• If You Are Having Trouble Logging In with Your Old Username and Password, Please use this Forgot Your Password link to get re-established.
  • Hey! Be sure to login or register!

New floatplaner suggestions on lightweight beach sand anchors/tiedowns

cruzair

FRIEND
Madison, Wi.
Spent a great night camped on a beach/bay on Lake Superior. Only found one large driftwood timber
to tie up to. Did not sleep too well worrying about my newly built "baby" floating away to Canada as
my wife and I were sleeping. The rope tied from my ankle to the floats got my attention when the wind
came up but the rope burn and 2 foot drag across the tent was "interesting" and funny to my wife. Light
weight ideas would be helpful from some oldtimers. Much appreciated. Jeff
 
I have three 1/4" thick 2" angle aluminum that I put points on and drilled lightening holes in and cut them at 24" and drive then in with my axe. Or you could try the claw but most of the ground is soft close by the water. You can bury your anchor, a canvas tool bag full of sand or anything you can tie a line to, to make a deadman? I keep 100' of line in each float in case I have to go aways to find something secure to tie to.

Glenn
 
Last edited:
I like the tiny Fortress anchors. Good for sand above and below water. But, do not reset fast like Bruce anchores if single anchor only.

Are you securing a PA-18 ?
 
Wag Aero 2+2 on Czech amphibs . Pretty much a PA14/18 Jeff

I like the tiny Fortress anchors. Good for sand above and below water. But, do not reset fast like Bruce anchores if single anchor only.

Are you securing a PA-18 ?
Yes
 
Jeff, you bring up a good topic for us light weight floatplane operators.....I have been operating a J-3 on Baumann 1500s for five years now and naturally you are always concerned with space and weight. I have found that one of the simplest rules is to first carry a lot of rope, no matter what the lengths as you can always tie them together, so that you could secure to a tree,etc. to the beach that your at. It's always different and no matter how careful you are....when you come up to a strange area there are always the little goblins that want to ding your floats. I did carry a small anchor for a while but did not have the ends anti-chaffed protected enough so it damaged my float lockers. So I have resorted to just carrying a lot of line either in the floats or under my seat so they are easily accessible(and also not tangled!) so that when you are ready to jump out of the plane you are not fumbling with untangling! But there are a lot of nice small anchors out there. Good luck and wishing many happy hours of floatplane operation.....but remember....every docking is different, so expect the unexpected!!
 
Never tied a float plane but plenty of beach boats in the mid-west with a simple auger system. Start with mobile home augers, cut the stems sown to 18-inches total length, weld a ring on top of the stem with a strap bent through and welded to the stem for reinforcement. Carry a piece of heavy tubing to put through the ring and screw them in and out and you're done. They work really well but weigh 5#+ each.
 
Jeff,


I have a Fortress (Aluminum Danforth) that I use when I am on floats. You are welcome to give it a try. I'll bring it to the airport this weekend.

Jeff
 
Empty burlap or canvas bags, fill with rocks or sand.

empty duffle bag, fill with rocks or sand.

Tie line from floats to bag, then bag to beach.

Set bag on bow or tail, push plane out hard.

When plane gets out where it can ride the water, pull on beach line and let the anchor go under, holding plane off beach.

When you want it back, pull line between beach and anchor back in.

Remember, with boats, the anchor is to hold the chain, the chain is to hold the ship... the ship rides the waves lifting the chain, the chain is held by the anchor. If the chain goes tight, it puts pressure up on the anchor, making it less secure...

So extra scope and extra little bags along the anchor line between the plane and big anchor will help if it gets rough.
 
Take rope and tie AKTangles feet to it... Throw out for anchor,, when you need to go, cut rope and leave anchor.....Mark area with Orange X for later use...
 
Fortress Brand anchor. Danforth style. If you are always tying to a beach you may get away with an auger type tie down but the anchors are more versatile.

just remember anchors are always too big when you don't need them and always too small when you do.
 
Lake Superior is tricky...without a super solid buried driftwood log or a tree within reach it's a scary deal. I have. Taylorcraft on Baumanns, and I walk it way up on the beach with the struts.....but it's light....if you have anything over 1000lbs it gets heavy. No anchor is perfect for superior
 
There is nothing that will hold a seaplane on a lake like Superior, if the wind gets up even a LITTLE, meaning big waves.

i never found much use for anchors....never trusted them, EXCEPT used as a running line, sort of as ask tango noted....except that bags will drag. Ad forth style anchor for running line where you can't put It on beach due to rocks, etc. most beaches, don't park where there's nothing to tie to. If big water, be prepared to flood the floats to ride out storm on beach, the spend half the next day pumping them out.

7000 + hours working seaplanes and I had to do that once....nightmare. I've slept in one a numberof times, though.

choose your site well,and its less nerve wracking.

MTV
 
If you are in the vicinity of the Apostle Islands National Park stay out. The National Park Service does not like sea planes. That includes the tip of Long Island and all the other Apostles except Madeline.
 
Thanks everyone. Hope to meet some of you at N/H or at the Osh Seabase where I volunteer at the 1st aid area. Jeff
 
I was stuck on a glacier lake waiting out the night. Nothing was available so I dug a trench with my paddle and then tied a couple lines around the paddle.

Following that my buddy and I buried the paddle with our hands under 2.5 feet of gravel. thus making the paddle a dead man.

I now carry a light weight entrenching tool. A few times I have dug two channels in the sand or gravel and backed the rear of the floats up into those channels.
 
The biggest mistake that people make when using an anchor is not having enough line. You should use at least 7 times the depth. When you short yourself on anchor line the wave action on the boat or plane lifts upwards instead of at an angle. So it continually jerks the anchor loose and also gives your float cleats a good yank as well.

It also seems counter-intuitive to tie your stick in a neutral or nose down position when swinging on an anchor line. But the reason is similar. With the stick tied back as usual, the wind and waves will keep jerking the nose up and thus pull upwards on the anchor line. With it neutral of nose down the waves supposedly break around the floats with less jerking motion.


I good item to use as a remote buoy anchor are old disc brake rotor assemblies from an auto or tire shop. Particularly for Super Cubs where space is limited. Just tie the first one or two on the base of your buoy line. with your float on top. Then when you return at a later visit you can add one or two by running the anchor line through the center hole so they slide down the line and stack themselves on top of the old disc. This way you do not have to bring a huge weight the first time. AND the auto shops will love you taking away their junk.
 
Back
Top