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Should I dock at the marina?

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dougwhite

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Lake Keowee, SC
I'm thinking about renting "frog hooks" at my local marina. I'm looking for opinions. Worried about leaving the boat in the water, but would make it easier to not have to tow, and all that goes with that.
 
I did the math on the same dilemma. I keep my boat in dry storage at my marina but have to drive the truck the 2 hours each way to launch. I have a company car for which I don't pay fuel, maintenance, etc.

$900 for yearly dry storage fees and $1200 in fuel for the truck makes it a no brainier for me.

If I were to tow all the way down every weekend, I'd go broke!
 
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Doug White.... what are "frog hooks"? If your boat is relatively new I would not want to leave it in the water. Also if you need to pull it out in the spring to clean the gunk off the tubes, why not store it. Just my opinion and everybodies situation is different. Good luck whichever way you go. Steve
 
I don't even own a trailer. I live two blocks from the marina and I keep it there. It costs me approximately $1800/year ($150/month), for which I get dockage for as long a season as I can manage (Generally mid-April through mid-November) and at the end of the season the marina pulls it out, cleans it, winterizes it, "blue-tops" it and stores it. Next spring they open it back up, clean it again and put it back in the water for me.

It's all about personal preference, but I gotta tell you...

I was out on the water today, and we're talking mid November in Ohio, and I had the lake practically all to myself. This weekend is supposed to be beautiful and I intend to enjoy it. If I had to trailer out for just a few hours on the lake and go through the before and after chores, I probably wouldn't go.

Will your logs get dirty being in the water? Sure. But there's no law that says I can't have the marina pull it out and power wash them at mid-summer.

Will they get stained over time? Yes. But that's going to happen anyway. The only way to keep logs shiny is to never put them in the water. And you'll STILL have to polish them on a regular basis.

Side note...

And yes, I know this isn't fair, but neither is life.

Two guys are looking for a new boat.

One guy trailers his boat, gets fuel at the gas station and supplies at WalMart; rarely if ever spending a dime at the marina.

The other guy docks & stores with the marina, buys his fuel there and spends his boating money there.

Which of those two guys is going to get the best deal on a new boat?
 
I'm going to try the hooks. Don't want to "waste" all the time to get pulled to the lake this year. This is our first full season with the boat, and want to make the most of it! I also think I'd like to go for some sunset cruises. Much easier to do without towing home.
 
just an update, I'm on the hooks at the marina are really enjoy having the boat at the ready. downside is it is getting dirty already, so I might pull it out mid season to bring home for a big cleaning. Went out the other night with my girls for just a few hours! Wouldn't have done that if I had to trailer it!!!
 
Okay, I have a question, I am ridiculously non trusting of other people. As in I always worry that someone will come aboard and steal all my stuff. Do you guys leave everything in the boat? Ever had any issues? Am I being over paranoid? Just feels crazy to spend this much on a boat and the only "protection" is a little snap. Maybe you guys just live in great areas? Haha
 
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BulldogsCadillac said:
Okay, I have a question, I am ridiculously non trusting of other people. As in I always worry that someone will come aboard and steal all my stuff. Do you guys leave everything in the boat? Ever had any issues? Am I being over paranoid? Just feels crazy to spend this much on a boat and the only "protection" is a little snap. Maybe you guys just live in great areas? Haha
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I don't leave much on the boat. The dock seems to be active, and other boaters know who "isn't" from the dock. Never say never, but so far so good.

I do want to buy a locking gas cap! A few things we lock under the helm.

I'll tell you, however, not pulling the boat every time you want to go out is nice!!!

Doug
 
BulldogsCadillac said:
Okay, I have a question, I am ridiculously non trusting of other people. As in I always worry that someone will come aboard and steal all my stuff. Do you guys leave everything in the boat? Ever had any issues? Am I being over paranoid? Just feels crazy to spend this much on a boat and the only "protection" is a little snap. Maybe you guys just live in great areas? Haha
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We keep our boat in a dry storage yard at our marina. It's about a 20-25 minute drive from our house. We just hook up the trailer, launch the boat, have a good time, put the boat back on the trailer, towel it off, put the cover back on and put it back in the gated yard. We can practically do this in our sleep! Haven't had any trouble or theft in about 17 years at this marina..............
 
dougwhite said:
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I don't leave much on the boat. The dock seems to be active, and other boaters know who "isn't" from the dock. Never say never, but so far so good.

I do want to buy a locking gas cap! A few things we lock under the helm.

I'll tell you, however, not pulling the boat every time you want to go out is nice!!!

Doug
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Hey Doug,

I recently did a lot of searching for a locking gas cap and finally made a purchase I am very happy with. Try these out www.tanklock.com they are by far the most secure boat fuel locks I found.
 
I have kept my boat in dry storage every day since being new. As others stated with my location its better to leave it at the marina (dry storage) than to trailer it. When I get there and sign in the staff hooks up to the boat and carriers us to the water, they also get fuel for me and put it on my tab. When the day is complete just call the marina and they pull the trailer down to the water for me to drive right on and get her out of the water. All this for $80.00 a month, beats the heck of filling up the truck and towing it also a plus not having to worry about construction on the interstate to pull the boat through. Just my two cents worth. :D
 
Frog Hooks Update: It's working well, however, the wave action is causing some banging up on my eyelets. Next year I'm going to get a regular slip to tie up in. I'm worried that my eyes might break. I guess I'm on the active side of the marina, and we get a lot of waves.
 
What are Frog Hooks ? Pics ? Gerry
 
"Googled" them. Little ramps with a flip-up hinge on the dock end. They look like they are mostly used in stern-in or bow-in docking applications. I guess they could be used in "parallel" applications. They seem a little rigid to me. Gerry
 
I love my valet service! I pull up, walk to my boat, which usually beats me to the water, carry a knapsack and cooler. Its gassed up for me, and at the end of the day, I dock and leave as quickly as I came. I drop the dock hand who is pulling me out $10 to cover it, and I am off!

If there is a downside for me, its not having g it in my yard to tinker with. Maybe that's an upside. Hmmmm.....
 
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