Question on center consol

A

Arnold

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Oct 14, 2003
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I have a 23' CC with outboard and I would like to try to beach it on a small sandy beach. Is that possible without damaging anything? Did anybody ever did that?
 
Well yes and no - beaching your boat is going to cause some scratches in the keel area. If you run the boat up on the beach even at slow speed over time you are going to notice the scratches and worst case create some wear / gouging through the gelcoat. The few times I've put my boat on a beach (we are talking islands on freshwater lakes) I've stopped in a few feet of water and walked the boat onto the beach, but even then as the boat sits on the beach, the waves and wind are going to move it around slightly and sitting on the sand is like sitting on sandpaper. More often I will anchor the boat stern to the beach in 3'-4' and depending on wind waves etc. tie off the stern to a tree or stake in the sand. We used to run our little skiff onto the beaches all the time and the bottom was beat to heck to prove it. Just would not do that with a nicer boat. The other option is to get a Keel Guard if you must beach a lot, but I don't particularly like the way they look.
 
Yes, you can beach it. The process of beaching and unbeaching takes a lot of common sense though.
- take notice of tides, if applicable
- Make sure you're landing on sand or pea gravel
- trim up motors while approaching
- slowly approach beach and land it while in neutral
- once inital contact is made and boat stops by itself, engauge motors and power onto the beach gently
- somehow tie off back cleats of boat to shore so you don't blow / drift sideways onto the beach
 
I would not do what Govol does, beach a boat like that is going to stay on the beach. Your 23 ft cc weighs about 2500 lbs to 3000 lbs. You are not getting that off the beach. I would do what Bill does.
 
there is a stick on tape that will protect a short section of the keel.

if there are a lot of rocks on shore the probably are underwater.

tides can float it away or leave you stranded.

With care beaching or close anchoring can add greatly to your boating fun so don't let the above scare you off just take care.
 
Bill's method is the method of choice here in NC, where taking your CC to the beach is a state pastime. Bow and stern anchor. A small Danforth type works great as a stern anchor.

P5290052.JPG
 
Yeah, that bow/stern anchor, depending which way you prefer to the beach, dropped off in deeper water before you take her all the way in makes it easier getting out again.
 
quote:
Originally posted by GoVols

Salvatore365
I beach my 66' houseboat regularilyhttps://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/photo.php?fbid=652543628115595&set=pcb.652543674782257&type=1&theater and have never gotten stuck on the beach. When I say power onto the beach, I'm just nudging the boat up the beach 3 or 4 ft. When I leave, I can easily power back off. Key is to not overdo it when powering onto the beach.

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Let me make a wild guess... no tide where you are doing this...
 
quote:
Originally posted by caltexfla
Let me make a wild guess... no tide where you are doing this...

Click to expand...


Correct, but I said in my original post: one needs to be aware of the tides (if applicable) when beaching.
 
Take it from someone who had their 23' MACO center console start to drift away. Lucky for my wife and I we had a friends with us that helped quickly recover the boat. It's a pit in the stomach feeling watching the tide drag your boat out of safely trying to swim to recover it. That same current would have probably drowned even a good swimmer if we attempted to swim to the boat. If you do it 2 anchors are needed do as Bill said above and you will be fine.
The only time I beached my 40' Mainship it was unintentional and cost me $8k for repairs such as motors needing alignment, new props the boat only needed 1 shaft but I decided to upgrade to Aquamet 22 shafts (replacing both) and installing new dripless PSS logs along with installing new cutlass bearings.
Bill
 
Ant place with waves or wakes you need to anchor off
 
http://www.keelguard.com/index.html keeguard saves your gelcoat

beaching its done all the time here

MVC-437S.jpg
 
We had a helluva time getting a BIG houseboat off the beach at Lake Shasta one year. We'd been in one spot for several days and hadn't paid enough attention to the dropping water level. We needed a second boat pulling from the rear while we used the main engine to walk the boat left and right. Took a half hour or so to get her unstuck. Ever since, we watch the water level daily and adjust as necessary.
 
What Bruce said. All ya gotta do is look at the recent Boating Etiquette thread and KNOW you're going to get waked.
Cabela's and I'm sure others, sell a protective overlay for the bottom of the bow and front of the keel.
 
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