Help set me up for boat camping success

[the force]

I’m a sucker for efficiency (sleep on the boat close to fishing grounds, not packing a tent, hauling stuff back and forth to the boat, or lazing around a cabin) and simple (light weight and cook it all with a jetboil). I don’t mind being comfy but also don’t want to pack and unpack gear for a week. Oh yeah, some may say cheap too… though that is mostly so I can spend my $$ on fishing gear lol.

I had or had access to boats since I was 16 (although in the prairies until 12 years ago), most recently an old school 19’ Campion hard top and picked up a 23’ Sylvan Offshore last summer (5.7L mercruiser and nice big cuddy for my 3 kiddos). I’ve camped a fair few times with them on Shuswap/Adam’s but always beached vs at anchor. I’ll start on the ocean with a buddy, then the wife and ultimately the whole fam. Some pics to give you a feel- I’ll break out questions in separate posts.

 

[the force]

1- this boat doesn’t really have an anchor system, just a bow cleat. From my research (no first hand knowledge) I’m thinking a 14lb delta anchor, 23ft of 1/4” chain and 3/8 braided nylon rope. Likely a bow roller, tensioner and port to route rope into bow. I would like to have the ability to anchor for Halibut, but not quite sure I’m ready to take that plunge yet. So anchoring for the night or in relatively shallow water for ling/black bass (if people even do that) is the current priority. I do have an anchor buddy (15-50’ I think), though not sure that is of use on the ocean (bought for interior beach camping).

I would love a Minnkota Riptide with I-pilot to spot lock and jig, however an anchor system is likely more responsible.

Is a bow anchor sufficient, do I need to think about a rear line (only if super tight I assume, and potentially a pain with tides) ? Do you leave an anchor (ie burlap sack of rocks) with a buoy if staying a couple nights?

 

[kaelc]

I love the idea of I-pilot virtual anchoring especially for jigging with kids. I would never use a real anchor for lings or bass, grab Charlie whites book on ground fish he can be quite helpful and no anchoring needed at all.

I would consider a stern tie combined with a bow anchor for anchoring at night and camping, anchor buddy can help with this.

Great boat and set up!

 

[Adler]

Stern tie should only be necessary when in close confines with other boats or in a small bay and you don't want to swing around / into the rocks. Setup sounds right to me. Had a blast boat camping last summer in the Broughtons, you'll love it.

 

[RiverBoy]

personally i have a second navy style anchor i toss off the stern as well as my main Bruce claw style on the bow. keeps me from spinning all over the place like an idiot. i toss the stern anchor first drive forward around 50-75 feet or so with lots of scope and then set bow anchor. pull the stern line in with a bit of scope and pour a rye and make sure all is well.

 

[the force]

I love the idea of I-pilot virtual anchoring especially for jigging with kids. I would never use a real anchor for lings or bass, grab Charlie whites book on ground fish he can be quite helpful and no anchoring needed at all.

I would consider a stern tie combined with a bow anchor for anchoring at night and camping, anchor buddy can help with this.

Great boat and set up!

Yeah I-pilot would be amazing, that is the thing I miss most about my old 16’ fishing boat- worked well to hold a spot, or sloowly creep along while jiggging in deep water for lakers and nice to troll hands free.

Thanks for the book tip, always open to resources.

 

[the force]

Stern tie should only be necessary when in close confines with other boats or in a small bay and you don't want to swing around / into the rocks. Setup sounds right to me. Had a blast boat camping last summer in the Broughtons, you'll love it.

My wife grew up in Port McNeil and fished around there lots with her dad… I have definitely been eyeing up the Broughtons! I may bug you in the future for some intel.

 

[tannerc]

I love boat camping.

Where do you want to go?
I spend a ton of time on navionics / Google earth / reading kyack blogs finding beaches.

My old boat was small and forced me to be condensed and plan smart. Just bring the basics. I have a large tote that stashes- tent, and other bigger items to go to shore. We pack all our personal things in dry bags- clothes, sleeping bags, air mattress.

