beached boat with tide going out

[NYGiants]

i boat on the delaware river and i was exploring an island i knew that low tide was around 3pm and it was about 11am when we beached it. well i threw the anchor out and the back was on the shore. we come back to the boat completely out of the water and a few feet from the start of the water! (this is a 14ft lund boat with a 25horse o/b) after pushing and pulling we move it inches. i take the o/b off and nothing works. luckily a boater passes by about a 20' trihull type boat with an outdrive and i wave him down and he comes over. now the water is quite shallow and his depth alarm is going off his wife yelling "were gonna run aground!" and he still tells me to give him a line and i have my anchor line ( 3/8 poly rope) and i shackle it to my bow eye and tie it to his eye (with inches of line to spare) he pulls in reverse, nothing moves. so my buddy and i lift the back of the boat while he pulls and it slides in the water. we thank him and he goes in his way. i was in the same spot the day before with a stalled motor and waved down multiple boats who passed by. i was lucky to find this guy.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: beached boat with tide going out

If you had the bow on the shore it would have been a lot worse--something to consider when you beach in tidal areas.

The tides rule.

 

[Todd157k]

Re: beached boat with tide going out

Sometimes you can have someone in their boat "pass by" a couple times and the waves will lift your boat. Then you can push it in a little at a time.

 

[NYGiants]

Re: beached boat with tide going out

it wasnt even close to that. the bow (bow was facing the water) was a good couple feet.

 

[robert graham]

Re: beached boat with tide going out

It's a good reason to have 2 anchors and aim the bow out with an anchor and use the other for the back of the boat. Some flat bottomed boats will form a "suction" on the sand and it's like glue.

 

[d.boat]

Re: beached boat with tide going out

A long, stout pole under the transom would have pushed that thing easily. Dig out under the transom a foot or two, put the end of the pole under the boat, and you'll find that "with a big enough lever, I can move the earth." BTDT with much heavier boats than that.

Also, did you try rocking it while you pushed? That sometimes helps a lot in wet sand.

 

[NYGiants]

Re: beached boat with tide going out

it was a mixture of mostly shale type rocks and mud

 

[d.boat]

Re: beached boat with tide going out

it was a mixture of mostly shale type rocks and mud

You want to talk about idiocy, I had to lever my boat about 50 feet across a mud/silt/sand bar in about 4 inches of water.... went hard aground, in the middle of a very silty river because I didn't know how to read the water very well and just wasn't paying attention. Used a ~8-10 foot 4" pole from a spruce tree and two of us were able to move it 6-12 inches at a time while one guy rocked it to relieve the suction.

This was a very solid, welded jet boat with a 305 chevy block w/ jet pump. About 2500 lbs as it sat.

Another way to get a boat moved in a situation like yours is to plant an anchor in front of the boat and pull w/ a come-along. The normal cable ones work well but don't have a lot of range. I carry a rope comealong with 2 50 foot lengths of rope and some pulley blocks to double the mechanical advantage.

There's a bunch of other tricks to get purchase w/ a comealong in the water or sand.

Have also had far too many other similar experiences on gravel and sand with my and others' boats. One of the normal adventures in navigating remote unfamiliar rivers. I actually enjoy helping to get someone else's boat unstuck because I get to show off my hard-earned MAD SKILZ and be a hero. I absolutely HATE getting myself stuck and have become much more conservative in addition to a little smarter.

 

[marlboro180]

Re: beached boat with tide going out

^^^You know, d.boat, I carry a comealong in my work truck all the time, and have used it a lot through the years. I never, ever even thought about putting one in the boat until now. Thanks for the idea!!

 

[d.boat]

Re: beached boat with tide going out

^^^You know, d.boat, I carry a comealong in my work truck all the time, and have used it a lot through the years. I never, ever even thought about putting one in the boat until now. Thanks for the idea!!

This is what I carry

. It's pretty cheap, light and doesn't take up a lot of space.

I like this sort of rope puller because it has a lot more range than a typical comealong since it is limited only by the length of rope you carry. You have to select your rope w/ as little stretch as possible though. I found out the hard way that typical anchor rope is not suitable because it just stretches too much.

Some people I know who drive heavy boats into remote areas carry a chain saw winch. Some are an attachment made to replace the bar on a normal chain saw, some are a self-contained unit, basically a hand operated gas powered winch with a decent size spool for steel cable or a capistan for pulling w/ a rope. There's a bunch out there. I think industrial hardware stores and places that sell tree moving stuff carry them.