Houseboat Anchoring

Status
Not open for further replies.
StephanieW

StephanieW

Active Member
There was a "pinned" thread on the old forum on anchoring a houseboat? Does anyone have that information?
 
I haven't had any luck finding those PDFs (I know I downloaded them, but God knows where I saved them). I'll keep looking and find them eventually, but I realized that I pulled from Ledgeman's document to draft our anchoring procedures for the Serenity. All our SOP documents are available on our website and the anchoring SOP should have most of the same information in it:

http://serenityhouseboat.weebly.com/documentation.html
 
Anchoring & Mooring
camping11.jpg



  • Secure boat well at night. If beaching with the bow on the beach use a rope off of the bow eye as well as one off of each side cleat at the stern. Water levels change rapidly most of the year. Be sure ropes are very well secured to shore. Use a sand anchor designed for the purpose or tie off to rocks. You can also bury your anchors in the sand. Take note if the water is rising or falling. If it’s rising you will need to re-set your boat often to match the rising water level. If it is falling don’t run the boat up to far on shore and secure tight, or you will find yourself stuck on the beach in the morning as the water level drops.


  • You should install some sort of keel protection when beaching a boat. Years of doing this will wear through the gel coat and fiberglass. Also note the large rocks just under the surface of the water. These also hide just under the surface of the sand! Hamby's, Keelshield and Keelguard are a few stick on keel protectors that are available. You can also get a KeelKradle that cradles the boat and keeps it off of the sand. The above products can be found by inquiring on Wayne's Words bulletin board or doing and internet search.


  • If mooring offshore always point bow into wind/waves. Make sure anchor is set properly (back down on anchor) with the correct scope (5:1 at least). Secure stern to shore securely and check often. See Anchoring techniques for more info.
    camping12.jpg


  • Proper offshore mooring in calm winds. Take note of scope and stern rope. Be sure to back down to secure anchor. Use this technique if mooring near a rocky beach. If winds are expected or for overnight, two anchors at approx. 45 degrees are preferred and two stern lines. Note: if wind shifts more than 20 or 30 degrees it will put tremendous stress on the anchor and stern lines. Boat will "wander" back and forth in a slight breeze so be sure to check for submerged rocks on both sides to the extent of boats swing pattern. Note buoy attached to line further down. This allows you to leave your anchor set when leaving shore. Upon return, grab the buoy and attach anchor rope. Note: only use the buoy technique if your anchor rope SINKS.
  • Anchors – A Danforth style anchor is the preferred anchor at Powell for most conditions. Make sure the anchor is the correct size for your boat.
  • Use dryer sheets in boat to keep rats and mice away.
  • Secure pie tins, foil or other device onto boat to shore ropes to keep mice from climbing onto the boat.
Is this helpful? Let me know I can look further. WG
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top