Re: Need Input! Moored Boat VS Trailerable!
Hey Jeff:
I am a relative newbie, but I had to go through that decision making process last fall. I decided to go with the slip. Although I hate shelling out the slip fee every month, so far I am thinking it is worth the $$$. My feeling is that we would probably have used the boat VERY little if we had to trailer it every time we feel like using it, this is especially true since we got a bigger boat. In fact, I am typing from the boat now as we decided at the last minute to sleep on the boat tonight.
Despite using the boat more, there are plenty of cons, especially since we do not own a trailer. For us, the largest con is just paying the slip fee each and every month, which is $285/month at Lake Mead. Frankly, I think this is way too much, especially in today's economy with the marina having MANY empty slips (used to be a waiting list for any slip here). Second is that I am at the mercy of mechanics since my boat is in the water and I have no trailer. Third is the price of gas, which was $1.35 per gallon higher than the local gas stations. I heard it is not as bad at some of the closer marinas.
So, I guess it depends. We came to the conclusion that if we were going to get a smaller boat that is easier to trailer and basically an open-bow day boat, we would trailer for sure. With a 27+ footer at >7000 pounds, a slip is the way to go.
Like I said before, we are usually on the boat a couple of times per week. Let's see if we are still that frequent in another year after the novelty wheres off, but for now, we love just being on the boat.
Good luck!
