Marinas/Sailing
- Thread starter inreb
- Start date
That was a funny joke Schneller, sonny could learn a thing or two from you. And the no homo part caught my attention as well.
:lmao::lmao:stop!
I really like this video. Altho there's a myriad of ways to not board a sailing vessel this unique approach deserves special attention.
stevie t
Well-known member
Sooner you start looking the better choice you will have. Some of the smaller clubs may also work for you, but they like participation in club events/maintainence, some make it a prerequisite. A wet slip will be cheaper than dockside, but you will need a tender. What kind of boat is it?
I don't have the boat yet. Like a cottage it almost doesn't make sense until retired. The m/c hobby is perfect at present. Not being a serious sailor I like the compromise of max interior space and gunkholeability of MacGregor 26M or X but also like the 240 Hunter.
Yeah, was trying to be Forrest Gump funny, but it came off a little Skipper and Gilligan....
I found that to be the case. I finally gave up and just bought waterfront property in the Thousand Islands earlier this year. Now I just have to put in a landing, gangway and floating dock. Maybe a house too.
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BigEvilDoer
Well-known member
Check out Wiarton - it's a little farther north, but it's worth it. Last I saw there are slips available.
At the end of the bay are 3 islands you can sail to, one has a big concrete dock you can hook up to and have lunch etc.
Gives you places to go to instead of just aimlessly sailing around an open lake.
At the end of the bay are 3 islands you can sail to, one has a big concrete dock you can hook up to and have lunch etc.
Gives you places to go to instead of just aimlessly sailing around an open lake.
West end of Lake Ontario holds no appeal for me. I'd like to have a slip located to provide a half day or less ride thru nice roads and scenery. The shoreline from Goderich around to Honey Harbour would provide that. I prefer the Georgian Bay side. When I cross with Tobermory Ferry I always check out Wiarton and Lions Head. I could see spending retirement summers up there.
There are lots of slips between goderich and honey harbor, and better if your looking at an under 30ft boat. 40 is the new 30 so big boat slips are harder to come by. Rates are quite similar since its a competitive market.
Inreb if your looking at a Mac 24 or hunter than its trailerable and your overall expenses drop, a lot, Craning a boat in or out and winter storage is almost as bad as the dock fees.
You have two options Marina or Yacht Club. Yacht clubs will help you find a slip, you have annual fees and they may require work party hours but there is the benefit of social and help with your boat. A marina is often less money but you are on your own.
Downside of many marinas is there is the weekend party fleet. Honey Harbour/Penetang/ midland and down the sound is the gong show of Georgian bay.
Draft of sailboats has become the biggest problem for sailboats and harbours and parking spots. Mac24 and Hunter 24 draw nothing so you have a much better range of spots.
Marinas often claim a multi yr waiting list, since they have goofballs that are on the list that are waiting but havent bought a boat. Reality is there are quite a few empty spots.
I've keep a boat in both Hamilton and Oakville for many years and had a race ride in Midland Yacht club for a while. trailer sailors make a lot of sense.
Inreb if your looking at a Mac 24 or hunter than its trailerable and your overall expenses drop, a lot, Craning a boat in or out and winter storage is almost as bad as the dock fees.
You have two options Marina or Yacht Club. Yacht clubs will help you find a slip, you have annual fees and they may require work party hours but there is the benefit of social and help with your boat. A marina is often less money but you are on your own.
Downside of many marinas is there is the weekend party fleet. Honey Harbour/Penetang/ midland and down the sound is the gong show of Georgian bay.
Draft of sailboats has become the biggest problem for sailboats and harbours and parking spots. Mac24 and Hunter 24 draw nothing so you have a much better range of spots.
Marinas often claim a multi yr waiting list, since they have goofballs that are on the list that are waiting but havent bought a boat. Reality is there are quite a few empty spots.
I've keep a boat in both Hamilton and Oakville for many years and had a race ride in Midland Yacht club for a while. trailer sailors make a lot of sense.
