Trip to Knoydart - Spare Anchor / Tender?

[747sp]

The days are ticking down towards my first long distance trip with my 7.5m Rib up to Arisaig and Knoydart.

I'm trying to mentally cover all eventualities.

Assuming we get the weather, i'm hoping to use the rib as our primary method of getting around the area. Best laid plans and all that.

I'm hoping to anchor off some of the secluded beaches contained in those excellent videos Mr Gurnard (Sp?) has provided. Given the heft of my boat i'm not sure beaching is the answer.

I searched the forum for info on Spare Anchors and wondered what sort i should get. The RNLI thoughtfully left me with a pretty decent primary, so given its a heavy boat what sort should i look for as my stern anchor? I'm obviously hoping i will only need it to keep the bows pointing outward...

One more question - i'm probably going to be picking up a few swinging moorings while i'm up there. At Arisaig and Inverie im fairly sure i can borrow a rowing boat to get back to shore.

In couple of other places (Doune / Isle Ornsay) i'm not so sure what i'll do or whether borrowing is possible - carrying even a deflated tender seems totally OTT. what do others do?

Thanks...

[Poly]

A second anchor is never a bad thing to carry. How big is your main one? Realistically you shouldn’t need two anchors though for a lunch stop. The boat will usually be best lying to the wind/waves/tide the way it wants rather than trying to force it the way you want.

I wouldn’t bank on being able to grab a rowing boat at Arisaig - but I may be out of date. (No idea about Inverie).

Some people do carry a small inflatable, some a tiny beach toy sized one with some decent paddles, and some wear a dry suit so just pop some fins on (having dropped any crew ashore first). If you go that way just beware the wind/tide - it would be easy to get swept past your boat! I’ve seen someone paddle a ringo ashore if you have one, or an inflatable sup or canoe would work in the sort of conditions I’d be happy leaving a boat unattanded at anchor.

[RichardinNZ]

Whilst my family had always had larger launches (in Dorset) when I was growing up, our RIB is a new type of boating to me (after many years of having no boat and then our 3.4m with 18hp). These comments are therefore made as a newbie still finding his way.

This past summer we rented a place on Waiheke Island, only a few KM from home but a boat ride away for me and a couple of my daughters (and my wife took the car over on the ferry). I learned a few lessons...one of which is that it'd have been far easier to have taken the trailer over to retrieve the boat each evening!

We rented a swing mooring. The plan was that I'd paddle in on the ringo (I'm still pretty good with a paddle despite not picking one up for years). It worked OK until the wind turned, the waves were bigger and I got wiped out....fortunately, the sea is warm here but that didn't stop me feeling pretty foolish.

Our RIB is too small to carry a folded up tender, but given your size, I'd be tempted to see if you could get one. Something like this would be great https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Avon-Reds...UAAOSwW8RbHZvh. I learned to row in one of these 45 years ago and you'd feel pretty safe using it.

I did buy a second anchor and have been using this for beaches. Whilst often it is pretty flat calm, it's been useful walking the second anchor up the beach and using it as a way to pull the boat in closer to climb back onto when it's time to leave. Also just for added security that it'll be there when you get back (again, remember this is effectively all new to me).

Hope this helps.

[beerbelly]

Originally Posted by Poly

I wouldn’t bank on being able to grab a rowing boat at Arisaig - but I may be out of date. (No idea about Inverie).


.

I wouldn't bank on getting a pontoon mooring if you go to malaig harbour unless you've already booked one .as I found to my cost when I went they are very popular and they couldn't fit me in the week I was there .book one in advance. beach mooring I saw someone on here post about a method that had the rib anchored of the beach and a line to the beach where you could pull the boat back to the beach or back out to the anchor spot .but I cant find it and cant remember but someone else might. a fantastic area to be exploring take plenty of midge repelent

[747sp]

Originally Posted by beerbelly

I wouldn't bank on getting a pontoon mooring if you go to malaig harbour unless you've already booked one .as I found to my cost when I went they are very popular and they couldn't fit me in the week I was there .book one in advance. beach mooring I saw someone on here post about a method that had the rib anchored of the beach and a line to the beach where you could pull the boat back to the beach or back out to the anchor spot .but I cant find it and cant remember but someone else might. a fantastic area to be exploring take plenty of midge repelent

Yeah the Mallaig marina man was very clear it’s very busy there in the summer and unless I booked months ago I wasn’t getting one, however he seemed to think he would be able to give me something temporary for the odd shopping trip etc...

I think whatever dingy I buy needs to be small enough to go in a bag until I need it, I’m thinking something off amazon for this trip and see how it goes.

Thanks all.

[Last Tango]

We carry a 2.3m WavEco in a bag. (About £300 new)
A bit of a pain but at about 30KG it's manageable.

[paulbrown22]

As per one of the suggestions above, we bought an Avon Redstart to go with our old Avon Adventure 620 back in 2000 for this kind of use, and it was brilliant for that job - very portable in it's bag, and didn't take long at all to inflate on the RIB. We've now owned it 18 years, and it's been in use all that time first on the RIB and then on my parents sailing yacht. A shame they don't make them anymore, but one that's been looked after should last for years, they were made extremely well.

