Pros and Cons of Wet Slipping

[rangerdog]

Can you guys help me work out the pros and cons of keeping my boat wet slipped at a marina?

Where I launch is 50 miles one way. Tow vehicle gas is an issue
I don't feel comfortable launching/recovering by myself. The boat is just too big so I never go out by myself which I would do lots if I could just drive over and jump in.

Thanks in advance.

John

 

[TomS]

Looks like you already have the Pro's - lets see if I can think up some Con's.

1. Slip fees are expensive.
2. Bottom paint required.
3. Peace of mind having your boat at your house where you can work on it, check on it in a storm, etc.. as opposed to 50 miles away.
4. You may or may not have power available, so might be more difficult to work on the boat, also getting mid-project and discovering that the tool you need is at home can be frustrating.
5. Sometimes you get good slip neighbors, sometimes you don't.
6. Buying gas on the water is more expensive than pulling into a gas station on the trailer.

The way I look at it, if putting the boat on a slip means you will use it that much more, than its worth it.

-- Tom

 

[susqking]

I like mine in the slip because you can go whenever you feel like it. I have a 25' WA and have no problem putting it in the slip by myself. Plus I like to hang around after the day and have a few beers, clean the boat up ans BS with other boaters. I pay about $2300 for my slip in Middle River.

You can also pull your boat any time and take it home or get gas because you have a trailer.

 

[Megabyte]

Tom very accurately already pointed out the cons, but since you own a trailer and a proper tow vehicle, some of those cons are countered by the fact that you could move the boat if you chose to.

With the trailer, you could take the boat home to work on it, to the dealer to have it serviced, or to a land service station for fuel if you wanted.

But... even without those options, I like having a slip. One thing I've discovered since moving off a trailer and into a slip is that I use the boat more. Even if it is just "checking on the boat" in the evening after work and having a frosty barley-pop aboard, it's a good thing. :wink:

Of course, I live about two miles from my boat, so if I need to run home for supplies during a project, it's not a big deal.

 

[Themis]

I wet slip. My beach shack is less than a mile from my boat. If I had to trailer, I would not own the boat, and would go out perhaps 1/3 as much. I, too, like to go down to the boat and just tinker.
I am still learning and need to be on the boat as much as I can muster.

Which brings me to a con. Be sure your slip neighbor is not parkersal.

 

[rangerdog]

Hey but then I would sorta already know you, ParkerSal!

Thanks for the replies all: keep them coming. I guess what's really started all this is that my fishing partners are going, going, gone. We have been fishing together for so long. My son's business has exploded so much that he doesn't have time for anything anymore. My sister and her husband are moving to Tampa. He's been unemployed and finally got a new job. My nephew and wife are expecting their first child. My Dad is almost house bound taking care of my Mom. Either two, three, four, or, five of us usually used to go out at least every other week plus a week at the ocean and a CBBT trip in December. Now I hardly get to take the boat out unless I can talk my wife into going. Pulling and launching/recovering alone is not fun.

With a slip, for example, I would have spent all day Monday poking around the marina on the boat, fished a little, cleaned up some, etc.

The bottom's coated/painted but does need some touch up. I may try to find a slip available for the rest of the season

 

[johnsw]

I used to trailer a boat (pre-Parker) until I tried a slip for a season. That was 15 years ago, and I'm still in the water. I just use the boat so much more than when I trailered it, and it helped justify trading up over the years as I did. But there are definitely more maintenance and security issues that you have to be OK with, that you don't have by keeping your boat trailered at home (or where ever). Being exposed to the marine envirmonent elements longer and more closely also speeds up some of the corrosion and upkeep difficulties associated with keeping it in the water.

John

 

[TomS]

RD,

Another Pro for wet slip is that you might meet some new fishing buddies at the marina.. alternate boats each trip, etc.. You might even get to fish some new water or try a different technique.

-- Tom

 

[Themis]

I will say this. I have talked to a whole mess of boaters in my marina, and love doing so. Pretty sure one of them is going to come out with me and fish / teach as well. That point is not one to be overlooked. In this world you can never have too many friends.

 

[Megabyte]

4 guys on my street have boats in the same marina, and we buddy-up to fish together all the time.
Saves gas, and makes it more interesting.

 

[Hugs Tug]

I have to agree.
With the boat in the water you will most definitely see more utilization. When the weather is to miserable for my boat we just jump on the home owners 25' Parker and go.
Just my $0.02 worth

 

[cbigma]

Wet slipping your Parker gives it double-duty. A wet slip transforms your Parker from merely an over-water conveyance into a destination in its own right. Your Parker suddenly becomes waterfront property. Like having a waterfront condo for the season.

..John