Mooring while camping

[Ironman10]

We are considering bringing the boat along during a summer camping trip. The campground has a launch, but we won't be able to tie up over night.
What are your best practices for mooring the boat over night? We'll be in a GA lake, so tends to be muddy/organic bottom.
My worst nightmare is waking up and the boat has run aground somewhere.

Thanks

[sandm]

a couple pics of the old whip moored in wisconsin at a lake I stayed at with some friends for a few days. I would not do this with strong wind but worked great there.
used an anchor front and back. lake bottom was muck and sand so they held good. it was only 4 or 5ft deep at the front so had to wade out in the am and bring boat over to the dock for the day.

I'd set the front anchor, pull the back of the boat until front was taut, then set the back about 15ft back and use my feet to bury anchor in the bottom. some use bungees on one of the anchors but I didn't. held great.
didn't use the dock due to the narrow open lake and wakes from boats in the morning/evening. dock wasn't ideal to tie the boat up to and prevent gel damage.
first and only time mooring the boat this way overnight and I'd be lying if I said I didn't get up a few times in the night to check on her.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210326/265fd7d1ebf010a57da6820934c1e7ea.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210326/a2fb6be46d1ec396e911d79a2b862dc6.jpg

[UNSTUCK]

Camping at Lake Powell several years ago with the MB. Water was very shallow. We would shut the boat off and walk it in about 50 feet while avoiding rocks on the ground. The front rope went to a shore anchor while the back one went to a standard anchor wedged into some rocks. I left the ropes/anchors in place the whole time and floated them with a buoys while we were out playing. I didn't sleep well that night either. Not because of the boat, but because the temperature dropped to only a blistering 98 degrees. Tent camping can be rough at Powell.

29513

[sandm]

I didn't sleep well that night either. Not because of the boat, but because the temperature dropped to only a blistering 98 degrees.



sleep and shower at the same time :)
sure is a pretty pic tho. prefer that view much more than the ones I posted up.....

[Bch53211]

I’d also look into the regulations and rules at the specific lake you’re planning on doing this. Sandm are you in WI? Is that Thurston Howell on your avatar? Hilarious

[TXSurf4]

Get a Box Anchor for sure!! Use that to hold the bow of the boat and then a shore spike or something similar to hold the stern if you need. I have a fender that I clip to my anchor line to mark it when we take the boat out that way we don't always have to pull the anchor. Make sure you have an anchor line that is of adequate length (for what ever ratio makes you comfortable) for the depth of water you are anchoring in as well. I always hook my anchor to the bow eye and if you have to tie up the stern I would use one of the stern eyes as well. Also this seems like common sense to a lot of us but if you do tie up the stern make sure that your BOW is pointed in whatever direction any waves might be coming. On a couple separate occasions I have seen people swamp a boat by pointing it the wrong way.

[sandm]

I’d also look into the regulations and rules at the specific lake you’re planning on doing this. Sandm are you in WI? Is that Thurston Howell on your avatar? Hilarious

I lived in green bay(depere) from 2013-2017 and finally got smart and moved away from the snow. tired of getting up at 4am to blow the driveway.
it is thurston howell. many many years ago during a very slow winter, the mods started changing the OG's avatars to pink pictures. it went on for several months. I left mine since pink is my fav color. tough to tell but our old tige was black flake on the hull and pink graphics. was a one-only boat.

[UNSTUCK]

sleep and shower at the same time :)

Tell me about it. We tossed and turned all night. At one point my wife got up and left the tent. I heard water splashing around, then a minute later she came back in dripping wet and laid down. All she said was, "I feel better". :D

[Zog]

Tell me about it. We tossed and turned all night. At one point my wife got up and left the tent. I heard water splashing around, then a minute later she came back in dripping wet and laid down. All she said was, "I feel better". :D

The old standard for Lake Powell air conditioning! We have done it many times. Houseboating is about the same, except you don't have quite the radiant heat load from the rocks and sand. Last year our share was in August with daytime temps of 110 and nighttime lows in the high 80s. The lowest temp for the week was about 86. Water temps in places during the day were over 100 in the back of the cove we camped in. Fortunately we had a nice thermocline at about 5 feet so a dive off the back of the boat cooled you off nicely! We decided that was the last year without air conditioning and bought into a different boat with A/C and staterooms, so we will now sleep inside but I will miss looking up at the stars every night.

The advice on box anchors and sand spikes is perfect for mooring a boat close to shore. If you need to moor further away, just use two anchors. An anchor buddy is your friend in either case though.

[Tommy2slow]

Put the boat back on the trailer, park it beside the tent and sleep like a baby.

[zabooda]

Put the boat back on the trailer, park it beside the tent and sleep like a baby.

X2. Especially having someone else run the trailer up and back. I didn't always have that so I anchored out over tying up at the dock especially on busy days as everyone crowds in. I used a Danforth, chain and bungy/rope combination.

[Ironman10]

Thanks for the input everyone, I really appreciate it. The convenience of leaving her in the water is tempting, but like sandm, I think I'd be checking on her throughout the night (at least the first few). Hopefully I'll be able to check out the camp grounds to see what the conditions are soon.

I see the anchor buddy comes in two sizes. Are you guys using the shorter one most commonly, and then connecting to an anchor line if you are anchoring in a deeper spot?

[bergermaister]

I'd recommend a shorter one if it will work for you and you don't have to pull the boat in 20ft to get on. The longer ones will tend to stretch and let the boat wander if you have any current or even a light wind.

I have a longer one and doubled it over/shortened it to avoid unwanted wandering. No extra anchor line off it but then I typically only anchor in 5-8ft of water. We have left the boat anchored overnight for years without issues as long as you have a solid anchor and keep an eye on that wind forecast.

We have also beach camped on islands and remote areas where there was no option but to stay anchored. In this case you point the nose into the wind and hope for the best. Once years back this meant the guys stayed up all night on watch during a surprise wind storm while the women and kids hid in the tents. We would have to venture out every hour or so and check/reset anchors but were only in 4-5ft of water. Lots of beer was converted to river water that night - one for the memory books.

[HFarr]

What Georgia Lake are you camping on?

[HFarr]

For shallow water, 3 ft or so, I took an 8 ft piece of 1.5" schedule 40 PVC, cut a 45 on one end and drilled a hole through the other end. Drive it down good and deep at a slight angle away from the boat and tie a dock line through it. Do this at both ends of the boat for two anchor points. Cheap and easy.

[Ironman10]

What Georgia Lake are you camping on?

We live near by Allatoona and will be camping over in Lanier (Shady Grove).