Holy smokes! I thought *I* had problems trying to cobble together something
to hold outriggers on my too-small boat. Where is this place you live???


"uncle k" wrote in message
link.net...
We live near the mouth of a river, on a sal****er bay. When the tide is
in,
the average depth is about 13' and comes right up to the bulkhead. At a
0'
or minus tide, the mudflats are exposed. On our side, the flats go out
about 1/2 mile, then there is a sudden drop off to 35 fathoms. Needless
to
say, this presents a challenge, trying to time it right when we come and
go
in a boat.

That challenge aside, the next hurdle is where and how to moor the boat.
Much of our tidelands are covered with oysters, which can do serious
damage
to the hull. I have a fixed mooring buoy, where the boat can rest on a
harmless, muddy area, at low tide. But, even that doesn't always do the
trick, depending on the pattern of tides for the different seasons...
i.e.
summer and winter tides are extreme - spring and fall tides are more
mundane.

My idea is to build a boat-shoe. Something I can drive the boat into,
then
move it in or out to suit the tides, so we aren't left high and dry. The
other benefit is that it would include a sling, keeping the boat off the
bottom, regardless of the tide. Generally, it would look like a simple
boat
slip, using pressure-treated lumber and styrofoam logs. I'm thinking
maybe
a few lengths of firehose would work for a sling that the hull could rest
on, when the tide is out.

So far, this is just an idea. I'm curious as to whether anyone has
actually
used such a contraption and has any info to share. Or, maybe someone has
a
better idea. I'm all ears. Thanks in advance for any constructive
thoughts.

Unc

PS Not that it matters (as far as concept goes), but I will be using
this
for a 14' glass runabout and a 16' wood cuddy cabin, both with outboards.