My wife and I are contemplating purchasing a C-27 (fin keel) that is kept in a slip at the Marina at the nearby lake. However, the marina is somewhat expensive: in a matter of two years, we will have paid in slip fees what we would pay for the boat. The alternative is to keep the boat dry-docked on a trailer near the Marina. While this will provide some savings in dollars, we would have to locate and buy a trailer, plus go through the repeated hassle of having the boat launched every time we wish to use it (which is not free, but with storage still costs less per month than the Marina). This will be a lake boat, and we would rarely trailer it to a different lake, if at all. Do you have any advice regarding availability and cost of trailers and the relative benefits of keeping it slipped? The other options are smaller boats, but at 6'2", I can't go much smaller. Any other advice that pops to mind would be welcomed as well.
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ken
what do you think
dennis i own a 27cat and had a 22 chrysler and there is quite a difference but some friends own 22 cats with the pop top and i will say for a 22 ft. boat that pop top sure is nice while moored. there are also a lot of them for sale in cal.so if you try it you might like it p.s. try looking around marinas for a used trailer they are all over out here. i'm sure you will do the right thing for you and your wife. good luck
dennis i own a 27cat and had a 22 chrysler and there is quite a difference but some friends own 22 cats with the pop top and i will say for a 22 ft. boat that pop top sure is nice while moored. there are also a lot of them for sale in cal.so if you try it you might like it p.s. try looking around marinas for a used trailer they are all over out here. i'm sure you will do the right thing for you and your wife. good luck
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Bob Sawyer
Other options
Trailering seems tedious to me. I would persue other options first such as a mouring-our marina chages about 50% less for a mouring vs a slip. Use the $ saved to buy a dinghy. Or drop in your own mouring someplace else on the lake. Or perhaps buying your boat with a friend/relative and share the costs. Or rent a boat when you get the urge to sail. Good luck - I can tell that you have the bug.
Trailering seems tedious to me. I would persue other options first such as a mouring-our marina chages about 50% less for a mouring vs a slip. Use the $ saved to buy a dinghy. Or drop in your own mouring someplace else on the lake. Or perhaps buying your boat with a friend/relative and share the costs. Or rent a boat when you get the urge to sail. Good luck - I can tell that you have the bug.
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Thos Kober
Are we talking Lake Pleasant ?
Dennis, As a Ex-Phoenician, who grew up water skiing on Lake Pleasant and now sail on the Cheasapeake Bay in a Cat27, I think you are undertaking quite a task. Look at what most other sailors are doing and my guess is that the Cat27 is a big boat for the lake, or any lake in AZ. A 4 foot draft in a lake with a hard bottom (Read: Rocky!!) might be tough. A Cat25 w/a pop top/ @ centerboard might be a better solution for lake sailing. For what it is worth, I am 6'2" and the first boat that I owned for over 10 years was a Spirit23 w/ a pop top. Keep in mind you spend most of your time in the cockpit sailing or under a canopy, not down below, so you really do not miss the head room. Have fun !
Dennis, As a Ex-Phoenician, who grew up water skiing on Lake Pleasant and now sail on the Cheasapeake Bay in a Cat27, I think you are undertaking quite a task. Look at what most other sailors are doing and my guess is that the Cat27 is a big boat for the lake, or any lake in AZ. A 4 foot draft in a lake with a hard bottom (Read: Rocky!!) might be tough. A Cat25 w/a pop top/ @ centerboard might be a better solution for lake sailing. For what it is worth, I am 6'2" and the first boat that I owned for over 10 years was a Spirit23 w/ a pop top. Keep in mind you spend most of your time in the cockpit sailing or under a canopy, not down below, so you really do not miss the head room. Have fun !
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Ken Cobb
What is time worth?
Even if you can leave the mast up in your dry storage area, how much time will you spend launching and recovering in connection with each outing? I am going to guess a minimum of a half hour on each end. But the real problem with the dry storage alternative is that you won't sail nearly as much. In a slip, if the weather is doubtful (too windy, not windy enough) you can still go down to your boat and enjoy it and the company of the others in the marina, while waiting to see if the weather gets better. Then if it does, you can opportunistically get in a sail. In dry storage, you probably won't even leave home on a doubtful day. In short, in a slip you get the opportunity to use your boat as a lake home in addition to a sailboat.
Even if you can leave the mast up in your dry storage area, how much time will you spend launching and recovering in connection with each outing? I am going to guess a minimum of a half hour on each end. But the real problem with the dry storage alternative is that you won't sail nearly as much. In a slip, if the weather is doubtful (too windy, not windy enough) you can still go down to your boat and enjoy it and the company of the others in the marina, while waiting to see if the weather gets better. Then if it does, you can opportunistically get in a sail. In dry storage, you probably won't even leave home on a doubtful day. In short, in a slip you get the opportunity to use your boat as a lake home in addition to a sailboat.
