Wet slip or on trailer storage

rpell1@msn.com · Dec 3, 2012

Hi,
Prior to my Cat30, I owned a Chrysler 22, swing keel for over 20 years. I am fortunate to belong to a Club where we do ALL of our own maintenance, hauling, bottom painting, etc. We rent our slips to members for $27 per foot for the entire year. So, I was able to have winter storage on the hard, every other year. The charge for hauling, bottom wash and winter storage on our own stands is $15. per foot. Sometimes, I would manage 2 years in my slip and do a short haul just to re-coat the bottom. Yes, there are times when you will worry about the boat still being in the water and here in the Northeast, we do freeze from time to time. However, in water winter storage has never really been a problem, once basic precautions have been taken..... Extra lines, extra fenders, anti-freeze in the bilge, a good tent cover to allow snow to slide off, small anti-moisture space heaters to prevent mold, etc. And, yes it is certainly a pleasure to be able to go down to the dock, hop on, cast off and grab a few hours of sailing time without the need to plan. Good Luck and Happy Sailing.

Squidd · Dec 3, 2012

I do the dry slip/trailer ready thing, but my rates are $80 vs $340 month and I only get out every "other" weekend or so...

Some is going to depend on your sailing "area"....for me it's a 20 minute load, launch and go (once I get there) and then I sail out and anchor out in the islands or catch a slip at a distant harbor....I spend very little time at my "home harbor"...

For your price difference and if you like to "hang around the harbor" getting the slip would make more sence...

Only other thing with dry slip is I don't have to worry about the boat sinking at the slip when I'm not there...rubbing and wearing on the pileings or getting crashed into by an errant slip jocky neighbor...

Stu Jackson · Dec 3, 2012

We used to trailer sail our C22 from the boatyard. There was a hoist and about two blocks away was a ramp so we could leave the mast up. That got tired very quickly. During the summers we left the boat in the water at a lake a few hours north of here. That was heaven, no mast fussing, just hop on and go. Made it feel like a bigger boat!

You might need to rethink this "It's gonna sink at the slip" thing. Gazillions of boats fair very well, thank you, at their docks. In fact, I'm amazed that more of 'em don't sink given the fact that 95% of them never see their owners!

Don't sweat leaving the boat in the water. Get a solar panel and a controller to keep your battery up and you'll do just fine.

Eric M · Dec 3, 2012

Mast up dry storage will definately make it easier and more enjoyable for you to use the boat. I had a J24 for about 4 years that I sailed that way. Look around for a sailing club in your area, yearly dues + dry storage is often less $ than the marina storage rates.

THECUSCUS · Dec 3, 2012

I wet slip my Macgregor 25. I can be out on the water within minutes of arriving at the marina. No rigging up the mast, sails, launching! Just hop on and go. And returning from sailing is just as quick, tie her up and head out. I also sleep on the boat if I'm in the area visiting friends and don't want to drive home ( an hours drive). Having a slip also makes you feel like part of the "community" of saliors at the marina. Not to mention the use of marina facilities ( showers, rest rooms, pools, etc). I pay more for my slip than I paid for the boat, but I view it as an expense of sailing. Its like renting a small piece of waterfront property for the season. That being said, I use my boat almost every weekend from March thru November and sometimes a weeknight calls. If you only use your boat afew times a month, then dry storage (mast up) would be next best. The impotant thing is to spend your avaiable time SAILING and not towing, rigging, and launching....IMHO.

Squidd · Dec 3, 2012

My boat is 26'6" and 6500#.....

I launch and load by myself about half the time....(the rest of the time I let them hold a rope at the dock while I park the trailer...)

I have a nice deep/steep landing, but still not much different technique/time than my 15' fishing boat...

Daydreamer · Dec 3, 2012

Have the same dilemma with a 50 mile round trip. Found ourselves putting off an afternoon sail on a great day cause of the "hassle" .

Dry storage is not available.
Our local lake charges $248 month for a rickety old wooden slip. We went for it the last two years and have definitely used the boat a LOT more.

