Trailor Sailor my ass... and some Boating Art

[Signaleer]

Guys, Gals, ... I'm back. After a two-week business trip.

First, I've had the boat in the water for 2 weeks. It is so nice to be able to go over and simply walk on the dang thing. I wonder if I am going to be keeping it in the water? I wanted to avoid that expense, but its so so so convenient. Any conversational / experience on this? To each his own I imagine, but is there a rule of thumb? aka - you are going use the boat every weekend? ... where's the tipping point for you all?

Some art from this weekend's sail.

Running from the sunset


Lulu's - Jimmy Buffet's Sister


The End


So, when are you all coming to Gulf Shores, AL?!

Ed.

[Jimmyt]

Beautiful pics, Ed. Thanks for sharing. Probably the best weekend we've had in quite awhile down south. I can certainly appreciate the 'walking on to the boat and going sailing' aspect' as I'm putting up and taking down my rig (particularly taking it down when I'm dog-tired and hot). However, it sure is nice to know it's clean and safe on the trailer in the garage when we get one of those southern squalls. It's also nice to be able to walk downstairs and re-rope my rudders after Dave points out they're all wrong and that's why they're tearing up. I don't get to go often enough to make leaving it in the water an attractive option for me (yet).

I also like loading the boat at the house, and just hopping in after launching. I wash it when I get home, but don't usually unload until the next day. I guess I only lose about 1 to 1-1/2 hrs of sailing time per trip due to setup and launch delay.

If I got to go every weekend, I'd seriously consider slipping it, though.

Are you in brackish water at your slip, or are you lucky enough to be in fresh water? That would be another factor for me. You almost have to go with bottom paint if you leave it in salt or brackish water I would think. Scraping barnacles really bites.

Man those are some nice shots!

[Obelix]

We've used our boat in every mode of operation, on the trailer with mast down, in mast-up storage and slipped.
Slipping the boat is clearly the most convenient way to go sailing, with the drawback that you need your bottom paint and here in SW-Florida regular bottom cleanings.
Having the boat in mast-up storage eliminates the bottom paint and the cleaning, but you have to launch and retrieve the boat for every sail including the wash-down for the trailer.
Storing the boat on the trailer is probably the least expensive way, but the rigging and de-rigging was a real turn-off for me causing us to only go on multiday trips.
Maybe I'm slow, rigging and de-rigging from and to trailing-state takes me at least 90 min each time and the combined 3 to 3.5 hours of rigging time per sail seemed not worth for a 2-3 hour day-sail.
Our boat is currently in mast-up storage, it is my preferred mode of operation.

Obelix

[mastreb]

I too have done everything from back-yard storage to near ramp to mast-up to slipping. Mast-up is the right balance of cost/convenience for me and I think most people if you can find storage right next to a ramp. Slip is really nice but very expensive here in SoCal.

Matt

[C Buchs]

I wanted to avoid that expense, but its so so so convenient. Any conversational / experience on this? To each his own I imagine, but is there a rule of thumb? aka - you are going use the boat every weekend? ... where's the tipping point for you all?

The way I do the math is based on how much my time is worth. My free time is worth a lot! My slip is 1/4 mile from my house and costs $143/month. For me it's worth being able to get home at 6:30, leave the dock at 7, sail for 2 hours and be back home at 9:30.

We've got the best of both worlds. Maintenance is as low as you are going to find and I can pull the boat to a mountain lake or the coast without a lot of hassle.

Jeff

[grady]

I have just changed again this year. For the first 7 years I had my boat it was kept in a hanger with mast down. 25 miles from the lake I go to most of the time. (5 miles from the closest lake). After I got rid of my airplane and my friend sold his I no longer wanted to pay for a 60x60 hanger for a boat. From there I moved to outdoor storage at the lake with a boat ramp. Was a lot easier being able to leave the mast up. From there just had a good friend sell his J24 and give me his boat lift. Now I am in the marina on the water with the boat out of the water. I will have to say doing a hour or two is possible now. I would have never spent the time to put the boat in the water for less than half a day. I do miss having a clean shiny boat 100% of the time but I think it is worth it.

