Beach bags - License to drill!

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Michael Pyle said:
Where is that?

Looks like rebar so has to be pretty old.

Edit- just to be clear this is not what I call a pin and is not what is used on large houseboats. I think this type of bar is bad and whoever put this in and left it is scum. No excuse. I hate this above picture as much if not more than most.

The modern pins are smaller than the hole they go in and are smooth. The come out and do not get stuck. They can reuse old holes as the holes are larger than the pin.

Mike
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This one was in Last Chance, I've also found them in Rock Creek, Dungeon, Wetherill, etc. I have not stayed in Padre Bay anywhere in the past 4 years because of Wakeboat idiots, but I found them a LOT in Kane/Cookie Jar when I used to camp in there. I posted that mainly to de-bunk your comment of only finding one in all of the South lake. I always attempt to remove any I have found.
 
jimmybame said:
I always have equipment on board to pin in an emergency situation. I have never had to use it. I don’t have a houseboat, but we do stay on board.
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There is a hammer drill and some pins in the hold of our houseboat. I don't pin. I don't know which of the owners put it in the boat either. During our insurance inspection this year, the inspector noted its presence, mentioned pinning is illegal on Lake Powell, and included removal of the hammer drill as one of the recommendations in our inspection form.
 
Marina Bum said:
I don't like the notion that a commercial company can effectively reserve beach with beaching bags. I'm not sure though that it's worth a confrontation on your vacation even though in principle violating their "reservation" is well within your rights. It's a big lake, life can be inconvenient when someone moves your cheese, it happens.

I don't like sounding like a hypocrite either, Who among us doesn't seed the beaches we find with decoy items spreading ourselves out as much as possible to dissuade others from camping there or from idiots parking within the swing of their vessel next to us? The difference is the bag companies are commercial and if the bags seem abandoned it's a problem. My fear is that the bag companies are too lazy or too overwhelmed to move the bags and instead prefer taking over a few spots like they own them. If they don't have to send a crew out over and over then they'd certainly have a better bottom line. Who's policing them?

As far as being territorial goes I think it also depends on the spot, I feel like you have more to say about being crowded out way up lake than you do say in Wahweap Bay. Good etiquette would dictate that you can't expect/demand solitude within sight of a marina. Powell is to much of a Zen place for me that if I find a nasty neighbor or a pesty bag company shows up I'd just rather move on but that's just me.
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Territorial is a good word. Lots of hate for wake boats in here. Last weekend we were camped in a very small bay down river of Friendship. Lots of wake boats in the channel, 8 at one point near dusk when counting lights was easy. The two different boats of fisherman who decided 50’ off my stern was the place? Far more disruptive of my enjoyment than the wake boats, and honestly quite rude. There was three miles of lake in both directions with not a single camp. Why are you up in my business?!?
 
nzaugg said:
There is a hammer drill and some pins in the hold of our houseboat. I don't pin. I don't know which of the owners put it in the boat either. During our insurance inspection this year, the inspector noted its presence, mentioned pinning is illegal on Lake Powell, and included removal of the hammer drill as one of the recommendations in our inspection form.
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I have equipment to pin onboard and never intend on using it but it's there for emergencies. I can Imagine a need to do it if there is a storm brewing and I can see it coming. If I were underway I'd find the nearest cove and the first protected spot I could grab. Maybe there is some sand, maybe a boulder, some slick rock or maybe a combo of all three but I'd pin for life and limb and take my chances with the ticket.
I have an emergency closet on my boat, It just makes more sense than running around looking for stuff in a hurry. It's complete with headlamps, sand goggles, gas and electric water pumps, air compressor, air driven drill, self tappers, aluminum plating, 3M 5200, extra extinguishers, drills and pins, and even my scuba gear. Know where I can get any Wake Surf Repellant?
 
Marina Bum said:
Yes. that's awful, that's the real danger. not an old spiked hole full of sand.
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We finally had a kid lacerated by a quagga shell. Broken shells wedged in a crack, he slid across it barefoot walking in shallow water. Based on the blood production I Thought we were gonna get to do a night run to Page, washed it out with gin and taped him up. He was a trooper. I’ve also upgraded my med kit to have several other sterilization options, that was good gin :mad:. he wears his shoes now…
 
Never used bags and they seem a little, ok very pricey as opposed to digging anchor holes. Never pinned either. But it seems that if the bag company would put a tag in the bags that have the dates they are being set for it would solve the problem of trying to figure out if you can camp on that beach or if a houseboat is expected in the next few hours. If you pull up and it’s past the date on the tag, start digging. 🤔
 
Michael Pyle said:
Kind of like lots of people saying there are abandoned pins left all over the lake and really could only find one in all of the south end of the lake. And it was way high.
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My experience is similar. I've parked a boat on the beach around 80 times over the past eleven years, north and south lake, and have only run across one abandoned pin still in its hole. (I couldn't get it out.)
 
VikingRanch said:
We hung around the lower lake this weekend. Beach bags everywhere! Totally working isn’t it?!?

Anyone else look closely? I examined a big house boat in Face and one in West. In both cases Beach bags prominently displayed all over the rocks. Lines running from the beach bags towards the boats. In both cases the bags were not attached to the boat, dangling limp. Between each beach bag and the boat was a big *** steel stake drilled in, with the lines attached to them. 1 1/2” hole? How deep?

So based on my sample size, it looks like as long as I have a beach bag, I can drill holes to my hearts content? How is this not pay to play? If you can afford the service you can camp on rock?!? If not, go deal with the tumbleweeds?!? I cannot afford the service, and have a small boat. I used to drill shallow 3/8” holes in cracks and use removable anchors. Worked a treat, I didn’t know it was illegal, and with one exception I’ve never been able to find my own holes on the next trip.

