Dry Sailing vs. Mooring

[fritz3000g]

This question largely applies to smaller trailerable CDs. I'm wondering what you consider to be the advantages vs. disadvantages of:

• Storing your boat on a mooring.
• Storing your boat on the hard, mast-up, at a marina with a launch ramp that you can use with a tongue extension.

My thinking thus far is as follows:

Pro-Dry-Sail:

• Don't have to store or transport a dinghy or kayak to get the boat.
• Easy access for repairs, both for me and for the marina
• Access to power (even if only from an inverter connected to my car when I'm there)
• Less wear on the rig
• No need for bottom paint
• No need for solar battery charger to keep bilge pump working
• No risk of crashing into other boats
• Access to bathrooms
• Easier to trailer to another location

Pro Mooring

• Can work on engine with access to cooling water, without purchasing a transient slip
• Easier for multi-day trips where each day ends at the pin
• At many locations self-launch dry sail is not an option.
• Don't need to own or maintain a trailer.

Same

• Total price can be higher for either depending on many factors, but typically not by much. Both are usually about 1/3 the cost of a slip in a given area.
• Time to departure is similar, between 30 min - 1 hour

[Speedgraphic]

Are you talking about a Typhoon or 22? I just can't picture launching a full keel boat multiple times in a Summer. Sure maybe you can do it mast-up but I feel like the exercise would take half a day for each procedure at minimum. Why would it be less wear on the rig to put it on the hard? Wouldn't you still be leaving it rigged?

Maybe it's because Maine has such a short season, but I want to launch once and be done with it. Though if you're talking abut a Typhoon it's not totally crazy.

[Jerry Hammernik]

I launched my previous CD a 25 from a ramp. Once a season was more than enough for me. You may be able to streamline the process but if there are other boats launching and you have to wait your turn that's lost time you never get back. Boats are made for the water. I believe in maximizing that time.

[fritz3000g]

Why would it be less wear on the rig to put it on the hard? Wouldn't you still be leaving it rigged?

When it's in the water the boat will rock back and forth with the swell. This puts strain on the rig as it tensions and untensions. On the hard, there's a little bit of this from the wind, but the effect is much less.

Are you talking about a Typhoon or 22? I just can't picture launching a full keel boat multiple times in a Summer. Sure maybe you can do it mast-up but I feel like the exercise would take half a day for each procedure at minimum.
Maybe it's because Maine has such a short season, but I want to launch once and be done with it. Though if you're talking abut a Typhoon it's not totally crazy.

I have a CD 25D. I'm in Wisconsin, so have a similar season. The boat will be at least 90 minutes from my house, so I won't be going out more than a couple times a month. When I do go out, it'll be for 2 days minimum.

I launched my previous CD a 25 from a ramp. Once a season was more than enough for me. You may be able to streamline the process but if there are other boats launching and you have to wait your turn that's lost time you never get back. Boats are made for the water. I believe in maximizing that time.

Fascinating. I'll describe the process I have in mind. Please tell me what I'm missing.

Assumptions

• The launch ramp is at least 5 ft deep at the end
• The launching area isn't completely packed, so nobody will be mad if I take 30 minutes. In my area I've typically found this to be true except for holidays.
• I'll be leaving the marina overnight, so will have gear and food

Steps:

• Drive up and attach trailer to car. Crank up trailer wheel. (5 min)
• Climb aboard on the hard and check engine (oil, gear oil, filters, pan, belts) (8 min)
• Remove sail cover and detatch winch strap (3 min)
• Drive boat to ramp and chock wheels (2 min)
• Crank down trailer wheel and detatch vehicle (2 min)
• Extend and tighten tongue extension, crank down trailer wheel, and re-attach to vehicle (7 min)
• Back into water till boat floats (2 min)
• Pull boat into position, tie dock lines to pier (lines and fenders left in place since last time), and start engine (3 min)
• Pull trailer out of water and back into its spot, and loosen/retract tongue extension (5 min)
• Load gear and passengers onto boat (10 min)

All of this adds up to 47 minutes. It's 15 minutes longer than it takes me to raise the mast and launch my current sailboat (18" draft) because of the tongue extension. On a steep 20-degree launch ramp of the kind they use with hydraulic trailers to launch big boats, I wouldn't need the tongue extension and could shave off 15 minutes.

