Anchor once, return several times

[QC]

Re: Anchor once, return several times

Wow!! I am surprised at the responses. If I set up a camp, or I am hanging out in front of a rental mobile home or even a hotel, I set an anchor and a buoy. I keep my main anchor line on board and use with my spare anchor while I am out or visa versa, but where I boat this is common practice. We all understand that it marks your spot for return later and we all do our best to stay out of each other's lines. I may leave my chairs and an easy-up there too, but it's just common courtesy.

With that said we often anchor where we can wade out to the boat for the day, so we're not in some isolated deepwater cove or out in the middle of a channel, but just off the beach.

Maybe this is a misunderstanding of the question, but I'm glad I don't have to worry about a bunch of guys running over clearly visible buoys, 50 ft. off the beach

 

[trendsetter240]

Re: Anchor once, return several times

you also have to have a license and are allowed a certain number of traps..... completely different

Yes I know it's not the same. I don't even know if it's legal to drop an anchor and tie a float to it. Maybe it's not legal.

I was just saying that if done in the same manner as crab floats it wouldn't pose a hazard of loose floating line.


I do have a license and do fish for both crab and prawns. And have had people steal my traps! It happens. If you value the anchor I'd just as soon pull it up each time and move along. You could also get one of those small grappling anchors so it wouldn't take much effort at all to set and retrieve.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Anchor once, return several times

Yes I know it's not the same. I don't even know if it's legal to drop an anchor and tie a float to it. Maybe it's not legal.

I was just saying that if done in the same manner as crab floats it wouldn't pose a hazard of loose floating line.


I do have a license and do fish for both crab and prawns. And have had people steal my traps! It happens. If you value the anchor I'd just as soon pull it up each time and move along. You could also get one of those small grappling anchors so it wouldn't take much effort at all to set and retrieve.

I agree

i wish I lived somewhere that I could fish for crabs and prawns

Around here we are water poor.... WAY too many selfish people and not near enough room for everyone..... it might be less offensive in a wider open place. I have to trailer over an hour to reach a 741 acre lake, there are so many people there on a nice weekend that it feels like boating in a swirling toilet bowl....

When there is room to tie up 6-8 boats in front of the campground and 200 camp spaces... one person claiming a choice space all day while they come and go as they please is just plain rotten and does happen here.... I have never taken anyone's gear but I have pulled it and thrown it on shore....

The thing that REALLY gets the blood pumping is the op's statement that he throws "the whole anchor line" over and his assumption that all that rope sinks harmlessly to the bottom and can't get blown up by prop wash and picked up by a passing boat..... that rope could do ALOT of damage to my boat as I idle by looking for my own "parking spot"

 

[northernmerc]

Re: Anchor once, return several times

Well, if you own the Queen Mary I can see that you would not want to let out and pull up the anchor chain 15 times a day. But for a smaller pleasure boat, how long can it take to put the anchor back on board and let it down again?

Skiers, wakeboarders, tubers, swimmers, etc. are constantly coming and going near the beach areas that we use. Having someone leave their anchor and buoy in the water would create an unnecessary and annoying hazard.

If you own a cabin on the shore at that spot, and if you have a dock out, that's a different matter.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Anchor once, return several times

btw.... I'm not really out to take anyone's equipment.... I also am not one to worry about someone who thinks they want to get "unfriendly" as I am always WELL equipped to repel boarders. The point is that unless you want to buy property and build a dock while paying the proper taxes and fees or apply and pay for a permit for a mooring bouy then you need to pull your anchor and take it with you when you depart or tie it to another boat with an operator who is willing to take responsibility for it while you are gone.... If your abandoned anchor were reported to the water patrol they would likely retrieve it and possibly ticket you

so do you EVER leave your boat when it isn't on the trailer? Ever beach it? Ever tie up to a dock while loading? Seems like you have a flaw in your logic, your boat is fair game for anyone to take if you answered yes to any of those. You abandoned your boat, its mine now. Really no different than an anchor.

 

[QC]

Re: Anchor once, return several times

Here's an example of what I'm talking about on a stretch of the Colorado River called Parker. They would not normally have all of their line out, but everybody here is temporary and probably pulls the boat at night and leaves their anchor in. Looking closely I count five unattended buoys here.