I’m not naming the boats, and I don’t blame Beach Bags, they are trying to follow the rules, nonsensical though they are. How does the park service not see how bad this looks to a middle class user trying to follow the rules? Do better NPS, you caused this problem, either enforce it or let us go back to responsible bolting.
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I am currently on the lake and we used Beach Bags for our anchoring. They did not use stakes, period. Ryan the lead anchoring person was very professional and helpful. Before going out on the lake I spoke to Deborah the owner of Beach Bags at APM about the comment above. According to them, the location of one of the sites the OP mentioned above was where beach bags had previously been used by a houseboat and had left a few hours earlier and Beach Bags had not had a chance to pull the bags yet. Another houseboat came to that location and staked. It wasn’t Beach Bags. I believe her. Why would Beach Bags ruin their relationship with the park service and drill when they have a great product and business that many of us are happy to use. That makes no sense at all. Bottom line — Beach Bags does not have a license to drill!
 
IronWares said:
I am currently on the lake and we used Beach Bags for our anchoring. They did not use stakes, period. Ryan the lead anchoring person was very professional and helpful. Before going out on the lake I spoke to Deborah the owner of Beach Bags at APM about the comment above. According to them, the location of one of the sites the OP mentioned above was where beach bags had previously been used by a houseboat and had left a few hours earlier and Beach Bags had not had a chance to pull the bags yet. Another houseboat came to that location and staked. It wasn’t Beach Bags. I believe her. Why would Beach Bags ruin their relationship with the park service and drill when they have a great product and business that many of us are happy to use. That makes no sense at all. Bottom line — Beach Bags does not have a license to drill!
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I'm curious, did beach bags place the bags on a beach that you chose to stay at do did beach bags send you to a beach where the bags were already placed 🤔?
 
Meatwagon said:
I'm curious, did beach bags place the bags on a beach that you chose to stay at do did beach bags send you to a beach where the bags were already placed 🤔?
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Good question — we told them we wanted to be in Face Canyon facing SSW with at least 15ft water at the back of the boat on sand or sandstone. They said they had a boat that was coming off the same morning that would be perfect for us, but when we got there we did not like the spot. We then worked with Ryan and found another spot deeper in the canyon and they had to completely set up 10 bags for us. It turned out to be a really good spot.

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IronWares said:
Good question — we told them we wanted to be in Face Canyon facing SSW with at least 15ft water at the back of the boat on sand or sandstone. They said they had a boat that was coming off the same morning that would be perfect for us, but when we got there we did not like the spot. We then worked with Ryan and found another spot deeper in the canyon and they had to completely set up 10 bags for us. It turned out to be a really good spot.

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Looks like an excellent spot and an excellent answer as well 👍

Hopefully that will clear up a lot of confusion for people about the controlling of certain beaches.
 
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IronWares said:
Good question — we told them we wanted to be in Face Canyon facing SSW with at least 15ft water at the back of the boat on sand or sandstone. They said they had a boat that was coming off the same morning that would be perfect for us, but when we got there we did not like the spot. We then worked with Ryan and found another spot deeper in the canyon and they had to completely set up 10 bags for us. It turned out to be a really good spot.

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Im asking for clarification not contention.

So if you had liked the spot originally suggested, that particular beach could be occupied for several weeks so long as beach bags had clients arranged who liked the location?
 
svivian said:
Im asking for clarification not contention.

So if you had liked the spot originally suggested, that particular beach could be occupied for several weeks so long as beach bags had clients arranged who liked the location?
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Beach Bags has always stated if there is no boat there that spot is free game you just cannot hook up to the bags, someone will be along shortly to collect them.
 
This is from their website.
beachbagsanchors.com

Is Beach Bags Saving Spots?

We’re fellow houseboaters and respect the houseboat etiquette that’s developed on the lake. We’ve heard comments about Beach Bags saving spots. It’s not our intention to operate in that fashion, although we do understand how we and circumstances have caused that to happen. Read more to see how...
beachbagsanchors.com beachbagsanchors.com

And here is a link to a thread where we talked about this for 11 pages lol

Beach Bag mess

To save fuel... find your spot with the ski boat and then just go out in the channel and send a text to the HB with the coordinates. That's what we do... Assuming the spot you found does not have a signal.
wayneswords.net wayneswords.net
 
sphoppie said:
Beach Bags has always stated if there is no boat there that spot is free game you just cannot hook up to the bags, someone will be along shortly to collect them.
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Yes i remember that thread and the note on their website. However, I'm referring to a constant stream of clients in and out of one spot for several weeks on end because the scheduling allowed so. Im not referring to unattended bags left for a day or more.
 
svivian said:
Yes i remember that thread and the note on their website. However, I'm referring to a constant stream of clients in and out of one spot for several weeks on end because the scheduling allowed so. Im not referring to unattended bags left for a day or more.
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It's nothing new. When you use a pilot service, one of the benefits is they are moving boats daily and are know what spots are good depending on the lake level. I have been coming to Powell for 20+ years and feel like I know the lake pretty well, but some of the best locations that I have found were recommended by employee's on trips where I didn't have time to scout ahead.

Personal Experience: We have gone to scout for a spot before and couldn't find a great location. Later that evening, we saw a boat coming back in the channel and remembered that they had a a great spot with Beach Bags. The next morning we woke up early and headed out. I went out in our scout boat to ensure that the spot was still available. While I was waiting at the site for the houseboat to arrive, Beach Bags showed up stating that they have a houseboat coming in... I held my ground and stated that the Beach Bags can't reserve sites and we were there first. They proceeded to remove the bags and move to a different location.

Early bird gets the worm
 
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