[quote=MN3][quote]Thanks so have you left your boat on the beach there before overnight? I would take everything off the boat, rudders and such if I did do that.[/quote]
We leave our cats mast up on our local beach all the time. we have permits that allows us to do it 2 nights a week.
our beach closes at 11 pm but there is no security, no cameras (besides one the ones at the rental shop which are too far away to be worth anything) and no guarantee that people wont mess with your boat. I have personally been on that beach many times after 11pm without hassle (meaning so can others). there are cops that "patrol" the area but who knows when and how often.
I have had a few minor issues but nothing big: I have come to my boat in the morning and found 18 shotgunned KeyStone Lights (beer) lined up on my tramp and footprints on my tramp. - no damage and i figured the hangover from 18 keystones was punishment enough. I've also found used condoms on or near my boat (gross)
There have been other and much worse incidents: absolute worst was our friends cat was stored overnight on beach wheels and some asshats just pushed it in. We found it floating miles away the next day (wheels still under it). One sailor had his tramp pockets and hatches filled with sand.
Lots of people think, hey look a boat on the beach, it must be ok - lets sit on it, or roll around and make-out on it, or let our kids jump on it - why people think they have the right to touch a boat that's on the beach defies me
My suggestions:
1. it's summer in florida. we have pop up storms that will take your boat for a ride (sans skipper) - go to Ace hardware and purchase 2 tree augers (see below for the type that works on our beach) - DON"T USE DOG LEASH augers - they wont hold your boat in a 40mph wind
Put one auger on each side of the boat and secure your boat with line (new strong line, old worn lines break under load). You can also tie a trap line to the same auger on each side. this will reduce sway of the mast that can lead to working out the augers
[img]http://ace.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pACE2-951691dt.jpg[/img]
2. remove rudders so no one walking the beach can kick them / any wind or water can't rock them all night long
3. i would put a cheap tarp on the boat over the tramp. believe it or not, this will help keep pesky beach-goers from sitting on it while your not around. It will also help prevent anyone from burning a hole in a tramp via flicked ciggerate or other wrapped up smokeable and reduce bird crap (around here bird love to sit ontop of a mast, eat a fish and crap their brains out)
4. if you leave your jib on the cat overnight - make sure it it 100% wrapped up so if any strong wind comes through it doesn't have any sail area to work with
5. if you leave your jib on the beach - secure it with a line wrapped around it so even if the furling line breaks or is messed with, your jib can not unfurl
6. if you don't tarp your boat, make the boat look as neat as possible (tuck all the lines you can into tramp pockets) - people are less inclined to play with or mess with a boat that looks neat compared to one that has lines all over it and looks messy
7. make sure you park well out of high tide, over here we have a 3' sway in tide and it's always amusing to see people who park their car and or cat close to the waters edge at low tide ... as a matter of fact, i would park my cat away from any common paths if possible - but also under a light or near a video camera if possible<!-- editby --><em>Edited by MN3 on Jul 21, 2016 - 02:43 PM.</em><!-- end editby --> [/quote]
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