Beach/Shallows and an Inboard

I see so many photos with peoples boats right on the beach or in really shallow areas.

I can't tell if I'm just a wuss or what but there's no way I'm driving my boat that close to the beach so how are people doing that?
Do you hop out and pull it in?

The other day we were out with family with a pontoon and they were all mad at me because they beached it and expected me to do the same, when I said no they wanted me to just pull up into 3ft of unknown water and anchor which I also refused. Ended up anchoring behind them and tying the stern to their boat in about 6ft of water but not until i had already pissed everyone off by refusing to do what they wanted lol.

I toasted a prop the other day (same lake as above) by finding the one rock in a generally sandy area and I'm overall just very leery of being in shallow water.
Even if I hop out and pull it in I still worry that a wake will come by and the bouncing will slam my prop/rudder into the ground.

I spent my youth in saltwater with outboards and have run aground more times than I could possibly count without ever damaging anything beyond paint, but I'm always scared of fucking up my inboard.

Am I paranoid or is everyone else just crazy/braver than I am? :confused:

Defintely not paranoid! I don't go near the shoreline. I can control where I go and where I anchor, but not the wind, waves, or rocks under the water. I don't have hundreds or thousands of dollars to spend recklessly. Where I boat, the shoreline has mostly sand, but all it takes is one small rock and the weekend is ruined. Yes, I am cautious, but also value my time on the water.

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Same story different day. Pontoons rammed into a sandy bank. Everyone upset I wouldn't do the same. "You are going to make us swim?!" "but the beach is muddy and gross"

I have seen it done however Im terrified as well, I noticed my friends Malibu has a square cage around the prop, he claims he actually ran the prop into the ground pulling a tube and no damage

Won’t beach here, but 3-4 feet of water is fine if you know the area.

The one Sand bar we frequent is 1.5-6 feet, I typically stay around 3-4 with a box anchor and a stern sand auger. I try to stay up wind of others as 90% of boats have shitty anchors or don’t know how to anchor and I am constantly having boats drift at me with nobody on the moving boat even paying attention.

The most common reaction is “your boat is moving”, my response is which way is the wind blowing......long pause as I am holding their boat off mine...... thru eventually get it.


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My crew knows there is no way I'm taking our boat anywhere near the bank. Just not worth the risk of damaging the prop, strut, fins, or the gelcoat. Doesn't take a very big rock to do a lot of damage especially if there are waves rocking the boat. If anyone in your boat has an issue with it tell them to buy one and ride with them, bet they change their minds pretty quickly and just swim on in.

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Originally Posted by RUGER761

My crew knows there is no way I'm taking our boat anywhere near the bank. Just not worth the risk of damaging the prop, strut, fins, or the gelcoat. Doesn't take a very big rock to do a lot of damage especially if there are waves rocking the boat. If anyone in your boat has an issue with it tell them to buy one and ride with them, bet they change their minds pretty quickly and just swim on in.

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That's essentially what I say but with family I just end up getting crap like
"I don't even know why you would spend that kind of money on a boat that you can't use like a boat"
"Why would you buy a boat that you can't steer in reverse"
Etc etc lol

Like I said, everyone is used to outboards and pontoons and they just don't get it.

Easy enough for me to tell them to shove it, but it's still frustrating and annoying.

Tell them to pound sand!!!!


I am pretty chill, but shit like that would light my fuse and you don’t want my fuse to run out.


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we hung at the sandbar in green bay many many times. we idled up until the water hit 4ft-ish then coasted up and would ultimately get out and walk it up. we anchored in 2-3ft water regularly. sandy bottom there's zero issues with it. rocky, we'd leave in deeper water.
always turned boat around and faced platform toward beach so when leaving no need to reverse it.

not sure there's a blanket statement for this. in idaho we would never tie up or even get close to the beach due to rocky bottom. wisconsin I would not have had any issues walking boat up into 1-1.5ft water. it's sand and if floating and not touching it's not going to do any damage, just shallow water. even if there were some small rocks, there wasn't enough wave action and it's sandy enough to not worry about it.