Have also taken more friends out, since it takes even longer to teach someone new to help rig the boat on the trailer.

It still takes a bit of time to ready the boat, sail covers, stow gear and provisions, dock lines, prep halyards, still takes about 30 minutes from arrival at the parking lot to sails up.

Somehow being on the water already, time doesn't matter.

Ward H · Dec 3, 2012

kito,
I had the same thoughts last summer when I was sailing my 17' Newport. When I trailered it I would have 45 to 60 minute set up time, then the same for break down. I was by myself and in the heat I would need a recovery period before I could sail. That got old real quick and would have ended my sailing if I didn't have another option.
So, we decided to put it in a slip. Step on and go. The drive is a little longer to our marina but we were able to choose a better sailing location and get in more "on the water" time.
As far as sinking, what Stu said. I was worried at first but then a couple guys here pointed out I was over worrying about things. Just look at what it would take to sink your boat and plan for preventative maintenance.

And what THECUSCUS said.

Squidd · Dec 3, 2012

Granted, not all boats "sink" at the dock or mooring....but many do.....

I have never seen a boat sink on a trailer...just saying...

(OK there was that one guy with a flatbottom boat that forgot to unstrap from the trailer before launching in the swamp... we've all seen that video)

caguy · Dec 3, 2012

I do mastup storage with the C-27 at Marina del Rey, Ca. for $150/month. I hookup and trailer about 300 yds. I takes less than 15 minutes from hooking up and being in the water. If I'm in a hurry I will fire up the OB and head down the channel. With Otto steering the boat I can set up the rest of the boat on the fly. I don't know about having a slip but I have left my boat at the guest slips overnight and it almost as big a hassle as putting it on the trailer. I still have to put away all of the electronic toys, cushions, cover the tiller, winches and sail. Generally if I am staying there I hook up the 120 vac. Haul all of my personal stuff to the truck etc. At our mast up we have a wash station where we can wash the boat down so I don't have to hook up the hose. The $150 per month is about what it would cost me to store anywhere on the west coast and I don't have to take the mast down. If you have mastup storage at your lake I would go that route.

caguy · Dec 3, 2012

Squidd said:
My boat is 26'6" and 6500#.....

I launch and load by myself about half the time....(the rest of the time I let them hold a rope at the dock while I park the trailer...)

I have a nice deep/steep landing, but still not much different technique/time than my 15' fishing boat...

Squidd, you don't need and extention to launch?

Squidd · Dec 3, 2012

No, you can see one on the trailer picture...two wheels and a 12' tongue with ball and coupler on appropriate ends...

Used it a couple times and realized the "trailer coupler"/ball mount was NOT in the water when the boat floats free of trailer....

So now I just hook to frame hitch (bumper height) and back in till front of bunks are 4" out of water boat slides on and off and truck/bed/rear wheels are NOT in the water..

I do have the pole at home, but won't need it unless I go somewhere new...

MSN-Travelers · Dec 3, 2012

Whatever gets you on the water more often ...

kito said:
I would like thoughts from trailer sailors who have wet slipped your sailboat, trailor stored it at a marina or both. I have a Catalina 22 and have been trailering it from my house to the lake (about 60 miles total). Not bad, but feel I would use it more if it weren't for the hassle of towing and rigging it. It takes the GF and I about 45-60 minutes to rig and derig. Rigging is not bad but at the end of the day, getting it ready to trailer home in the dark is a pain. I have decided to either slip it or dry sail it. The problem is the marina wants $138 month for a slip and $60 a month to trailer storge it. Fairly reasonable for a wet slip....makes it too tempting considering the trailer storage rate. Wet slip is more convenient since I can hop in and be sailing in minutes. But it comes with more worries.....leaking, theft, swing keel problems etc. Just would like input about the pros and cons of both.

Been there, done that ... go with the slip.

