[C320-list] Mooring or Slip

[Andrew Santangelo]

Ahhh - the great mooring vs. slip debate

I have to say I am a boat slip person for many reasons:

* Very easy for crew to get on and off
* I am always training new crew.  Dock is better for training for  
newbies.
* Guests - easy for them to use the facilities, and even that last  
minute run to the head (vs. filling up the holding tank on the boat  
too quickly).
* Kids - easy for kids.  Easy access to the play ground, stores, and  
aforementioned head.
* Easier cleaning the boat.  Crew also helps cleaning boat - having  
access to dock, hose(s) etc. makes life so much easier.
* Dock AC power is fine and very cheap.
* Pressure water off dock is fine - no need to wear down the boat's  
pressure water pump.
* Easy access to laundry facilities.
* No need to use launch/dingy all the time.
* Easier to have marina and fellow slip mates monitor and check on my  
boat.
* Easier for boat servicing by myself and others
* Easier loading/unloading gear.
* Never had a problem docking.  Never a concern.

Now a few more comments:

* The marinas I have been at have been very quiet.  Even 4th of July -  
by midnight it is dead.  I use and live on my boat a lot and to be  
honest most of the time the marinas are dead silent except for sea  
gulls and such.  Which adds to my surprise statement - there was some  
concern keeping my boat at Pier 39 on Fisherman's Wharf in downtown  
San Francisco.  The crowds, the noise and the mayhem.  The truth be  
told - at the marina it is very quiet.  Shockingly quiet.  I would  
never know I am in a big city.  As a matter of fact, in the morning  
going to work it seems very few people are in SFO.  Does any one work  
before 10:00 AM there????  Also does anyone use their boats there?   
There are a few live a boards, quiet and very nice, but otherwise the  
boats just sit and do nothing.    So no one will convince me it is  
loud and rowdy at the marinas I have been at.  Rarely see any of it.

* Cost.  Yes moorings are cheap, but slips are not that bad.  I pay  
under $400/month and it includes $3/day for parking in downtown SFO.   
That is everything - water, electric, slip.  Heck, one cannot park  
that cheap in SFO!  In Michigan it averaged about $400/month and that  
included the yacht club membership. Either way, this cost is not bad  
for all the added perks, convenience and time savings.

Lastly, I have been a die hard sailor for 26 seasons, and for me the  
slip is the only way to go.  Do I anchor and explore, certainly.  But  
the main base is a slip.  Keeps it easy for crew, family, friends,  
newbies and "Dawn Treader".

Best Regards,
Andrew

C320 "Dawn Treader"
#333