This seems like about the same amount of time it would take me to get the dinghy in the water, get to the boat, tie up the dinghy, check the engine, get the boat to the fuel dock, and load gear and passengers.

What am I missing?

[ghockaday]

Launching will get very old very quickly. Especially with a full keel boat. If you are in tidal water the aggravation will be greater. Concrete ramps are only so long and can be backed off of and hard to get back on.

[fritz3000g]

Concrete ramps are only so long and can be backed off of and hard to get back on.

Some are long enough. My first step would be reconnaissance, to determine if a given ramp is long enough with a boat hook. I know several on Lake Michigan that are.

If I were regularly going to new places I hadn't been before to launch, I could see the reconnaissance (and/or calling around) getting old. For the moment I don't plan to do that.

If you are in tidal water the aggravation will be greater.

Great point. That's not an issue for me. Water levels on Lake Michigan fluctuate year to year, but not daily. In low water years I'd be more limited, and mooring might be preferable.

Launching will get very old very quickly.

Getting out to a mooring seems like it might also get old quickly.

[Ben Miller]

Launching will get very old very quickly.

Getting out to a mooring seems like it might also get old quickly.

Depends on the mooring, I guess, but I think you're underestimating the hassle of launching and hauling the boat every time. In my situation (an in-harbor mooring at a Lake Michigan marina) this is the process of getting to my mooring:

• Park the car
  Pull the dinghy off the rack and drop it in the water (my dinghy is light enough I can do this single-handed)
  Load whatever I need in the dinghy (typically just a water bottle) and install the oars
  Row out to the boat. I've never timed myself, but if it takes longer than 5 minutes I'd be shocked.
  Tie the dinghy off to the mooring ball (or the boat) and board
  Reverse those steps when I'm done with my sail

You seem like a very organized guy. I'd suggest writing out a similar process for launching your boat and see how they compare.

Any additional wear and tear on your rig is going to be negligible--they're designed for this.

Here's a pro of being on a mooring: Sitting on my boat while at the mooring is quite pleasurable all on its own. Nicer (in my opinion) than if I were in a slip, and way, way better than if it was in a hot parking lot.

[fritz3000g]

Here's a pro of being on a mooring: Sitting on my boat while at the mooring is quite pleasurable all on its own. Nicer (in my opinion) than if I were in a slip, and way, way better than if it was in a hot parking lot.

That does sound really nice! And I agree that your process would be faster than mine, at least if you're not transporting a lot of gear or many people.

I think you're underestimating the hassle of launching and hauling the boat every time.

When you look at the process I wrote about in an above post, do you think I'm missing any steps or underestimating how long any of them will take?

I've been launching a trailerable sailboat for 4 years now, including raising the mast, and so far I haven't gotten sick of it. After all that practice (it's basically muscle memory now), it takes me less than 30 minutes from arriving at the lot to when I depart. I realize that it'll take longer with a CD, but (once optimized) I'm really curious how much longer.

[Ben Miller]

Ah, there it is, sorry, I must have skipped over that part of your post. You're possibly missing a step where you unhitch your tow vehicle from the trailer and go park it elsewhere, but that's not a big item in the grand scheme of things. Unless your mooring is a 30-minute row from shore, I think it's clear which option has fewer steps and takes less time. I think you already know this, though. If keeping the boat on the hard was an easy option, or even in the same ballpark, more people would do it.

If you have a lot of gear (or people) to put on the boat, the shortcut is to row out just yourself and then motor back to the dock for easy loading.

Here's another pro/con: If you launch every time, you always need to drive your big tow vehicle. If you're on a mooring, you can show up to the harbor in any vehicle.

[fritz3000g]

If keeping the boat on the hard was an easy option, or even in the same ballpark, more people would do it.

At the ramp I typically launch at here in Madison, half the parking lot is trailerable sailboats. About half of those have long tongue extensions due to fixed keels.

I'd been assuming that the reason more CD owners didn't do it was because they don't have trailers, or don't have access to a deep ramp.

Your arguments are making sense, and I'm more seriously considering a mooring than I was before you shared them. Especially the bit about not bringing the tow vehicle. If I'm up in Sturgeon Bay (3 hr drive) that'll save a lot of gas.

