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Sea Legs

I don't live on the lake but do live about 10 minutes away.  If I had to unload/reload everytime I wanted to go out we would use the boat much less.  As it is, we go out a lot of evenings, and when we're done we pull it into our covered slip at the marina and we're done.  Sometimes on the weekends I return early the next morning and enjoy a sunrise cruise.  If I had to trailer it I don't think I do that nearly as much, if at all.
 
We live 1/2 hour drive from lake. The first year we had a small toon and trailered every Saturday/Sunday. Now we have a dock and yes, I worry, but that's what I have insurance for. We don't have electric n our docks, so that doesn't concern me. Storms are the only thing I worry about, but again, that's what I pay $140/year insurance for. We are loaded and uncovered/underway in less than 10 minutes unless I have to fuel up. I don't miss trailering at all. 
 
I had boats on trailers for almost 30 years. But after we built our houses in Ocean City, the Benny lives on the lift 24/7/365. I absolutely think having the boat in the back yard is GREAT! We jump on the boat multiple times a day when we're at the house,because it's so easy to come and go.Especially nice when we come back at 1:30 in the morning And I don't need to worry at all about the boat being safe. I have a wireless cam watching the boat. It sends an alert if there's any movement behind our house to my phone when we're not there. As Semp stated, !0 minutes and were on the water.
 
Our lake place is right on the lake but it  is an army core of engineer lake so no private docks. Army Core owns the land a minimum 100 yards from the lake. It is all wooded. We have our boat at a marina 15 minutes from the cottage in a covered slip with a lift. I would not boat with a slip  not on the lake. I grew up on a  lake and the boat my Dad owned was kept right in the water off the dock.  I never worry with where my boat is now in 42 years with homes on a lake I have never had any issues because the boat is on the lake.  I would hate putting in and out all the time and would never use it as much. 
 
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I have to agree 100% with you Alicedream, there is nothing better than having the boat right at your shoreline in front of your home, personally it is my scenario. The convenience of just walking from your home and deck to the dock is amazing. But, for some as you stated that convenience is not available. The scenario you described 15 minutes to a slip is so much better than a 2 hour drive hauling the "Benny" on a trailer in heavy traffic waiting for the public access ramp to clear for you to enter. No matter what the scenario we are fortunate beyond our dreams to be on the water enjoying nature at its best. 


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                          So Thankful To Be Living My Dream 
 
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I'm about 300 - 500 yards from our ramp (half of a block away). I don't have the cabin on the lake (yet), but we do what we have to do. It's not a hassle to get the boat in and out of the water. It would be very nice to be able to just walk down the pier and start up the boat for a cruise, but we manage. We still take it out at every opportunity. I really don't think it's any worse than what some of you describe in other threads, where you have build ups of algae and other grime that you have to do some major cleaning of, boats hitting yours at the marina, property getting stolen out of it at marinas, people posing to take pictures in your or someone else's boat. electrical problems eating up the toons because some fool left a power cord in the water, other boats coming past your person dock at high speeds to create waves that shove your boat into the dock, having to take out or move your personal docks when the water level is taken down during the winters. Let's see if I missed anything. :D    Well, it probably all evens out somewhere. My wife and I are still planning on retiring in a house/cabin on a mountain lake, somewhere, so I get what some are saying about the convenience (some of the time).  
 
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CapKaz said:
After reading about all the tribulations of having a boat on the water I have to wonder, is it really that much more convenient and cost worthy to have a boat on the water than keeping it dry and safe in a boat barn. Electrical corrosion, lake level variations, storms and wind, etc, etc, etc. I know it would be nice to be able to go out the door and down to the dock and board, start and cruise of an evening. But for those that do not live on a lake I just don't see it as that much more convenient. I think if I lived on a lake I would want to be able to pull the boat up a ramp into a dry barn. Leaving anything on or just above the water seems risky to me. Just my humble opinion.
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It's still worth living water front even though it is a lot more work/maintenance. I will only live directly on the water going forward (that's the goal at least). There is a tremendous amount of entertainment that comes with being waterfront aside from the convenience of being steps away from taking the boat out.


