Just saw this thread...
My previous boat was a trailer boat, but due to the fact that my neighborhood does not allow boat storage, I kept it in the lot of my local marina.
The disadvantage? I had to pay to keep the boat there, and when I wanted to launch, I had to go get it, drag it home, put my electronics and fishing gear aboard, then tow it the 1 mile to my local ramp. The good part? It is one of the best ramps in the State. The downside? It also required an annual pass to use the ramps, so that was an additional fee.
When I was done for the day, I loaded the boat, towed it home where I removed all my gear, gave her a bath, flushed the motor, covered her, then towed he back to the marina where I tucked her into a corner.
If I didn't cover her, leaves and the dust and dirt from the parking lot would make her an absolute mess in less than a week.
When I bought my Parker, it was not bottom painted and it sat on a 10,000# roller trailer.
Ask
Porkchunker,
B-Faithful, or
GW204 what sort of shape the boat and trailer were in when I bought her.
My dilemma was this... Although I got the boat for a good price, she and the trailer needed a lot of work, and there was no way I could afford to upgrade my Jeep Cherokee tow vehicle to something that could haul the Parker. A boat
and a truck just wasn't in the budget.
My solution was to secure a wet slip in the same marina where I stored my previous boat. I then sold the trailer and used the proceeds to defray the cost of painting the bottom, and fixing the most pressing items that needed to be attended to.
In my first year of wet-slipping, I used the Parker more often than I ever did the previous boat.
Obviously, being more sea worthy and protected from the elements played into the favor of the Parker, but the ability to drive a mile, slip the lines, and go fishing had a lot to do with it.
As others have mentioned, just being able to go down to the slip and tinker with my gear while enjoying a ponder beer, made the slip very relaxing. I also used my slip (on the end of a row) as a platform to catch many a chain pickerel, perch, and small rockfish whenever I wanted while still sitting in the slip.
Oddly enough, as B-Faithful noticed, I found that the boat stays cleaner in the water. However, having fresh water available also makes it easy to give her a bath whenever I want to. I have access to power in my slip, but I only use it occasionally to top off the batteries if we get a streak of bad weather.
The downsides of a wet slip? Maintaining the bottom paint each year is probably the largest item. Spring hull waxing must be done on land before launch, and it is more difficult to wash the hullsides with the boat in the water.
Finally, if I require service by my dealer, I must either run her an hour south on her own bottom, or I need to hire my neighbors company to transport her on one of his trailers.
So which do I prefer? After looking at the options and considering what I had before, I prefer the wet slip.