[tjr818]

I have only kept one of my earlier boats on a trail and used the dry storage method. I am all for it but, I am trying to imagine the problems with a deep keel boat It sounds as though you have plenty of experience doing this with other boats. I am trying to envision sinking the trailer far enough to get the CD back on, you would need guides on the trailer fore and aft that are tall enough to be seen when the trailer is submerged. You need to be able to see those guides from the cockpit while tending the throttle and gear selector. Will you be able to see and access the trailer winch in the deep water? A cross wind will cause lots of problems. We were doing this on a river bank launch ramp so current was particular problem. With ropes fore and aft and a few helpers we usually managed to retrieve the boat with few problems, without helpers you can run into some really frustrating conditions. What happens if you want to go out solo?

[Bill Goldsmith]

One of the Pro's for drysail in your circumstance is less worry about the boat while you are 90 minutes away. Conversely, a Con for the mooring. On the other hand, when you multiply the number of times you haul/block and launch, you multiply the possibility for bumps and scratches. This is a calculus that only you can answer after considering all your pros and cons.

For me, I wouldn't even factor in wear and tear on the rig, as the CD rigging is very stout. Especially in fresh water, I would not see much of a difference drysailed mast up versus a mooring.

[fritz3000g]

I am trying to envision sinking the trailer far enough to get the CD back on, you would need guides on the trailer fore and aft that are tall enough to be seen when the trailer is submerged. You need to be able to see those guides from the cockpit while tending the throttle and gear selector. Will you be able to see and access the trailer winch in the deep water? A cross wind will cause lots of problems. We were doing this on a river bank launch ramp so current was particular problem. With ropes fore and aft and a few helpers we usually managed to retrieve the boat with few problems, without helpers you can run into some really frustrating conditions. What happens if you want to go out solo?

This is a great point. I'm currently planning to modify the trailer to add a keel guide so that the keel naturally slides into its spot, which will make the rest of the boat do the same. Adding guides that you can see above the water seems like a great idea too, to make sure that the keel goes into the keel guide.

I would plan to pull the boat onto the trailer from the dock using dock lines rather than driving it on. I'm planning on having the bow stop above the water with a welded ladder on the bow stop post leading to it, so that I can step across and attach the winch strap without letting go of the bow line. I might need to get wet on windy days where I can't just step onto the boat to attach it, but that's fine with me.

Regardless of whether I choose to buy a mooring this year, I'll want the have the ability to launch from a ramp and to try it this year. Maybe I'll make a video.

[ghockaday]

Sounds like you got it all worked out and are ready to go. I am happy to be in a marina as our boat is an hour away. Drive my 52 mpg tdi down, step on, throw dock lines and leave. If I had to go back to a trailer I would give up the boat. But thats just me.

[Peter Young]

Our first year with our Typhoon I was too late in the season to secure a mooring or a slip at the municipal marina at any price, ...so trailer launched at a nearby but not so convenient ramp. I got better through the summer, but the time associated with transporting, raising the mast, launching, returning the car to the parking area and then having to plan to reverse the process at the end of the day really cut into already limited sailing time especially as I frequently solo. And the ramp was crowded at the end of the day. And so made for fewer outings.

Now I have a slip at the bare-bones municipal marina. Trailer launching is doable, especially if you can leave your rigged boat nearby, but the convenience of simply raising sail means an enormous increase in time on the water for me and many more times when I can simply head out for a short sail at the end of the day before sunset, or in the early morning hours. If I lived farther away the calculation might change, but for me I have focused on whatever can make it incrementally easier to get out on the water. I have cut down on drive time, don't need to fuss with launch and retrieval, don't worry about whether the water level is high enough/ramp steep enough to make a successful launch, and don't need to dodge others at the ramp or wait. Unless you will be able to sail only occasionally, a mooring would be my choice over dry-sailing if possible.

I agree with others who note that the goal is to eliminate as many obstacles as possible that interfere with time on the water, especially for those of us who live where the sailing season is short. Spend a season on the trailer, then see if you spend any time envying those on a mooring. As costs shift, I may seek out a mooring mysel rather than the slip but in any event convenience is key and can't see dry-sailing any time soon.

Good luck.