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Rick Arthur
I'd recommend mooring...
I used to own an Edel 540. It was a sloop rig with a shoal draft keel that was a good day sailor or week-ender and was trailerable. I found mooring to be the answer and kept it at two different lakes over the period that we owned the boat. Initally, I was trailering it and launching it each time we took it out. The local marinas and yacht clubs wanted big coin for a slip and I didn't want to keep stepping the mast every time I wanted to use the boat, so our next alternative was mooring. Although I don't own a 27 (yet), I would think that stepping that mast regularily and pulling that boat out of the water would be a heck of a lot harder than my old 18' boat. I put our boat in each spring and left it in unless I took it elsewhere on holidays. It came out in the fall and spent the winter stored on the trailer under a tarp. Make sure you drain the bilge for storage if you live in an area where things freeze. I was concerned initally about theft or vandalism but did not ever have that kind of problem.
I used to own an Edel 540. It was a sloop rig with a shoal draft keel that was a good day sailor or week-ender and was trailerable. I found mooring to be the answer and kept it at two different lakes over the period that we owned the boat. Initally, I was trailering it and launching it each time we took it out. The local marinas and yacht clubs wanted big coin for a slip and I didn't want to keep stepping the mast every time I wanted to use the boat, so our next alternative was mooring. Although I don't own a 27 (yet), I would think that stepping that mast regularily and pulling that boat out of the water would be a heck of a lot harder than my old 18' boat. I put our boat in each spring and left it in unless I took it elsewhere on holidays. It came out in the fall and spent the winter stored on the trailer under a tarp. Make sure you drain the bilge for storage if you live in an area where things freeze. I was concerned initally about theft or vandalism but did not ever have that kind of problem.
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Echo Gulf
Not reccomended
In this land of ice and snow, we are required to dry dock our boats in the fall and launch in the spring. Our C27 is stored on a trailer in our driveway for the winter, we've also trailered to the west coast for extended holidays. So, I speak from experience when I say launching and recovering your boat is not as easy as it seems. With an experienced crew it takes at least an hour to launch and then rig the boat and about the same for recovery. The additional wear and tear on rigging and sails, with the additional stress on hull from the slings of the travel lift or crane will soon translate into costs that will make you wish you had paid the moorage fees you are trying to avoid. The cost of the trailor can be prohibitive as well, latest estimates are approx $7000.00 can. (trailor launching is possible, but loading is very diffacult)
In this land of ice and snow, we are required to dry dock our boats in the fall and launch in the spring. Our C27 is stored on a trailer in our driveway for the winter, we've also trailered to the west coast for extended holidays. So, I speak from experience when I say launching and recovering your boat is not as easy as it seems. With an experienced crew it takes at least an hour to launch and then rig the boat and about the same for recovery. The additional wear and tear on rigging and sails, with the additional stress on hull from the slings of the travel lift or crane will soon translate into costs that will make you wish you had paid the moorage fees you are trying to avoid. The cost of the trailor can be prohibitive as well, latest estimates are approx $7000.00 can. (trailor launching is possible, but loading is very diffacult)
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Bob Gulbrandsen
Mast is an issue
Hey folks I hear what you are saying , but take a long hard look at that mast ! BIG for something that has to be taken down every time . I have a Catalina 27 and strongly suggest that you keep it in the water . It will be well worth the money to go to your boat , get onboard and enjoy your time , not spend half your time rigging and getting in/out of the water. I used to trailer a 22 , and even that got old after a while . It's just not worth the aggrevation ! The 27 is a great boat , but you do have the same problems and expenses as the big boys .You might consider mooring , less expensive but you will need a tender (alot easier to trailer) to get to your boat. What ever you decide , have fun . Thats what it's all about ... Bob Gulbrandsen
Hey folks I hear what you are saying , but take a long hard look at that mast ! BIG for something that has to be taken down every time . I have a Catalina 27 and strongly suggest that you keep it in the water . It will be well worth the money to go to your boat , get onboard and enjoy your time , not spend half your time rigging and getting in/out of the water. I used to trailer a 22 , and even that got old after a while . It's just not worth the aggrevation ! The 27 is a great boat , but you do have the same problems and expenses as the big boys .You might consider mooring , less expensive but you will need a tender (alot easier to trailer) to get to your boat. What ever you decide , have fun . Thats what it's all about ... Bob Gulbrandsen
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