Pic Of The Day

Lake_Bum

LaRea said:

@Lake_Bum - Thanks again for posting pix of your cruising grounds.  They are a constant source of entertainment!  How do you tie up the boats?  Sink a screw anchor into the sand?

Thanks!  If I anchor "bow out" I will use a Danforth with a small buoy attached to the rope to catch it upon each return to camp, and either bury a couple anchors in the sand, or tie off to rocks if I've got some that are the proper angles.   If I bow in, I will usually come off back cleats, and angle out to the beach, and again, either bury anchors, or tie off to rocks.  A keel guard is a wonderful thing to have on Lake Powell. 
The REAL interesting anchor methods are the giant Houseboats.  They will bury usually 4 or 5 anchors, and tie off to all of them, and either tighten, or loosen ropes, depending on the time of year on fall or rise of the water levels.   A few years back, a "Beach Bag" company appeared out of thin air.  They have these giant bags, that they will pump lake water into, and the bags are placed on the beach at angles to tie off to.  They came up with this idea, because so many boaters had started "pinning" stakes into the sandstone to tie off to.  This was not only illegal, but extremely dangerous, as they usually couldn't get the stakes out, so they are left on the beach and the danger is obvious at that point.   Lake Powell water levels rise and fall a LOT each year with snow runoff, and insanely over-allocated use by surrounding states.   So those stakes are often hidden just below the surface.  

Here is the beach bags I was talking about.  

Beach Bags - Lake Powell's Preferred Houseboat Anchoring Method – Beach Bags™ Anchors

Dream_Inn

The beach bag is a very interesting concept.  I remember back in the day when I did some boating with my uncle on Lake Pleasant in AZ, the water level was way too deep (and varied) for anchoring.  We would find a nice area and tie to the shrubs or rocks that was around.  Once the houseboat was tied, then we'd raft up the ski boat and jet skis.  Those were some fun times!

Lake_Bum

I've boated on Lake Pleasant in the past. It's WAYYYY too crowded with the Phoenix folks so close to it.  But.....anchoring there, is definitely different.  It is all rock and cactus.  No way to really beach anything without destroying it.  
Those Beach Bags have been the source of LOTS of drama.  What happens is, the company will come out, place them at a camp spot, and theoretically is supposed to remain on site until the Houseboat arrives.  They are supposed to pick them up within a couple hours of the Houseboat's departure, but that rarely happens.  Well.....reserving spots is not allowed. It is strictly 1st come, 1st served.  But a beach that has the bags on it, is "somewhat" reserved, and has been a source of frustration for many boaters looking for a prime spot to camp.   I tend to avoid them like the plague, and go find much more private spots to avoid any neighbors at all!  

Lake_Bum

To keep this post on track, here's another picture!  My camp is on the backside of this beach, I just hiked up to the peak for the photo op! 

TonyG13

Lake_Bum said:

I've boated on Lake Pleasant in the past. It's WAYYYY too crowded with the Phoenix folks so close to it.  But.....anchoring there, is definitely different.  It is all rock and cactus.  No way to really beach anything without destroying it.  
Those Beach Bags have been the source of LOTS of drama.  What happens is, the company will come out, place them at a camp spot, and theoretically is supposed to remain on site until the Houseboat arrives.  They are supposed to pick them up within a couple hours of the Houseboat's departure, but that rarely happens.  Well.....reserving spots is not allowed. It is strictly 1st come, 1st served.  But a beach that has the bags on it, is "somewhat" reserved, and has been a source of frustration for many boaters looking for a prime spot to camp.   I tend to avoid them like the plague, and go find much more private spots to avoid any neighbors at all!  

Here is the beach bags I was talking about.  

Beach Bags - Lake Powell's Preferred Houseboat Anchoring Method – Beach Bags™ Anchors

Wow! $1500 per anchor?! And a houseboat typically uses 4 or 5? So that's $5000-7500 just to anchor out - and for how long? Here I thought $300 a night was expensive for a transient slip.

Lake_Bum

TonyG13 said:

Lake_Bum said:

I've boated on Lake Pleasant in the past. It's WAYYYY too crowded with the Phoenix folks so close to it.  But.....anchoring there, is definitely different.  It is all rock and cactus.  No way to really beach anything without destroying it.  
Those Beach Bags have been the source of LOTS of drama.  What happens is, the company will come out, place them at a camp spot, and theoretically is supposed to remain on site until the Houseboat arrives.  They are supposed to pick them up within a couple hours of the Houseboat's departure, but that rarely happens.  Well.....reserving spots is not allowed. It is strictly 1st come, 1st served.  But a beach that has the bags on it, is "somewhat" reserved, and has been a source of frustration for many boaters looking for a prime spot to camp.   I tend to avoid them like the plague, and go find much more private spots to avoid any neighbors at all!  

Here is the beach bags I was talking about.  

Beach Bags - Lake Powell's Preferred Houseboat Anchoring Method – Beach Bags™ Anchors

Wow! $1500 per anchor?! And a houseboat typically uses 4 or 5? So that's $5000-7500 just to anchor out - and for how long? Here I thought $300 a night was expensive for a transient slip.

Well I don't have any personal experience with them, but I believe that is the total cost of the "set" of bags that they come out and setup for a Boater.   There are lots and lots of million dollar houseboats, some of them are upwards of like $7 million, complete with Helicopter landing pads.  So that beach bag fee is a drop in the bucket for those high rollers!  I do a Houseboat trip with my neighbors each year, and we bury our anchors in the sand, or tie off to boulders. 

TonyG13

Fascinating. Been doing a deep dive on the Beach Bag site. Looks like you can actually buy the bags if you're a frequent trip taker. And it does indeed seem to be that pricey: "Houseboats require 4-10 anchors to establish a proper mooring...individual anchors start at just $1,499 each." The emphasis of "just" is mine. Wow.  

captkevin

After years of trailering we have set up this slip & lift. Can't wait for summer

TonyG13

I know it's not quite the same as trailering, but we had a mooring ball for years where we had to tender back and forth from shore.

It was a great day when we got an actual slip that we could just walk on and off to/from shore. I'm sure you'll love it!