Beaching your sailboat

Apr 13, 2020
21
Hunter 20 Canyon Lake
What's the policy on running your boat aground on purpose. Will, it hurt the boat to let it rest on sand? I sail a Macgregor 25 and was thinking about checking out some islands
 
Feb 20, 2011
7,990
Island Packet 35 Tucson, AZ/San Carlos, MX
What's the policy on running your boat aground on purpose. Will, it hurt the boat to let it rest on sand? I sail a Macgregor 25 and was thinking about checking out some islands
Macs are great for lake beaching, hopefully on sand. The trick may be getting back aboard when pushing off. ;)
Edit- in a number of ways, I miss my Mac.
 
Apr 5, 2009
2,774
Catalina '88 C30 tr/bs Oak Harbor, WA
If you are beaching in a tidal region, make sure that then next tide is higher than the tide is when you beach and make sure you set and anchor so that it doesn't wander away. The same goes for dinks. Every year in these parts, someone looses a dingy after the "pulled it way up the beach" only to come back to find the tide has come in and stolen their boat. We can have a 15' vertical tidal range in my harbor.
 
Jan 19, 2010
12,362
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
I beach my Hunter... and have beached a Mac 22 many times. Regarding "damage" on a lake..no... on the ocean it depends on the surf. Surf can beat your boat up
 
May 25, 2012
4,333
john alden caravelle 42 sturgeon bay, wis
life is choices. i would never ever beach any craft, canoe, motorboat, sailboat, ............ just saying !

i like clean bottoms :)

would you dump a pail of sand on the hood of your favorite car?

your boat, your choice
 
Jun 8, 2004
10,024
-na -NA Anywhere USA
Beaching a boat, care must be given because wave action will cause the bow to move about in sand and over time will damage the bow. Think of it this way. You will be sanding the bow area of hull. There is and I cannot remember the item but there is an item you can add to the bow as a protector
 

dmax

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Jul 29, 2018
971
O'Day 35 Buzzards Bay
Best to use a stern anchor ang get close to shore without actually beaching it and then set an anchor from the bow on the beach. Almost as good as beaching it.
 
Jan 19, 2010
12,362
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
there is an item you can add to the bow as a protector
Keel Guard

 
Apr 26, 2015
660
S2 26 Mid On Trailer
IMG_20200414_080732339_HDR.jpgIMG_20200414_080814774_HDR.jpg
Here we are beached as I write this. Our boat has a high freeboard so a ladder is required.We have attachment points on the stern and both sides for this ladder. The gang plank is a work platform that I trimmed the legs on.
Normally the wood plank is not used but we wanted to stay at this shallow site due to 25kt winds today. I added 3 layers of Kevlar to the areas that rub on the sand.
 
Nov 26, 2012
1,653
Hunter 34 Berkeley
life is choices. i would never ever beach any craft, canoe, motorboat, sailboat, ............ just saying !

i like clean bottoms :)

would you dump a pail of sand on the hood of your favorite car?

your boat, your choice
Good point. But I wouldn't take my favorite car in the ocean either. Maybe my second favorite car, though.
 
Jun 14, 2010
2,081
Robertson & Caine 2017 Leopard 40 CT
A dinghy yes, but I protect the bottom paint and hull as much as possible on my larger boat. That means no beaching.