 

[Boatist]

Re: Anchor once, return several times

One lake We go to often in the summer this is a big problem.
The lake is about 1/3 skier, 1/3 Fishermen, and 1/3 picnic people.
The Skiers will come early and put out a buoy then their off skiing.
The lake has very few nice beach and swimming areas so it fills up be mid morning.
After it fill up someone will drop anchor and back into the beach and let the kids play in the water and the adults make lunch and just relax on the beach but will be right next to the buoy set early in the morning.
Then the skiers come back and there not room for them to back in safely.
At that point the fight begins. When I have been there have not seen any physical fights but the name calling and bad language has wrecked the day for many.
Another big problem is when someone mostly skiers come back and back in then turn the stereo up so loud that everyone has to here it.
Often punk rock or Rap that many other do not like.
They of course have to have a 1000 watt stereo and volume all the way up.

In this guys case dumping the entire anchor line in means that buoy can float up and down the beach and cover a large area. Could be several boats with anchor lines over a long anchor line.

If it comes to the point where the States Parks Patrol get called they will make both boats leave the area for the day and also record registration numbers. If they get called by someone because there is no room but lots of empty buoys they pull all the empty buoys and anchors. What happens after that I do not know.

One last thing that sometimes happens is the Jet skiers use the buoys as a salmon course. Of course this causes a lot of the boats to pull loose or hit the beach and a lot of hard feelings. If state parks see that it is a ticket as it 5 miles or less within 200 feet of shore.

Seem like every year more and more only care about themselves. Mostly the very young rich Drunk.

 

[Thajeffski]

Re: Anchor once, return several times

I know for a fact this wouldn't fly where I boat. We're on the ocean and I think that means things are just a little more hard core. Nobody would ever drop a buoy and all his line overboard. We have a few nice beaches and it's first come first serve.

 

[JoLin]

Re: Anchor once, return several times

Culture shock

But, the only legit examples I've seen here are crab traps and temporary camping areas where it's customary to leave an anchor and buoy out a few feet from shore.

I can't imagine leaving an anchor and buoy in the water while I "went away for awhile." It's selfish and unfair to anyone else who might want to use that space, or who risks fouling a prop. It just isn't done around here.

When you leave a spot, take all your "stuff" with you. You have no inherent right to that space, and no right to leave a navigation hazard behind. My kids knew they had to clean up after themselves by the time they were 3...

 

[diesel5599]

Re: Anchor once, return several times

I know for a fact this wouldn't fly where I boat. We're on the ocean and I think that means things are just a little more hard core. Nobody would ever drop a buoy and all his line overboard. We have a few nice beaches and it's first come first serve.

Ocean here too, never heard of doing something like this. Here its highly unlikely you'd ever see your anchor or buoy again.

 

[scipper77]

Re: Anchor once, return several times

I just had a moment of clarity...

Isn't it required to have an anchor on board?? If you got boarded and your anchor was left at the beach wouldn't you get a fine for that?

I'm sure many of us carry two anchors (I used to).

 

[25thmustang]

Re: Anchor once, return several times

My friends family has a beach house on LI Sound. When they stay there for a week they take the boat from the Marina, and anchor it out from the house. This is a temporary anchor, as it will be removed after their stay.

The way they do it...

A mooring. We load it into the boat, drop it in. Use the boat all week. End of the week we load it back up and out it comes. Its a bit of work, but not awful, and seems to be the "right" way to do it.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Anchor once, return several times

OK let's sort this out:
QC and others put out a bouy on an appropriate ( I presume) amount of line. No problem: visible marker, no drifting rope.
Crabbers (I'm one) put out a visible marker and appropriate amount of rope. Illegal in the channel; usually away from beaches. No problem. keep the line vertical more or less.
OP throws his whole rig over--assume at least 100' of line--tied to a "float" which implies small to me, right off a beach. Big problem.
Some beaches it is customary to put out temporary moorings--if done properly and within accepted practices, no problem.
Some beaches have bad manners going on with this.
Setting up floats for a slalom course is like anything else: OK in some circumstances, not in others. Here, the crabbers do it for us!
In some fishing areas people temporarily leave their anchor on a float to land a fish--OK if marked, deep enough and temporary. People also used to mark a fishing hole with small line on a float, like a crab pot. No problem.
Hence the reaction to the OP, perhaps trying to do what others do, but doing it wrong. He needs a proper temp mooring.

