Houseboat Staked on Slick Rock

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cfulton

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On September 24-25 there was a houseboat (Twilight Breeze) in the very back of Wetherill Canyon that was staked to slick rock with three holes/stakes/line on each side. Chuck
 
Chuck, there was also 2 houseboats staked to slick rock 2 coves North of Stanton Creek last week. I also found a couple stakes in the rocks at Stanton that were left behind. Sq
 
There were 3 houseboats using sand anchors that tipped over a few weeks ago. I bet they wished they had 3 pins in the rock on each side. Right or wrong, pins just raised the safety bar in the wind. Pins are here to stay, just like dog poop, users just need to refill the holes with wet sand before departing beach.

I think the fisherman who brought mussels in from Mead has done more environmental damage than all the dog poop, beer cans, fireworks and pin holes combined.
 
I find it funny that you automatically blame fisherman for the mussel problem. In reality fishing boats could be checked a lot more throughly than say a wake boarding boat with ballast tanks. That and fisherman by nature are more environmentally friendly and patient than the party crowd. Either way there is right and there is wrong. Drilling a hole in a rock is wrong and lazy. There are plenty of spots that can be used without the need to drill.
 
I think the fisherman who brought mussels in from Mead has done more environmental damage than all the dog poop, beer cans, fireworks and pin holes combined.
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Uh...I think maybe the fishermen could argue that the mussels actually arrived via ballast bags ....no?? Either way, they arrived and it's now too late to prevent. I lay that blame on the numerous alphabet bureaucrat agencies who failed to mount anything more than a cursory effort aimed at prevention.

However, dog poop, beer cans and firework debris, inconsiderate as they are, are vastly different from holes/rebar drilled into rock. With the efforts of subsequent considerate people, the dog poop, beer cans and dog poop can be removed. The rebar left behind and the holes in the rock remain as a danger and eyesore for years. For this, I blame visitors who, by choice or lack of education, fail to see the long term value of the ethic that says "take only pictures, leave only footprints". If your reading this board and drilling to moor your boat, I would prefer to think it's only due to lack of education or ingenuity in finding campsites that can be non destructively used, not that your choice is to be indifferent to future visitors. Otherwise all we are doing is reinforcing the drainers presumptive convictions about power boaters on Lake Powell by not being good stewards of such a phenomenal place...

(Tyme summed it up succinctly as I typed this and beat me to the post...)
 
Wow Bubba. I kinda wish you shared my handle from the old board - "NotThereSince94". I am far from being an environmentalist, but attitudes like you describe helps me understand why many believe that that placing large areas of land off limits is the only solution for sustainability.
 
bubba said:
There were 3 houseboats using sand anchors that tipped over a few weeks ago. I bet they wished they had 3 pins in the rock on each side. Right or wrong, pins just raised the safety bar in the wind. Pins are here to stay, just like dog poop, users just need to refill the holes with wet sand before departing beach.

I think the fisherman who brought mussels in from Mead has done more environmental damage than all the dog poop, beer cans, fireworks and pin holes combined.
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I used 7/8" and 1" steel pins for a number of years, but don't anymore. Besides the environmental considerations I've found a properly sized Danforth fluke anchor in wet sand to hold far better than the pins. I've had pins bend, work loose of the rock, and allow the rope to slip off. I bury my sand anchors about 12-18" into wet sand and haven't had a problem yet.
 
I use a 4' piece of 1" galvanized pipe and drive it at an angle (away from the rope line) between the flukes of the anchor to enhance the holding power of the anchor. If we expect high winds I'll drive another pipe in a few feet behind the first stake and lash them together. Been doing this for many years and it works really well. Chuck
 
A set of Powerpointe anchors came with our boat. We liked them so much we bought a new set. We also use the Danforth anchors if expecting a real windy day. So far so good. Getting anchors in quickly in windy weather is important when it is just the two of us. We saw one rental houseboat at Gunsight that was only held by one anchor line tied to the front of the boat.
Checkout the link.

http://www.wagnerproducts.com/ppointe.htm
 
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