We bring one food dedicated cooler and primarily eat on the boat via sea b q as we’re out and a boat all day. Could do her boil or shore bbq to depending if your planning to be on shore or fishing/ adventuring during meal time.

Anchoring- Sounds like you are in the ball park on suggested anchor. I use a anchor buddy ( backed with rope as I don’t fully trust those things ) and stern tie to a tree or log. I used to use a small tote of prawn rope or other cheaper 1/4” rope. I use a inflatable floaty ( explorer 200) to get to shore. A little haywire but I’m still young enough that it seems like a good idea, and just pull myself along the stern line to the boat. Drive in pick up buddies. Inflatable paddle board would be nice. Check the tides for overnight make sure you are deep enough. We pick sheltered primarily sand/ pebble beaches to camp. Clip stern line to anchor buddy with float and explorer during the day. A portable vhf on shore isn’t the worst idea either.

Fishing gear is as you wish. Remember to bring lots of ice, bleeding your catch and fish preservation is key.

Hali anchoring comes with expierence. I use my same anchor from the beach and mt stern line to shore is actually my Hali anchor rope. A bit of a pain as I need to know that morning if hali is the plan and pull my anchor if it is. This year I’ve added a second anchor to the boat to always have the Hali set up on board.

All in all boat camping is easy, cheap, and a great experience. Lots of planning of locations. Have a beaches in mind, odds are someone will be where you want to be on a summer weekend. Don’t be afraid to ask if you can join others on a beach, don’t just assume you can join without asking.

 

[the force]

personally i have a second navy style anchor i toss off the stern as well as my main Bruce claw style on the bow. keeps me from spinning all over the place like an idiot. i toss the stern anchor first drive forward around 50-75 feet or so with lots of scope and then set bow anchor. pull the stern line in with a bit of scope and pour a rye and make sure all is well.

Makes sense, thanks for that. What weight anchor off the rear? I would assume I don’t need as robust of an anchor or as if I happen to get some breeze the bow hook is doing all the work.

 

[Coyote Spooner]

This family had a great idea. They used an inflatable paddle board constructed mattress with a small tent, on the bow of their inflatable. Weather was stellar. So it worked. They had a buddy boat, and a giant inflatable unicorn.
A stern tie set up opens up lots of anchoring options too.

 

[Rain City]

View attachment 88408
This family had a great idea. They used an inflatable paddle board constructed mattress with a small tent, on the bow of their inflatable. Weather was stellar. So it worked. They had a buddy boat, and a giant inflatable unicorn.
A stern tie set up opens up lots of anchoring options too.

Life raft would work great

 

[the force]

I love boat camping.

Where do you want to go?
I spend a ton of time on navionics / Google earth / reading kyack blogs finding beaches.

My old boat was small and forced me to be condensed and plan smart. Just bring the basics. I have a large tote that stashes- tent, and other bigger items to go to shore. We pack all our personal things in dry bags- clothes, sleeping bags, air mattress.

We bring one food dedicated cooler and primarily eat on the boat via sea b q as we’re out and a boat all day. Could do her boil or shore bbq to depending if your planning to be on shore or fishing/ adventuring during meal time.

Anchoring- Sounds like you are in the ball park on suggested anchor. I use a anchor buddy ( backed with rope as I don’t fully trust those things ) and stern tie to a tree or log. I used to use a small tote of prawn rope or other cheaper 1/4” rope. I use a inflatable floaty ( explorer 200) to get to shore. A little haywire but I’m still young enough that it seems like a good idea, and just pull myself along the stern line to the boat. Drive in pick up buddies. Inflatable paddle board would be nice. Check the tides for overnight make sure you are deep enough. We pick sheltered primarily sand/ pebble beaches to camp. Clip stern line to anchor buddy with float and explorer during the day. A portable vhf on shore isn’t the worst idea either.

