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To moor or not to moor...


henrik

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My wife wants to moor the boat at a local marina this coming summer. She wants to be able to take it out with her friends(she does not do well with towing) and she thinks we will use it more during the week if we do.

I see the obvious drawbacks, higher fuel cost filling up at the lake, risk of theft and vandalism. Hauling of gear, especially as our lake drops(reservoir).

 

Is it worth it?

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Covered slip in a good spot would be a must for me.

not sure what exposure you have to theft, and I check with marina on coverage.

definitly easier to hit the water on a weekday for a few hrs. I think it's worth a shot

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We've had this debate amongst our group.  It's definitely better/easier for the wives who want to take their friends out.  Mine happens to be very good trailering and driving the boat, the rest of the group not so much.  This is probably the biggest advantage I can see.

From a timing perspective, if the ramp isn't busy, I can drop a boat in the water and be out of the marina in the same or less time than my buddy who keeps his in the slip.  It's the hauling of gear, covering and putting the boat away properly, etc that takes time on both ends.  The other drawback is pulling it frequently enough to prevent buildup of lake scum, etc.  I like the quick wipe down each time it comes out of the water.

We came up for a slip a few years ago and decided to let it go.  Granted, these slips are uncovered, but for the cost, just didn't seem worth the additional cosmetic wear on the boat.  I like being able to fully stock it up before heading to the water, makes getting in and out easy.  We also live 5 mins from the marina and keep the boat in our garage at home, so distance to the lake may be a factor for some.

My two cents...

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1 hour ago, 2THEL8K said:

We've had this debate amongst our group.  It's definitely better/easier for the wives who want to take their friends out.  Mine happens to be very good trailering and driving the boat, the rest of the group not so much.  This is probably the biggest advantage I can see.

From a timing perspective, if the ramp isn't busy, I can drop a boat in the water and be out of the marina in the same or less time than my buddy who keeps his in the slip.  It's the hauling of gear, covering and putting the boat away properly, etc that takes time on both ends.  The other drawback is pulling it frequently enough to prevent buildup of lake scum, etc.  I like the quick wipe down each time it comes out of the water.

We came up for a slip a few years ago and decided to let it go.  Granted, these slips are uncovered, but for the cost, just didn't seem worth the additional cosmetic wear on the boat.  I like being able to fully stock it up before heading to the water, makes getting in and out easy.  We also live 5 mins from the marina and keep the boat in our garage at home, so distance to the lake may be a factor for some.

My two cents...

I agree. Stocking up at the garage, then dumping the boat and off you go. This takes less time than getting stuff out of the car and walking to the boat. Everytime we leave the boat at the marina, I feel like it is more of a hassle than leaving it in a secure location near the lake. Plus, I also like cleaning it and knowing that it will not be damaged by the sun and water. One the other hand, it would be nice to have a covered spot with a hydrohoist near the parking lot so we could hang out at the marina some, but all this is more costly than trailering it. 

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I love having a slip. I get out way more often, way faster, less aggravation, stay out later, & go out for other reasons than riding. If the boat is ready to go easily, we'll take it out for short or long trips, go visit others on the water, even just go take a nap on a lazy Sunday. We'll even ride at lunch time or before work if we're working nearby. I'm definitely not hung up on keeping the boat spotless. I pull it every few weeks to wipe down the scum line. The interior can be cleaned anywhere. Now days the boat is 12 yrs old & isn't suffering from abuse at all.

Last summer I had 2 slips. One at my home beach, 2 blocks from the house & the other in a large busy marina. Both lakes have their benefits. Neither have issues with theft, plus I lock things up anyway so in 17 yrs of owning a slip, I've never seen any problems. On weekends, there is usually a lot going on so rarely any reason to go anywhere else.

Edited by Bill_AirJunky
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Normally I'd hate this idea but if it keeps the wife happy....

 

How clean is your boat? Can you pull it to clean it every few weeks? I'd have to. Ours has been stored indoors ever since it was new.  Leaving it in the water for more than a few days would be hard for me but it's one of the cleanest 2004s you'll find.