[Herschel]

I tried trailering for day sails the first year or so after I got my 26X back in 2003. It was doable, but I did find that the recovery and squaring away for the trip home in Florida heat did take much of the recreational gain away. After some brief stays at marinas for trips on the St. Johns River, I decided that a slip could be a wonderful thing. I did get the bottom painted to reduce the likelihood of blistering. I elected to stay with the fresh water on the St. Johns and picked a marina in Sanford, FL on a nice sized lake that is part of the river system, about 25 miles from my house in Orlando. I did experiment with a less expensive slip on another lake south of Orlando, but it was not part of a river system and the marina was not full service--no fuel or repairs available. So I came back to my "home port" in Sanford. I do occasionally trailer for brief trips to other venues, one to ICW in SW Florida and one to lake outside Atlanta. I am 71 years old, now, and the extra care I like to take when rigging and de-rigging makes the evolutions at least 2 hours either way so it makes the likelihood of trailering the boat very frequently, especially for day sailing, very unlikely. But I realize this is a very individual decision. Kudos to my Admiral for the indulgence in the cost of the slip on top of the routine maintenance. And, of course, the other two boats I seem to require to keep me happy!

[DaveB]

What ever cranks your tractor, just do it in the Wind.
Many Sailors just like sailing and can't wait til they are aboard again. Some just sit on a arm chair rocking back and forth looking at others doing it on the Net.
Sooo...who are you?
Dave

[quote="Signaleer"]Guys, Gals, ... I'm back. After a two-week business trip.

First, I've had the boat in the water for 2 weeks. It is so nice to be able to go over and simply walk on the dang thing. I wonder if I am going to be keeping it in the water? I wanted to avoid that expense, but its so so so convenient. Any conversational / experience on this? To each his own I imagine, but is there a rule of thumb? aka - you are going use the boat every weekend? ... where's the tipping point for you all?

Some art from this weekend's sail.

[Signaleer]

What ever cranks your tractor, just do it in the Wind.
Many Sailors just like sailing and can't wait til they are aboard again. Some just sit on a arm chair rocking back and forth looking at others doing it on the Net.
Sooo...who are you?
Dave

Are you offering to ... crank my tractor? Better bring something with a big alternator

...I kill me.

[Signaleer]

Skippers,

Thanks for the thoughts.

I would ideally find a place with mast up/on trailer storage - i think that would be ideal.

I'm currently in Barber Marina which I think is mostly salt. The boat came with bottom paint and I don't think I'll keep her in the water more than 8 weeks at a stretch... Haul it out, blow the green off the bottom at the local car wash.

I'm staying her for the first time tonight in the marina.

This is the first of many I hope.

Thanks again Skippers!

Ed

[Cougar]

Yes, I keep my boat in a marina from April to October. Yes, IMO it's worth the expense, because yes, we go sailing almost every weekend, weather permitting. I guess that makes about 16 weekends this season so far, and more to come.

[dlandersson]

Ditto - except that my job lets me go sailing - weather permitting - during the week in the summer. I can just drive up, take the sock off the Genoa and the main, run thru my 15 minute checklist, and go.

Yes, I keep my boat in a marina from April to October. Yes, IMO it's worth the expense, because yes, we go sailing almost every weekend, weather permitting. I guess that makes about 16 weekends this season so far, and more to come.

[paul I]

Ditto - except that my job lets me go sailing - weather permitting - during the week in the summer. I can just drive up, take the sock off the Genoa and the main, run thru my 15 minute checklist, and go.

Yes, I keep my boat in a marina from April to October. Yes, IMO it's worth the expense, because yes, we go sailing almost every weekend, weather permitting. I guess that makes about 16 weekends this season so far, and more to come.

Double Ditto. Sometimes during the week I only have an hours notice or so when I know someone is available. I probably wouldn't do 1/4 of the sailing I do if I had to launch and raise every time.

[dlandersson]

Triple ditto

Double Ditto. Sometimes during the week I only have an hours notice or so when I know someone is available. I probably wouldn't do 1/4 of the sailing I do if I had to launch and raise every time.

[Seapup]

I think location is a big part of it too, some places slips make sense while others it does not.

One thing I have liked is going to 2-3 different marinas each year for a month or two at a time vs annual or seasonal contract. Winters inland in the ICW where the season is extended, spring/fall slip near work for evening sails, summer somewhere 1-2 hours from the house. Generally costs more but keeps things fresh & I find it worth it. Moving the boat to a new area even if its only 10 miles away is like having a whole new vacation home and reason to head out on the water