Fishing. Have a spare 15 minutes before dinner? No problem. Make some casts from the dock.


Swimming.


Hearing the sounds of the waves lapping against the shore


Sitting on the deck and over looking the water.


Sunrises and sunsets


Also, having out little one we wouldn't be able to boat at all if we had to load up, head to the ramp, launch without having to turn around and head back home for naps etc.
 
lakeliving said:
Also, having out little one we wouldn't be able to boat at all if we had to load up, head to the ramp, launch without having to turn around and head back home for naps etc.
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Until last year, we had to launch every time we went out. I'm here to say that we raised our three kids on that boat, usually eight to ten hours at a time. So, where there's a will, there's a way. :)
 
I lived through both worlds: wet slip and trailering.  I wish I had the money (and space) to afford a wet slip AND have a trailer, but I don't.  There are so many lessons that I've learned in the past 5 years!  Knowing what I know now...


1. If I could only do wet slip OR trailer/storage, I'd choose trailer/storage - in my case.  Down here where we live in Florida, there are SO MANY places to go with the boat.  When we had the wet slip, if we wanted to take the boat down to the Keys, it required so much planning and luck on weather.  It was a two-day trip to get down there (assuming you had a good weather window), and once there, you are at the mercy of the weather in getting home.  It's not like we could have just left the boat there if I had to get back to work on Monday.  By having the boat on the trailer, we can go to the Keys any time we want to.  If we have bad weather, we don't go out in the boat.  But we've taken it down 3 times now in the last 10 months, and while the weather would not have been good enough to sail the boat down, it certainly was good enough once we got there.


2.  If you're going to keep your boat in the water, you've got to make sure you wipe the pontoons regularly - especially when in warm saltwater.  The marine growth - even with bottom paint - will quickly overwhelm you.  Down here in the summer, if you let it go for 2 weeks, you've got a mess to scrape off the bottom.  It wasn't bad when it was just the dual ellipticals, but when we put the SPS on, it was EXTREMELY difficult to get underneath and clean those pontoons - especially the center and inboard sides of the pontoons.  It just wasn't fun.  And you had to do it.  Mother Nature was going to let crap grow whether you wanted it to or not.


3. If you're going to keep your boat in the water, make sure you keep up with your anodes - whether they are zinc or aluminum - ESPECIALLY if you're in saltwater.  As part of your routine maintenance, you need to check them regularly.  What an expensive lesson this has been for me.  And speaking of which, if you're in a marina, make sure you don't have stray current loose in the water.


4. If you get a wet slip, get yourself a dock box.  It was wonderful having a dock box right there at the boat.  Very easy to just move anything you need 15' from the box to the boat.


5. If you have a wet slip, check your mooring lines regularly for chafing.  We had a cement dock with outdoor decking planks on the finger peers.  Just the slow, gradual movement of the boat (tides, currents, wakes) would slowly eat through the lines.  And of course you know they'll let go at the worst time possible.  Now you've got your boat banging around the dock (or your slip neighbor's boat).  Not good.  Something that I did that really worked out great was to purchase a roll of Black 1050 Denier Coated Ballistic Nylon - aka Kevlar.  I bought a bolt of this fabric (4' x 30' I think), and made 4' x 8" strips, sewed them together to make a sleeve that I ran my dock lines through.  The fabric took all the wear and tear from the cement dock, and kept my lines like new.  Check your mooring lines regularly.


So I guess in our case, there was really no comparison: by trailering the boat, I eliminate a LOT of work for me, not to mention this mess that I find myself in now.
 
No doubt if I lived on a lake that had lake front access I would be all over having a dock with a boat house and lift. But it would have to be my full time residence close to work,( wait I would want to be retired), on a lake that never got rough, was crystal clear, year round perfect swimming temperatures, outstanding fishing, scantily clad, ok I woke up!! Just a nice lake.
 
Pittsburg,


Couldn't agree more. We love the season change here in MO. I always enjoy your pics.


Sorry for the thread highjack!
 
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