[C320-list] Slip or Mooring - The Former Wins for me

[Robert E. Sloat]

I enjoy the discussion on slips v. moorings.  It is as interesting as the occasional discussion on the correct lubricating oil to use in your diesel.  There are incorrect oils and the Yanmar factory service manual has four pages dedicated to choosing the correct one for your operating environment.  

Location, supply, demand and price are the factors ending up putting you in a slip or a mooring.  Here's my situation for the Lake Michigan crowd on the south west shore.

When I worked in the old Amoco building on Chicago's lakefront, the moorings at Chicago's Monroe Harbor were interesting.  On occasion, after a big northeaster, we would walk down to the lakefront at lunch and watch the salvage operator floating some poor sailboat that had broken loose from its mooring buoy and ended up at the south west corner of the harbor near the aquarium.  It was neat to see the recovery operation, but a sad day for the owner and boat.  To boot, there is serious environmental liability for a poor boat owner whose boat sinks discharging diesel into the harbor.

The harbor launch there got backed up on the weekends and holidays which seemed to take away from the event of getting away from it all on the water.  When I kept my previous boat in the Chicago Harbor system is was at a slip a Burnham Harbor near McCormick Place which is basically downtown Chicago.  No waiting to get to the boat was a benefit.

Now living in a suburb north of Chicago near the lake, a slip at Waukegan Harbor on Lake Michigan is what I have.  Sailing life is good with this set up.  24/7 electrical and running water and no issues of breaking loose or some other goof's boat breaking loose and damaging mine.  Batteries are stock 4Ds and the only concern with power is on the cruises over more than a few days if on the hook.  I just walk to my slip, unhook the power and dock lines, open the thru hulls, take off the sail cover and back out.  Less than ten minutes later the sails are up and sailing takes place.  On returning to the slip, your skills can be tested, but that is part of the fun factor of slip residency.  Hooking up to a mooring deprives one of this experience which can be a good thing for some.  Cleaning and maintenance are a snap with dockside running water and occasional topsides waxing with an electrical buffer is a snap.  The Harbor has 24 hour security and 10 pm quiet time which in 15 years as a resident has never been an issue on our pier or most of the others near us.  Showers and rest rooms a 2 minute walk from my slip.  

Cocktail parties are a snap on a slip with less risk of the inebriated slipping into the water when roaming along the pier rather than boarding boats out in the mooring field and at night most likely.

A 36 foot slip at Waukegan with power and water cost around $2800/season which averages a little over  $400/month on the basis of a 7 month season (April thru October). The first two months contribute to the denominator and not much sailing takes place in April and aprt of May due to the weather and a fairly cold lake.  If you want a slip in the newer floating dock section of the harbor, it is a little more.  For those not familiar with Waukegan Harbor, it is about 32 miles north of downtown Chicago.

We don't dump our sewage into the water we sail on so there are at least 4 pumpout stations at the gas dock conveniently located in the same harbor along with many gasoline and diesel pumps.

A downside to this location is lack of good restaurants within a few blocks of the Harbor.  There are a few decent ones within a 10 minute drive however.


Bob Sloat
Savannah Hull 894