[Pikey Dave]

I bought a small 2man tender of a member on here, I binned the wooden seats & just have the "squidgy" bit. It all folds up into a bag that fits in our 545. Don't use 2 anchors, by all means carry a spare, but when anchoring, let the boat ride with wind & tide. Be aware of rising/falling tide & make sure you have plenty of warp out. Re. Picking up moorings, I always attach to the rope/chain below the bouy, the pickup line might not be adequate enough to hold the boat. The chain is often sharp/rusty/barnacle encrusted & will chew through your nice new mooring line (guess how I know) I carry a short length of chain to go around the mooring which I then clip/tie off onto. A pair of cheap work gloves will protect your hands too.

[jwalker]

Take more than one anchor and of a different type, also use a tripping line for it. Many of the wee bays you talk of are not sand once you're off shore a distance, rocks and biggish shingle are common so an anchor might not be a firm as you imagine. Check your charts in advance to get an idea of the sea bed in your chosen area.

I've used a running line lots of times and it works well. It can be fun too in good conditions.
I got geared up, came inshore to about 2-3ft of water and got overboard. My wife took the boat out while I pulled the running line until the mooring gear was reachable. She brought the boat back and I clipped it on from the water. She got carried ashore and so did any gear we needed then the boat was hauled out to deep water. The process was reversed when we were leaving.

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by jwalker

......She got carried ashore.....

Getting in training JW?

https://youtu.be/p7IM9f16QZ4

[jwalker]

Take more than one anchor and of a different type, also use a tripping line for it. Many of the wee bays you talk of are not sand once you're off shore a distance, rocks and biggish shingle are common so an anchor might not be as firm as you imagine. Check your charts in advance to get an idea of the sea bed in your chosen area.

I've used a running line lots of times and it works well. It can be fun too in good conditions.
I got geared up, came inshore to about 2-3ft of water and got overboard. My wife took the boat out while I pulled the running line until the mooring gear was reachable. She brought the boat back and I clipped it on from the water. She got carried ashore and so did any gear we needed then the boat was hauled out to deep water. The process was reversed when we were leaving.

Be aware that much of the coast is steep-to so very deep water very quickly. Also, it's possible to stop for a break on some rocky beaches by grounding the boat on the seaweed. If the breeze is off shore or the tide is rising you can use that to your advantage.

Good luck with it, it can be fun to do.

Oh eye, just had a thought. If you use a running line, have the out rope of a sinking material, nylon or polyester, and the in rope of floating rope, polypropylene. If you don't and they both lay on the seabed for a while they'll swish about underwater and tangle with each other. Also, use a pulley at the anchor don't just pull the rope through a shackle or caribiner. If you don't use a pulley the rope will twirl as it passes around the caribiner and knot itself up so big you can't pull it back through.

Oh aye no.2. If you use a dinghy and the wind is off shore when you paddle out to the boat, you'd better be accurate cos it's a long way to America off the west coast if you miss your rib.

[jwalker]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

Getting in training JW?

https://youtu.be/p7IM9f16QZ4

Hehe, good link, well I guess I was fortunate that she was 5ft nothing and 8 stone.


That's weird, I was editing, you replied then my edit re-posted as a full post. Oh well, you got it twice.

[747sp]

Thanks all, input very much appreciated.

Heres a stock photo off the web of the anchor on the sort of boat I have - what I can't be sure of is the "rating" of it - in terms of KG rating - they all seem to be rated as 5/7/10 etc and I read somehwhere its a KG per m of boat length.

I'm assuming if I buy a 7/8 Kg one of a different design, I wont need additional chain - I can use a rope - right? It is a back up...

I have a line on a couple of ebay Avon dinghies and will see how that goes.

[breezeblock]

Originally Posted by Last Tango

We carry a 2.3m WavEco in a bag. (About £300 new)
A bit of a pain but at about 30KG it's manageable.

aye its that much of a pain the closest its got to water was when you unpacked it and I very near spilt my tea on it

[Poly]

Originally Posted by 747sp

Thanks all, input very much appreciated.

Heres a stock photo off the web of the anchor on the sort of boat I have - what I can't be sure of is the "rating" of it - in terms of KG rating - they all seem to be rated as 5/7/10 etc and I read somehwhere its a KG per m of boat length.

I'm assuming if I buy a 7/8 Kg one of a different design, I wont need additional chain - I can use a rope - right? It is a back up...

I have a line on a couple of ebay Avon dinghies and will see how that goes.

If you've got the original RNLI anchor (I'm surprised - I thought they would strip that kit off), then I'd expect it is well specced for the job - they don't have much room for error.

Schools of thought on chain for kedge anchors vary - but the chain is about making sure the direction of pull on the anchor is right so to me I'd rather have it.

[Azul]

Hi. My partner and I went from Kishorn to Canna and back 2 years ago and called in at Inverie and Mallaig etc. We have a round tail inflatable with rapid 12v inflator that works a treat. Message me if you'd like details of it and our cruise.

[spartacus]

Get yourself a roll-up Avon for getting to a swinging mooring. Avon Redstart or Avon 8. Weighs about 20kg, made of hypalon, different air chambers inflates in minutes and rowable.

I keep it on my 4.8m boat, so I'm sure you can find room on 7.5m!

Can of Tennants for scale.

[747sp]

just got one off ebay. fascinated to know whether it will roll up into a bag that small including the floorboarding

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by 747sp

just got one off ebay. fascinated to know whether it will roll up into a bag that small including the floorboarding

I binned the floor boards & seat from mine, I just sit or kneel on the floor & row it.

[RichardinNZ]

We never had flooboards for our one (40+years ago....I learnt to row in it).