all just take a moment to remember and laugh at all the pontoon boats we see come in at full throttle, beach the boat with 15 people on board, then need everyone's help to get off the sandbar? LOLOL!

They do that here at my favorite island... But there is enough of a drop off at the beach that they just gun there engine till they back off. In the process they create giant hidden holes in the water. I will be walking along in 3 feet of water and randomly fall into one of them up to my neck.

 

[the MfM]

+I always use an anchor buoy so that other boats avoid cutting across the bow of my boat. Amazing how many people don’t realize boats don’t stay magically in place.

 

[WiskyDan]

So how did it go?

I wasn't "that guy" at the sandbar.

When I got to the boat on Friday with my new box anchor I discovered that I didn't have the correct tools to remove the shackle from the old anchor so I had to use my Danforth. Arrrghhh!!!! I made sure that I didn't get too close to any of the other boats and after setting the anchor it was OK - I didn't use Sandshark for the stern.

I got the new anchor on Saturday and went back to the same sandbar and it worked great - didn't use the Sandshark again.

Yesterday went to a different sandbar and used the box anchor on the bow and the Sandshark off the stern and it worked great. Walked the boat into about three feet of water and all was good.

I highly recommend the box anchor/Sandshark combo - especially for a noob like me.

 

[Diybrad]

I use the anchor I got with the boat and a SandShark XL. I do the same as most other describe. I drop the front anchor a little earlier than most for additional scope and set the shark bar about 15 ft off the stern (beach side). I use a 50ft line and a Danik hook so I can move the boat back and forth quickly with tides and never have to touch my anchors.