 

One thing I do sometimes is leave it at a friend's dock if I know I'm going to be back in a day or two. 

 

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I have the option of a $400/season slip.  Reasons I don't do it:

- Boat lives in a garage now - with that, it would be fully exposed
- The amount of scum I wipe down after each use would be awful just sitting in the water
- Not a fan of the boat being in the water 24x7 for weeks
- Exposure to theft.  It is fenced off well enough that the thieves would likely be by boat.  The ranger is around there regularly, but wouldn't be hard at all at night to rob the boat of its goodies

If it was covered with a lift, I'd make some changes to help with the theft issue.  Being only 3 minutes from the ramp makes it easy to trailer and our ramp is almost never busy.

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I agree with a lift.  however we used to get slips with our IO but we haven't got one with our A22.  I wipe down every time if a day trip and every Sunday after a weekend.  no way would keep in the water anymore.  there is convenience but loading up at cabin and crew in boat for half mile drive to Lake works good.  go out at 10am in around 6pm

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I say go for it.  Hauling gear in and out is not that big of a deal, if everyone grabs something it goes pretty quick.  I would pull it our every 4 weeks or so and acid wash it and let it dry out for a week.  If you do have an expensive stereo I would be concerned though.

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IMO, you really need two competent boaters to launch/retrieve.  For that reason alone, I would do the slip if I were in your position.  Pull it out and clean it every so often if the water is dirty.  

It will make it easier for your wife (and probably you as well) to have it in the water, which will likely lead to more use.

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11 hours ago, henrik said:

My wife wants to moor the boat at a local marina this coming summer. She wants to be able to take it out with her friends(she does not do well with towing) and she thinks we will use it more during the week if we do.

I see the obvious drawbacks, higher fuel cost filling up at the lake, risk of theft and vandalism. Hauling of gear, especially as our lake drops(reservoir).

 

Is it worth it?

If the wife wants it I say try it despite the risks.  The reason I bought an older boat for my first wake boat was that the investment was less - and there was less to worry about with other people driving it.  If you had a brand new pretty Bu then maybe not.

Who knows, if the wife gets into it and gets experience driving (without you there - and that makes a BIG difference :thumbup:) maybe she'll decide she can launch and load on her own, or perhaps even talk you into getting a new boat.  Great upside potential and little downside risk - and happy wife, happy life!

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What about garage storage at the marina? (I know it's not available everywhere) My home launch has private storage lockers where you keep the boat on your trailer, you get a key to the locker (and the marina has a master key), and the marina runs a tractor service. You can either call in advance and have them launch the boat and tie it up at the launch ramp or arrive, load up everything in the boat, and flag down the tractor driver. I've never had a problem with theft, the boat gets washed/wiped down after every day on the water, and the launch/recovery is taken care of. If we know it's going to be a long day then we make sure to drive a vehicle that can pull the boat out of the water and put it away in case the tractor service has shut down.

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6 minutes ago, mikeo said:

What about garage storage at the marina? (I know it's not available everywhere) My home launch has private storage lockers where you keep the boat on your trailer, you get a key to the locker (and the marina has a master key), and the marina runs a tractor service. You can either call in advance and have them launch the boat and tie it up at the launch ramp or arrive, load up everything in the boat, and flag down the tractor driver. I've never had a problem with theft, the boat gets washed/wiped down after every day on the water, and the launch/recovery is taken care of. If we know it's going to be a long day then we make sure to drive a vehicle that can pull the boat out of the water and put it away in case the tractor service has shut down.

Another option that is similar, and known around here as "in/out service".  Your boat is stored in a building up on racks, 3 or 4 high.  You call ahead and let them know what time you will be there.  They use a forklift with long forks to retrieve the boat, launch it, and tie it off.  You arrive, boat is tied off waiting for you.  Load your gear and off you go.  When you are done, you bring it back, and they tie it off and will put it away.  That runs $1,200 per year, but you have zero worry about theft and zero worry about dirtying the hull and/or storms.  There is a risk of damage since the boat is being lifted and stored over and over.

