Seeking ideas on new ways to tie off houseboat, 2 ski boats and 2 wave runners?

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cookster22

cookster22

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We’re a couple of experienced Lake Powell families headed down for season 6 at Powell. We have always tied one boat to the back of the house boat and one with an anchor & anchor buddy setup, connected to shore. This year we’re adding 2 wave runners and looking to reassess our setup.

I’m always Looking for better ways to do things, so looking for ideas of how you have tied off power boats, and still leave room for kids to play on the slide and swim? Also want to keep it easy to access from the back of the houseboat.

What about anchoring systems for the houseboat? We’ve got the standard method down —dig a hole and bury the anchor. Just looking for additional options where we might be able to secure to large rocks and get into some different areas that aren’t beachy. Last year I saw a houseboat securing with large ratchet straps.

Also, any recommendations on how to secure wave runners, particularly at night. Was thinking of just securing them to a 5-gallon bucket, sunk about 10’ off shore.

Anyway, thanks for the input.
 
Where do you tie the anchor ropes to your houseboat? Are there any cleats attached to the bottom of the 2nd deck of the house boat? How long is your houseboat?
 
Re: Standard method for HB. We haven't used an anchor is 10+ years. We tie the anchor rope directly around rocks on shore. Obviously this doesn't work on sandy beaches but it requires a lot less sweat, opens a lot of new places to beach and we've never had an issue with coming loose. Though one year we did tie onto a rock that was just below water line, and had to go diving to get the rope off as a result of rising water.
 
I tie a dock line using a rolling hitch to the middle of anchor line going from back of houseboat to shore anchor -- I then hook that dock line to the rear cleat of small boat -- then I use a bungee rope to tie from front cleat of small boat to rear of house boat --- when you want to get on small boat, you grab bungee rope, pull it to house boat and get on --- release ropes from cleats, and you are ready to go --- on the jet skies, I tie those with the same knot, but on the inside anchor line. in the middle, with a hook that snaps onto the front of ski----
everything stays floating and away from each other
 
RE Jet Skiis specifically, the simplest way is to buy a 20 lb mushroom anchor ($25), 15 ft of floating nylon line and a line float buoy, and a clip to attach from the line to the jet ski. All of this is available for under $40.

Here is a photo of the setup (from amazon), but I'd recommend a heavier anchor: Jet Ski Setup

Just drop the 20 lb anchor offshore in about 5 ft of water, clip the line onto the jetski and it will survive wind up to 25 mph and all waves. For big storms, you still want to either bring them to shore or tie them off to the side of the HB not receiving the brunt of the storm. But for anything else, this is a convenient way to keep the jet skis off of the beach and it's easy to hook and unhook to ride as desired. And the mushroom anchors are easy to store or take home.

This is similar to your idea of cement in a 5 gal bucket but much more user-friendly. If you want to use the bucket instead of the mushroom anchor, still use the floating nylon line, float, and hook and it will work great.
 
Use a BIG racheting strap (3" strap) to go around a rock then tie the anchor line to that.

Tie your speedboat to the side of the houseboat using bumpers. Face your speedboat forward and make the back of the speed boat even with the gate on the back of the houseboat so you can step off the back deck of your boat thru the gate and right onto the back deck of the houseboat. Be sure not to place your bumpers where they will smash vents on the house boat. This leaves the back deck of the houseboat completely open.
 
Gem Morris said:
Use a BIG racheting strap (3" strap) to go around a rock then tie the anchor line to that.

Tie your speedboat to the side of the houseboat using bumpers. Face your speedboat forward and make the back of the speed boat even with the gate on the back of the houseboat so you can step off the back deck of your boat thru the gate and right onto the back deck of the houseboat. Be sure not to place your bumpers where they will smash vents on the house boat. This leaves the back deck of the houseboat completely open.
Click to expand...
That's exactly how we did it, worked great, walked out and walked on the fishing boat.
 
PowellBride said:
Re: Standard method for HB. We haven't used an anchor is 10+ years. We tie the anchor rope directly around rocks on shore. Obviously this doesn't work on sandy beaches but it requires a lot less sweat, opens a lot of new places to beach and we've never had an issue with coming loose. Though one year we did tie onto a rock that was just below water line, and had to go diving to get the rope off as a result of rising water.
Click to expand...
I usually tie off to rocks also. There are lots of large ones on the San Juan.
 
I to use ratchet straps and large rocks -- no interest in digging hole in 100 degree heat---
here is a picture of my set up -- works well for me. easy on and off, easy to rig, and no extra supplies needed.
 

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