I'll also add on to Mary's post. Everything she suggested is excellent. Here is the story of how this happened at Topanga (L.A. County):

There were a dozen boats just being kept on the beach where some old houses were torn down. After a couple of years, the County decided they had to go. A petition was put together by boat owners asking for space. We just had an informal club.

Ultimately, the County had to 1) have someone come out and survey the beach to create a map 2) create a document that entitled users to keep a boat on the beach and launch. This is important because beach launching in L.A. County is illegal. 3) Require all users to carry current registration and insurance; 1 million dollar liability policy naming the County as additional insured..lots of deep pockets there if someone got hurt. 4) Patrol the beach on a regular basis to make sure no boat was there without a permit. Such boats were removed after going through a legal process.

Since we launch in an area with surf, the lifeguard and our group, always tried to give lots of pointers and information to newcomers so they would be safe.

The beach eventually eroded so badly that it is no longer used for boat storage. At one time, we had 60 cats on the sand, wednesday night BBQ's and volleyball and a very active group of sailors.

Good luck!

Sheldon
P-18