Thanks crankcall, that gives me a good idea of whats what. It will definitely be a shallow draft trailer sailer. Not so much to trailer it all over hells half acre but for beaching/gunkhole duty and autonomy. That a displacement hull can be pushed around with low hp is just icing on the cake.
I had a small power boat at South Simcoe in Bradford. Then moved down river to be closer to Lake Simcoe. The long run down the river was a pain especially if Simcoe was rough and there was someone on board the didn't take to the motion. Moved to the narrows in Orillia and loved it.
Power boats have the advantage of using covered slips. Not everyone likes to bake in the sun or soak in the rain. Down below gets crowded fast.
From a social standpoint everyone has their own taste. Some marinas have the battle of noise Saturday night , some are church quiet and icy. Some are egocentric and snobby. If you are just starting out it can be hard to pick the right place.
Trailing is harder in some ways. Anything over 20 feet is a push for newer cars. My 26 foot Chris Craft was wide enough to be considered "Wide Load". Then you have to store the trailer and keep up payments on a big truck. Hoisting a mast without using a crane on a 26 foot boat is no joke.
The advantage of a trailer is being able to spend a few weeks in an alternate cruising ground (Thousand Islands, Rideau Lakes) without the two week journey.
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Iceman
Well-known member
Yeah, I'm at the South Simcoe currently but new owners took over this fall. Considering moving to the Narrows as well, the kids love going to Big Chief but it's a $300-$400 run from the Holland Canal, so I only do it on longer weekends. The wife and I are more the couple drinks after the kids are in their bunks, than the brought more booze than food kind.
Side note: I will miss the Holland Canal though if we move, running it at speed is always a blast! I also love the run into Honey Harbor from Lock 49, parts of it are serpentine through the rocks, great fun at speed.
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Inreb your choice of shallow draft will give you infinite options on parking at marinas as they often have slips that will fit a 26x7 platform like a MacX, but even newer powerboats cant use them as they are starting to carry a lot of beam, but a centerboard boat fits nicely. A big bonus with a trailer boat is hate your marina at the end of the season? load and leave.
Be cautious with your thinking of a low power engine pushing a displacement hull in consideration of a Mac or Hunter with water ballast. They aren't truly displacement, more like a semi displacement since they will plane. That tends to make for a VERY unpleasant ride if you need to motor into a 6ft chop and if your looking at Georgian bay or Huron it can get ugly. Im pushing a 24ft boat with a 2hp at hull speed on flat water, in 3ft of chop its 3knts and dangerous , outboard spends 50% in the air. Its only on to get in or out of a harbor then I throw it in the basement of the boat.
Two guys can stand the mast up on a 26ft boat in about 3mins with no crane if its deck step. Great for low bridges on rivers.
If your actively looking for a Mac26, the new production boats built in FLA are truly crap. The west coast boats are holding their value since they are just better. areas to watch are the mast tabernacle, the stem fitting and the ballast tanks.
Be cautious with your thinking of a low power engine pushing a displacement hull in consideration of a Mac or Hunter with water ballast. They aren't truly displacement, more like a semi displacement since they will plane. That tends to make for a VERY unpleasant ride if you need to motor into a 6ft chop and if your looking at Georgian bay or Huron it can get ugly. Im pushing a 24ft boat with a 2hp at hull speed on flat water, in 3ft of chop its 3knts and dangerous , outboard spends 50% in the air. Its only on to get in or out of a harbor then I throw it in the basement of the boat.
Two guys can stand the mast up on a 26ft boat in about 3mins with no crane if its deck step. Great for low bridges on rivers.
If your actively looking for a Mac26, the new production boats built in FLA are truly crap. The west coast boats are holding their value since they are just better. areas to watch are the mast tabernacle, the stem fitting and the ballast tanks.
That actually sounds like a great idea.
Once upon a time, I thought of something similar with shipping containers turned into semi-permenant "pitstops" throughout Canada and abroad. But then airbnb came around, and that's all she wrote of that idea.
Check it out, you can find some cool house-boats in those types of areas!
