How to vallet park my little oceangoing skiff?
May 3, 2010 9:15 AM Subscribe
What are innovative moorage ideas for a small skiff, if I can't afford to build a dock? Rocky intertidal/occasional surge/ocean cove.
I'm looking for schematics/ideas for how to get from a 16' aluminum skiff, onto the shore of some remote recreational land I own.
There are several possible sites.
Site 1 is protected for the most part from surge, where I can put an offshore moorage anchor down. Site 1 is the only one I cannot put anything on land.
Access to Sites 2 & 3 is subject to occasional directional surge which would discourage access about 30% of the time. Its a cove of about 200 feet in width, where I could perhaps consider something with a line across it as it has deep enough water at all tide depths.
Site 3 is adjacent to site 2, has a beach, with small sharp stones. Once the boat is up above the tide, there's no moving it- I need a solution which will let me come and go, independent of the tides. The beach is not steep, so over just a little time, the water moves great distance- making the timing for coming and going difficult!
Generally, if there is loading/unloading of gear to be done, this can be done walking/wading, before the boat is parked elsewhere.
A dock/pilings are out of my price range, so I'm looking for a solution which might include any of the below:
1) sinking a cement anchor with a moorage buoy
2) storing an inflatable dingy on land/fetching it before anchoring
3) a plank/winch system to pull the skiff out/redeploy it
4) pulley and droppable anchor system (have heard this called 'indian anchoring')
5) a seasonal "float" which I would deploy in summer, retract in winter, keeping the inflatable tied on top (anyone have designs/schematics?)
6) a pulley system allowing shore access to any of the above
The site needs to be secure enough to leave the skiff unattended overnight.
I'm willing to sell this skiff if I need something else which works with a different system... The direct contact of the rivets against the rocks doesn't wear so well.
I'm looking for purchased/recycled item solutions/ as well as having a lot of wood out there in the form of tall 6-10 inch diameter trees.
photos/designs/suggestions?
I'm looking for schematics/ideas for how to get from a 16' aluminum skiff, onto the shore of some remote recreational land I own.
There are several possible sites.
Site 1 is protected for the most part from surge, where I can put an offshore moorage anchor down. Site 1 is the only one I cannot put anything on land.
Access to Sites 2 & 3 is subject to occasional directional surge which would discourage access about 30% of the time. Its a cove of about 200 feet in width, where I could perhaps consider something with a line across it as it has deep enough water at all tide depths.
Site 3 is adjacent to site 2, has a beach, with small sharp stones. Once the boat is up above the tide, there's no moving it- I need a solution which will let me come and go, independent of the tides. The beach is not steep, so over just a little time, the water moves great distance- making the timing for coming and going difficult!
Generally, if there is loading/unloading of gear to be done, this can be done walking/wading, before the boat is parked elsewhere.
A dock/pilings are out of my price range, so I'm looking for a solution which might include any of the below:
1) sinking a cement anchor with a moorage buoy
2) storing an inflatable dingy on land/fetching it before anchoring
3) a plank/winch system to pull the skiff out/redeploy it
4) pulley and droppable anchor system (have heard this called 'indian anchoring')
5) a seasonal "float" which I would deploy in summer, retract in winter, keeping the inflatable tied on top (anyone have designs/schematics?)
6) a pulley system allowing shore access to any of the above
The site needs to be secure enough to leave the skiff unattended overnight.
I'm willing to sell this skiff if I need something else which works with a different system... The direct contact of the rivets against the rocks doesn't wear so well.
I'm looking for purchased/recycled item solutions/ as well as having a lot of wood out there in the form of tall 6-10 inch diameter trees.
photos/designs/suggestions?
Response by poster: wow- that boat dolly would be perfect, if I were stronger, and the beach a little less rocky! I'll look into it, but I forgot to mention that about half the time I'll be parking the skiff on my own, and I think it might be too much for me without mechanical assistance, or a z-drag or something elaborate...
posted by iiniisfree at 10:13 AM on May 3, 2010
posted by iiniisfree at 10:13 AM on May 3, 2010
I'm thinking options 1 and 2 together, if nobody will steal/play around in your dinghy while you aren't using it. Alternatively to the mooring buoy, you could sink one tall piling in deep enough water to float the boat at the lowest water level, but tall enough to stick out at the highest water level. Throw a floating ring around it, and moor to that.
posted by ctmf at 10:26 AM on May 3, 2010
posted by ctmf at 10:26 AM on May 3, 2010
Well, if it's only hauling up that is the problem, is there any sort of tree/rock you could shackle a chain and winch set up too?
If the rocks are a problem, larger tyre diameters (and widths) are the way to go. That will make it much easier to push or pull the dolly over the rocks. If the slope to the beach is not steep enough to allow gravity to help you get the dolly to the water (and then winch it back) then that might be a show stopper.
Also, you could use a motorised trailer mover like this one on this page (power mover).
posted by Brockles at 10:31 AM on May 3, 2010
If the rocks are a problem, larger tyre diameters (and widths) are the way to go. That will make it much easier to push or pull the dolly over the rocks. If the slope to the beach is not steep enough to allow gravity to help you get the dolly to the water (and then winch it back) then that might be a show stopper.
Also, you could use a motorised trailer mover like this one on this page (power mover).
posted by Brockles at 10:31 AM on May 3, 2010
Is the boat too heavy to move when you're above the water line, or you just don't want to drag it across the rocks? You could make a boat ramp out of old tires (something like this, imagine the kid is in a boat. Separate the two columns of tires a bit for the keel). You can get old worn-out tires really cheap or free from tire stores.
posted by ctmf at 11:07 AM on May 3, 2010
posted by ctmf at 11:07 AM on May 3, 2010
I would have thought that old tyres would be absolutely the worst thing to reduce friction. Unless you could keep the side of the boat very wet, it'd be hell to drag over some tyres.
posted by Brockles at 11:14 AM on May 3, 2010
posted by Brockles at 11:14 AM on May 3, 2010
You only want to "indian anchor" in a real protected location as the boat is not free to swing with the prevailing seas and can get swamped.
If you are dragging it up on shore you need to get it well up above the tide or have a way to flip it over or it will fill with sand/ rocks. Not fun.
I'd always vote for the protected moorage. Can you cement an iron ring into a large rock to tie up to in that location?
posted by fshgrl at 1:54 PM on May 3, 2010
If you are dragging it up on shore you need to get it well up above the tide or have a way to flip it over or it will fill with sand/ rocks. Not fun.
I'd always vote for the protected moorage. Can you cement an iron ring into a large rock to tie up to in that location?
posted by fshgrl at 1:54 PM on May 3, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
Then just chain the boat and dolly to a tree.
posted by nicwolff at 9:26 AM on May 3, 2010