 

[QC]

Re: Anchor once, return several times

I just had a moment of clarity...

Isn't it required to have an anchor on board?? If you got boarded and your anchor was left at the beach wouldn't you get a fine for that?

I'm sure many of us carry two anchors (I used to).

I carry three, so if I leave one on the beach (line controlled, or short beach line setup), I then have two on board for the bow and a stern if necessary.

Obviously local custom and courtesy. On stretches of the Colorado and some spots on her lakes, it's just understood. I do recall some minor confrontations as Boatist describes when we boated on our small local lakes, but never where we boat now (Parker, Havasu, Mead and Mohave). We would head straight to the beach at dawn. Drop all of our stuff and then go catch some glass for skiing. when we came back it would have filled up, btu stil usually not a problem. This was 20+ years ago and the mega buck Wakeboard younger crowd had not evolved yet.

FWIW I will say that big stereo systems are also the norm now and just understood; I have one. If you don't like it then there are quiet spots, but the main beaches are boomin' all day. I've had to get used to the Rap and Hip Hop carp with teenagers and women who like it . . .

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Anchor once, return several times

Is the hip hop carp natural, or stocked, in your lakes?

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Anchor once, return several times

so do you EVER leave your boat when it isn't on the trailer? Ever beach it? Ever tie up to a dock while loading? Seems like you have a flaw in your logic, your boat is fair game for anyone to take if you answered yes to any of those. You abandoned your boat, its mine now. Really no different than an anchor.

not true.... my boat is properly registered and carries state issued numbers... any time it is left it is done so abiding by the law and in a manner that does not pose a threat to other boaters

 

[Thajeffski]

Re: Anchor once, return several times

FWIW I will say that big stereo systems are also the norm now and just understood; I have one. If you don't like it then there are quiet spots, but the main beaches are boomin' all day. I've had to get used to the Rap and Hip Hop carp with teenagers and women who like it . . .

That is so awful to hear. Out in my section of the east coast it's very VERY rare to hear any music other than your own.

Once in a while you can tell someone brought out some non boaters because for a few seconds you'll hear a boat blasting and then when you look over the captain is yelling at his friend to keep it down.

 

[northernmerc]

Re: Anchor once, return several times

I'd be more concerned about the liability issue. If someone gets hurt by hitting a buoy or rope placed by you in public water, you won't own a boat anymore. Or a pot to p*** in.

 

[RanchDweller]

Re: Anchor once, return several times

OP here,

It is exactly as QC describes. We get up early to ski before everyone and thier brother is out. When we leave we will set and leave the anchor in front of our cooler, chairs, awning, and sometimes dog, kids, mother-in-law, whatever. We ski and retrurn to our spot. When the anchor is in the water with the entire 20' of rope the floating bouy is at the water level, maybe only 8' off of the anchor so it is not floating 20' away from the anchor. We ski, return, and attach the anchor. Eat breakfast or whatever, then the next group wants to go out for a quick ski. We return again. Hang out for a bit then the kids want to go out on the boat. Come back for lunch then the in-laws want a ride. This goes on all day. Hence the 15 times a day setting the anchor.

The people responding say it is not responsible to leave an anchor and a float have MORE responsibility to watch where they drive THEIR boat. If you see a float, it means something is there. CAUTION PAY ATTENTION TO WHERE YOU DRIVE YOUR BOAT.

As far as "creating" a slalom coarse for the jet ski's, never have seen that and I would be against that as I am only 20' off of the shore line.

Smokingwater, taking someone?s anchor and being "well equipped" for boarders just creates a bad environment because there is always someone better equipped. Just don't take anyone's stuff.

 

[rbh]

Re: Anchor once, return several times

You see temp anchoring sites all the time on this lake, 30-40+- feet off the shore line, "orange marker ball" and minumull slack.
Your off sking or fishing ETC, then back to your site.
The lake is 2 miles wide, and if you like running 30-40 feet off the shore, the rode around the prop is the least of your worrys.
But as was said, they better have a marker ball on it.