[Arcb]

Our summer spot, in addition to a boat launch, has a mooring beach.

This summer we have been sailing our beach cat, which is all the sailboat I need. However, it is not all the sailboat the wife and kids and perhaps the dog need. Our lake is a decent size, 100 square miles, there are ocean going ships kicking out decent wakes and its windy. The wife and kids and probably dog miss the shelter, toilet, galley and general comfort of having a bigger boat for day excursions and the odd over night.

No problem, we kept our bigger boat just in case.

So my question. The preferred mooring arrangement on this lake is something similar to a Mediteranean mooring. Permanent concrete anchors with mooring floats to the stern, then a bow line to shore. This keeps the bow in a foot or two of water and eliminates the need for a dinghy. Just wade out into knee deep water and climb aboard. Simple.

I have been looking at the mooring posts my neighbours are using and they appear to be just poles driven into the ground with a sledge or axe.

Is this the best way to approach this? Is there a product I can buy that maybe screws into the ground? Does any one use this style of mooring?

 

[Arcb]

Perfect. That looks like a good solution. I found them online for $81.

 

[Arcb]

I spoke to one of the pontoon boat owners and he confirmed they just drove the stakes in with an ax and had 1000 pounds of concrete on the bottom for the mooring. But... he has had his boat moored there since 2008.

Surprised a steel stake driven in with an ax will hold a 2500 pound pontoon boat. The wind howls down the St Lawrence valley.

 

[Arcb]

The Claw looks pretty cool. ~ $150 isn't bad, not losing my boat would be worth a good deal more than that. The grass is an option.

Funny thing about the Helical anchors. When I search marine helical anchors. $80.

When I search. "Helical anchors". ~$20. Look exactly the same.

 

[Arcb]

Great tip from Seabeau. We have a farmers co op in town with a bunch of helical anchor things.

Question. Has any one tried the helical anchors in water. Its non tidal here. My stern would be in maybe 2 feet of water. It seems to me, I could wade out to knee-thigh deep water and sink a couple of 30 inch helical anchors to their eye posts. Any reason this wouldn't work for my stern posts?

 

[Arcb]

I have decided to scrap this plan. Just too many concerns about boat damage. The boat was designed to be sailed off a trailer, not kept in the water and certainly not kept 1/2 in the water. Main concerns are to do with rudder vulnerability, non self draining cockpit filling and even possibility of capsize on mooring- the mooring arrangement would hold the boat beam to the prevailing wind and it's a windy place.

So plan B will be to still use the beaching beach but with a bigger multi hull that can be dragged up on the beach where none of these concerns are a concern.

 

[Arcb]

Roller tubes maybe.

But I have come up with a sound plan b that every one is on board with.

We have a Prindle 16 we haven't sailed much in the last few years. It was designed to be sailed off the beach. It has about double the payload of the little Hobie Cat we are sailing and it's a lot faster than the little Hobie we are using.

We will give it a try for next season and see how it goes. Probably use the helical screws for it

 

[Arcb]

Came up with a solution. Bought a huge danforth off kijiji and just anchored in about 2 or 3 feet of water. Works great.

 

[Arcb]

We have the deluxe boom tent with canvas enclosure and bug screens, but we are only about a 50 yard swim/kayak to the boat from our travel trailer which is infinitely more comfortable to sleep in than a 21 ft boat