Fishing gear is as you wish. Remember to bring lots of ice, bleeding your catch and fish preservation is key.

Hali anchoring comes with expierence. I use my same anchor from the beach and mt stern line to shore is actually my Hali anchor rope. A bit of a pain as I need to know that morning if hali is the plan and pull my anchor if it is. This year I’ve added a second anchor to the boat to always have the Hali set up on board.

All in all boat camping is easy, cheap, and a great experience. Lots of planning of locations. Have a beaches in mind, odds are someone will be where you want to be on a summer weekend. Don’t be afraid to ask if you can join others on a beach, don’t just assume you can join without asking.

Great, thanks for the detail Tanner...you're hitting into some of my next questions.

I've got a few places in mind - We have family in Nanaimo (inlaws) so the broken group is a convenient location for the divide and conquer strategy (i.e. drop the kids off and take my wife). I'm in the process of planning Winter Harbour, may or may not camp on that one. Hopefully the Broughtons one day and have some buddies that fish out of Bella Bella so maybe up there if reports are good.

re: anchor buddy, do you use it just to cushion shock or do you anchor close enough that you stretch the stern to shore to get on an off?

We have a paddleboard which is what we use on Shu, though it takes up a lot of room and wouldn't likely take to the ocean unless it was a longer trip. It does work well though.

Yeah, I always bleed fish right away though am looking for advise to best retain quality. Gut and head off w/n a few hours and into a plastic bag in a 'clean' cooler is what I was thinking. How long can I keep fish on ice, 3 days? I was thinking 2 coolers, the clean one (which could keep some food as well) and a fishy one to initially chill and hold until I get a chance to get the guts out.

And yes, the Kayak folks are a great source of info...will continue to scour and scout virtually.

 

[Brando]

Load a cooler with salt ice somewhere like French creek seafood keep it full and only open it for short periods and it will last 5-7days or more. Be careful cutting heads off if the fish isn’t big enough guts and gills out good to go.. there’s lots of nice rotomolded coolers on the market now for a food cooler. They are expensive but do work better and will keep your food longer.

There are lots of good areas to checkout in the straight jedidiah marine park, chatterbox falls/jervis inlet or desolation sound. Get comfortable in areas where your closer to help if anything happens before heading too remote. Bring bug spray and a fly swatter for the horseflies.

I upgraded from a pelican to this inflatable last year. Very happy with the switch, rolls up small and fits in the bow with our camping gear inflates with a foot pump.

 

[N2013]

Load a cooler with salt ice somewhere like French creek seafood keep it full and only open it for short periods and it will last 5-7days or more. Be careful cutting heads off if the fish isn’t big enough guts and gills out good to go.. there’s lots of nice rotomolded coolers on the market now for a food cooler. They are expensive but do work better and will keep your food longer.

There are lots of good areas to checkout in the straight jedidiah marine park, chatterbox falls/jervis inlet or desolation sound. Get comfortable in areas where your closer to help if anything happens before heading too remote. Bring bug spray and a fly swatter for the horseflies.

I upgraded from a pelican to this inflatable last year. Very happy with the switch, rolls up small and fits in the bow with our camping gear inflates with a foot pump.
View attachment 88409

What kind of inflatable tub is that?

 

[Brando]

What kind of inflatable tub is that?

Honestly not sure, was advertised as an Avon on marketplace was exactly what I was looking for.

 

[Maxpri]

Great, thanks for the detail Tanner...you're hitting into some of my next questions.

I've got a few places in mind - We have family in Nanaimo (inlaws) so the broken group is a convenient location for the divide and conquer strategy (i.e. drop the kids off and take my wife). I'm in the process of planning Winter Harbour, may or may not camp on that one. Hopefully the Broughtons one day and have some buddies that fish out of Bella Bella so maybe up there if reports are good.

re: anchor buddy, do you use it just to cushion shock or do you anchor close enough that you stretch the stern to shore to get on an off?