Last boat was a 26' trailerable. We lived 90 moile from our primary sailing waters. Started with driveway storage but the cost of gas to tow the boat to/from was more than mast-up storage.
Eventually found that the starting with the boat in the water vs. launch every time had us sailing just about every weekend and staying out longer every time. Also allowed us to drive a smaller (fuel efficient car) vs. the truck needed to launch/recover from mast-up storage.
I don't understand your concerns about having the boat in a slip. If the marina has a theft problem then the same exposure will be there in the mast-up storage lot too. If the boat is in such poor shape that you think it will sink at the dock, then it shouldn't be on the water in the first place.

Not sure what the concern about the swing keel is? I sail on a Catalina 22 regularly and the owner has it on a mooring. He leaves the swing keel down all the time so the boat rides the mooring with better stability and he hasn't experienced any problems after three seasons. He just makes sure the cable and tube are in good shape prior to each seasonal launch.

IMHO, any storage method that gets you on the water easier and more often is the best way to keep your boat between sailing. For us, that was in a slip.

finding41 · Dec 4, 2012

I have mine at a dock. At our yacht club it is cheaper to use a finger dock than moor out! You have to provide your own dock... And put it in and out. I own half of one.
I use the boat 5 days a week on average. If it was on the trailer I would maybe use it once a week.
It is so worth the $ to have the boat n the water and ready to go.
As for vandals and theft... Lock everything on and hope for the best. I am installing video surveillance signs on the buildings and access areas of our club. (Makes people think twice, if they can think.)
Here is the goat path/ stairs to our dock. Then my half of the dock.

Ray Bowles · Dec 4, 2012

I have dry/trailer sailed for the past 10 years with 5 years on a C22. The in the water marina price here is about $1200 for the 4 to 5 months of summer. Leaving my boat rigged and on the trailer next to the marina is $200 for the entire year. Guess where I'm going?
I can load my gear into the boat, hang the headsail and rig to sail in about 15 minutes. Launching is less that 10 minutes and we're gone. The return is the same.
On my Catalina 22 trailer, which is the trailer the boat left the factory on, I have mounted 2 2X6's at the rear of the trailer that form a "V" that guides the hull and keel into the center of the trailer. Walking down the dock I pull the bow dock line forward and I used the rear dock line for some steerage of the rear of the boat. On the trailer winch post where the bow "V" chock holds the bow centered to the winch post I welded a small 8X10 inch flat steel step to the post. After the bow hits the trailer post "V" I stepped from the dock onto the bow and go to the starboard bow pulpit and step over onto the "steel step plate" with my right foot, reach down and hook the winch cable hook into the boat bow eye and tightened the winch.
The boat is on the trailer and a done deal. I drive 100 yards to the dry trailer storage, unloaded my gear into the truck, unhooked and leave the trailer. !0 minutes and I'm an old man. No haul home, it is cheap and I sail about 4 times a week. Try to findout if there is a dry storage area to leave your boat rigged on the trailer and try this method.
There are 14 boats up to 28 feet here that are doing this. So far there has not been any theft or other problems in over 20 years, without any security. I do not know if you have that same safety. We do have locks on our motors but that's all.
Ray

Sail123 · Dec 4, 2012

In a thread like this, the people that launch, recover, store at lake, will tell you to launch, recover, store at lake.

The people that slip, will tell you to slip.

I slip, so you know where this sermon is going.

Can you afford to slip? Would you like to sleep on the water sometimes? (If they allow that)

I love our slip. About half the time, we don't go out. We just hang on the boat. Great fun. Cold beverage, and talking to folks passing by.

Hey, you could tailgate inside the chain link fence. Overlooking gravel, and starring at trailer hitches. Lol

We haul in the fall, and splash in the spring. Towing her home 50 miles each way.

Slipped sailboats get enjoyed more, used more than sailboats you have to work to use.
If the budget allows, slip.

Our sailboat is 32', but my recommendation holds true from memory when we had a mac 25. Our slip started on the mac.

Once the sailboat is on the water fulltime, you can ride your motorcycle to the lake.

I challange you to find anyone that launches, recovers daily. Everyday. Lots of folks that slip use their sailboat daily. Everyday.

Wet slip or on trailer storage

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