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6 minutes ago, Michigan boarder said:

Another option that is similar, and known around here as "in/out service".  Your boat is stored in a building up on racks, 3 or 4 high.  You call ahead and let them know what time you will be there.  They use a forklift with long forks to retrieve the boat, launch it, and tie it off.  You arrive, boat is tied off waiting for you.  Load your gear and off you go.  When you are done, you bring it back, and they tie it off and will put it away.  That runs $1,200 per year, but you have zero worry about theft and zero worry about dirtying the hull and/or storms.  There is a risk of damage since the boat is being lifted and stored over and over.

We have rack storage near our house that launches/retrieves but it's closer to $4500 a year. I like the idea of what mikeo posted better, but can only imagine what that costs... 

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I say go for a skip, it just makes things so much more enjoyable. I don't know how you think of it but our family owns a boat to enjoy it and make memories, not to worry about it getting dirty or too many hours. The slip just makes it so easy, say after work on a week day you can easily go out for an hours ride. 

Id go take a look at the marina and see what types of boats are already there. 10k I/Os or bu's, that will just give you an idea on how dirty they really get and what theft is like. 

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Just now, Pnwrider said:

We have rack storage near our house that launches/retrieves but it's closer to $4500 a year. I like the idea of what mikeo posted better, but can only imagine what that costs... 

It's $255/month, but I've got a 50' locker where I keep my cargo trailer and a bunch of other stuff. I got some Home Depot style racks that I can park the boat & trailer under, since the door height is 15' and the total indoor height is ~20'. The shorter spaces cost less.

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How often would she take it out. If it's only occasionally you could drop it in for her a buy an overnight slip for a few days.  This could be cheaper if you don't do this all the time.  Every lake and situation is different.  There's nothing wrong w a wet slip but I have quite a few reasons why we dont rent one.  Sometimes I do leave my boat in for a week at a time though.  If you keep it waxed it cleans up easily.  

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3 hours ago, RyanB said:

IMO, you really need two competent boaters to launch/retrieve.  For that reason alone, I would do the slip if I were in your position.  Pull it out and clean it every so often if the water is dirty.  

It will make it easier for your wife (and probably you as well) to have it in the water, which will likely lead to more use.

Even with a slip there will need to be two competent boaters if your wife plans to spend time behind the boat. 

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2 hours ago, John I. said:

Even with a slip there will need to be two competent boaters if your wife plans to spend time behind the boat. 

By "two competent boaters", I mean you need someone competent to drive the tow vehicle and back the trailer down the ramp, as well as someone to drive the boat.  This can be done by one individual if there is a dock to tie up to, but the ramps near me are pretty busy, and I don't feel good tying them up when I try to do the procedure myself (although sometimes I do when I am fishing, but I don't launch/retrieve at busy lakes during popular times).

With a slip, I think you can have one competent boater.  They can drive the boat by themselves, get it into the slip solo, and tie up.  You might be limited on what watersports the driver of the boat can do, but even then I am more comfortable having a "newbie" drive the boat for watersports than I am to have a novice try to trailer my boat or back up a trailer.  Maybe I used competent as a synonym for experienced.

Either way, I think in a slipping a boat is pretty easy with one person in good conditions, and possible to do in less than optimal conditions.

Do you disagree?

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Thanks for all the responses. Lots of good advice and things to consider. Happy wife, happy life ranks really high!!!!!

No in/out service in our area. No storage/garage at he marinas. 

The marinas we are considering are located 15 to 20 minutes from our house, both have good reputations, one was hit by thieves this winter. Several boats and houseboats were burglarized. Not sure that out boat would be a target.

Carrying gear to and from, up and down stairs as the lake drops may be the biggest issue. It is very convenient to have everything ready to go loaded in the boat in the secure confines of a garage at my house inmo. With all that I think we will still give it a try. I want the wife to be able to enjoy he boat without having fro rely on me so until she decides to learn how to back up a trailer we may be paying for moorage!

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