We have a paddleboard which is what we use on Shu, though it takes up a lot of room and wouldn't likely take to the ocean unless it was a longer trip. It does work well though.

Yeah, I always bleed fish right away though am looking for advise to best retain quality. Gut and head off w/n a few hours and into a plastic bag in a 'clean' cooler is what I was thinking. How long can I keep fish on ice, 3 days? I was thinking 2 coolers, the clean one (which could keep some food as well) and a fishy one to initially chill and hold until I get a chance to get the guts out.

And yes, the Kayak folks are a great source of info...will continue to scour and scout virtually.

I’m sure you know already but pirates cove is a great option for starting out boat camping quite near nanaimo, as there’s often others around so you wouldn’t be in too much trouble if something went wrong. You’re also near Silva bay for salmon and long cod fishing.

 

[the force]

Load a cooler with salt ice somewhere like French creek seafood keep it full and only open it for short periods and it will last 5-7days or more. Be careful cutting heads off if the fish isn’t big enough guts and gills out good to go.. there’s lots of nice rotomolded coolers on the market now for a food cooler. They are expensive but do work better and will keep your food longer.

There are lots of good areas to checkout in the straight jedidiah marine park, chatterbox falls/jervis inlet or desolation sound. Get comfortable in areas where your closer to help if anything happens before heading too remote. Bring bug spray and a fly swatter for the horseflies.

I upgraded from a pelican to this inflatable last year. Very happy with the switch, rolls up small and fits in the bow with our camping gear inflates with a foot pump.
View attachment 88409

Nice find. You and @tannerc have both mentioned getting to shore… is this just to stretch the legs and do some beach combing or do you prefer to bring a tent and sleep on dry ground vs the boat?
For us, if it’s me and the wife, or me and the kids sleeping on the boat is easier, however if it’s all 5 then we basically need a tent. With that comes more air mattresses and other stuff which seems to add up pretty quick cargo wise. That said, it is amazing having a home base on the beach. Good times with the old Campion on Shu.

 

[the force]

I’m sure you know already but pirates cove is a great option for starting out boat camping quite near nanaimo, as there’s often others around so you wouldn’t be in too much trouble if something went wrong. You’re also near Silva bay for salmon and long cod fishing.

I didn’t know about Pirates Cove, thanks for the share! Not quite as remote as I would like but an easy one, close to Nanaimo to get on the water with the fam. Could likely run across from the mainland fairly easily as well and save $700 on the ferry.

We camped at Hornby a couple years ago and had an amazing time.

 

[Brando]

Nice find. You and @tannerc have both mentioned getting to shore… is this just to stretch the legs and do some beach combing or do you prefer to bring a tent and sleep on dry ground vs the boat?
For us, if it’s me and the wife, or me and the kids sleeping on the boat is easier, however if it’s all 5 then we basically need a tent. With that comes more air mattresses and other stuff which seems to add up pretty quick cargo wise. That said, it is amazing having a home base on the beach. Good times with the old Campion on Shu.

There’s so many great beaches to have an evening fire or hikes in desolation etc or just to row your stern anchor in and tie off anchor near a busy gov dock and row the dinghy over its useful to have beaching with tides isn’t always ideal. If you get stuck somewhere waiting for the wind to die off you’ll be happy to have it.

 

[the force]

There are lots of good areas to checkout in the straight jedidiah marine park, chatterbox falls/jervis inlet or desolation sound. Get comfortable in areas where your closer to help if anything happens before heading too remote. Bring bug spray and a fly swatter for the horseflies.

I upgraded from a pelican to this inflatable last year. Very happy with the switch, rolls up small and fits in the bow with our camping gear inflates with a foot pump.
View attachment 88409

Jedidiah is now on the list Brando, thanks. I’m going to need more vacay time.

One can boat right into chatterbox falls? It looks very interesting…is there fish to be caught up in there or more just crustaceans and a sightseeing expedition? We had a trip to the Sunshine Coast on the books for this past summer but work got in the way, may need to reignite that one.