At the lake we frequent, the cove near the campground has a variety of sand/pebble mix, baby heads, and watermelons. We carefully idle in with ballast empty calling out depth. 4 ft is our minimum depth before I bail out and guide the nose, and rotate 180 with swim step toward the beach. Even then with rollers coming in from other boats you can occasionally get the prop or rudder to hit bottom, especially when loading or unloading crew.

We have a 30 ft bungee to box anchor and a sand stake that we use to keep tension on. It’s necessary with pm winds that can push a boat around a lot. That being said, this is routine for anyone with a fiberglass boat. I cringe anytime I see an aluminum boat hard nose into the rocks. If seen fiberglass rookies do it as well. Anyone who bitches about it doesn’t get to ride. It’s the nature of things.

What infuriates me is when fisherman in their aluminum boats and tooners come hauling ass into the cove like their storming Normandy. Their wakes disrupt the shoreline and anchoring of the other boats. I nearly got into a physical confrontation with a jackass that nearly tossed two kids off a paddle board because he came railing into the cove in his fishing boat.

I had intent to get a Mission Reef mat to use as a dock for people to walk out on and reduce mud getting into our boat, but, alas, no boat no need.


Currently boatless

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Originally Posted by SONIC

That's essentially what I say but with family I just end up getting crap like
"I don't even know why you would spend that kind of money on a boat that you can't use like a boat"
"Why would you buy a boat that you can't steer in reverse"
Etc etc lol

Like I said, everyone is used to outboards and pontoons and they just don't get it.

Easy enough for me to tell them to shove it, but it's still frustrating and annoying.

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Keep after them and dont let up, they will learn quickly enough that your not going to change your mind about it, too expensive to damage anything, not to mention lost boating time. I won't even use a ramp that doesn't have a dock to pull up to. Just not worth the risk. We tend to anchor in deep water so I'm lucky on that part vs being on the shore line.

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Originally Posted by RUGER761

Keep after them and dont let up, they will learn quickly enough that your not going to change your mind about it, too expensive to damage anything, not to mention lost boating time. I won't even use a ramp that doesn't have a dock to pull up to. Just not worth the risk. We tend to anchor in deep water so I'm lucky on that part vs being on the shore line.

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It's all good, just family vacation a few times a year when I bring my boat to their lake when it's anoying.
Day to day at our lake I anchor in 50ft of water and everyone swims off the boat no problem but it's a deep lake and we don't have any beaches.

Not worth the risk. Boat draft is suppose to be 27inches, but depending on load, conditions, hidden rock, tree stump, etc. New prop. At least $600 + time and effort to get repaired or replaced. Just not worth the risk.

Anything under 3 feet is a “No Go Zone”. I value my investment more than I value the thoughts of other people. And I’m sure they wouldn’t want to foot the bill on repairs!!! Your boat. Your decision where it goes.


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Most of our local Ramps are 3 feet deep, works for a 28”draft but I would think a centurion might struggle.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by SONIC

Ended up anchoring behind them and tying the stern to their boat in about 6ft of water

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I did exactly this on Sunday. My extended lake crew (the other boats in the crew) are starting to get the picture though. Only get on Korey's boat if you want to moving ALL DAY LONG and come back at dark:30. I've found that if we go tie up with someone it sucks the day away...

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Originally Posted by korey

I did exactly this on Sunday. My extended lake crew (the other boats in the crew) are starting to get the picture though. Only get on Korey's boat if you want to moving ALL DAY LONG and come back at dark:30. I've found that if we go tie up with someone it sucks the day away...

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Yessir. I'm on the lake for watersports. Surfing wakeboarding and tubing are the name of the game. We chill a bit but I prefer to use as much gas as possible :)