www.iFourWinns.com

Well said!

Being in Boston, its the same thing. Bottom paint it & paint the drive. As Lou said, a dual battery setup and a on board charger. I have 3 pumps on board, 1 forward and 2 aft. Each one is wired to a differnt battery to share the load is something were to happen.

Nothing beats a slip. As some one said, "we like the night life" & we like sleeping on board.

+2

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-Tony
2016 Robalo R200 w/Yahama 200!

Previous boats:
2003 Four Winns 248 Vista - sold
1994 Sunbird Corsair 200 - sold
1980 Checkmate Predictor - sold

+1. Slipped a boat for 10 years. It was fun, but I don't miss it one bit. So in our case "once you slip, you will never go back"
is not the case. We will never go back to slipping a boat.

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One of 4 Previous (Sold) Boats:
2000 Four Winns 268 Vista

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

Its a 200 Bowrider....what kind of condo night life slip party do y'all expect him to have? I would imagine he's going on sporadic weekend trips and holidays. The slips are popular for those with big boats or those who live at lake but aren't waterfront....at least around here. Now in gigantic overcrowded cities where parking is impossible, OK.

From what I've seen...slips are where birds go to crap on boats...the flow of water around the metal frames creates corrosive conditions....with a boat that size I personally would search for a marina with a haul out service or get a lift which is pricey.

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http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o71 ... wqm355.jpg


08' H210SS
VP 5.7Gi

+1

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2009 F204 with 5.0 litre Volvo

Yeah, those overnights in sleeping bag with just the bimini up, laying on the floor will be hard to beat....

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One of 4 Previous (Sold) Boats:
2000 Four Winns 268 Vista

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

I really apprecite the opinions and insight. That is why I enjoy this forum so much.

TX H210SS sums it up pretty good for me. LC doesn't have a marina that offers haul out service. I wish they did. The nightlife at Conley bottom is more family orientated. We visit "friends with big boats" at the State Dock for the kid free weekends.

After considering a lot of the thoughts, I'm leaning more towards keeping my current set up and buying a cheap truck to leave at the boat storage and creating my own personal "in/out service"

I'm not 100% yet, but maybe I begin my slipping life when a small cruiser enters the picture in a few more years!

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-Eddie/2007 H200/5.0 Merc 220hp/2004 GMC Yukon

I dunno.... we have been slipping this boat and our previous 180 for 6 years now, no bottom paint. actually, none of the boats at our marina have bottom paint. I have had no blistering problems, and only one corrosion problem due to incorrect anodes and the early paint problem on the newer volvo drive. The merc drive with the correct anodes has been good. I think the water makeup has alot to do with the need for bottom painting or epoxy coating. Take a look at what others are doing on your lake, with regards to bottom coatings.

Now there is a bit more cleanup when the boat does come out of the water, with a scumline and some tanin staining, but that doesn't take too much effort.

We really favor the ability to pull up to the marina, hop onboard and be out on the water in minutes, rather than waiting to launch, waiting to retrieve etc.... We often just go out to the boat and sit at the marina to have coffee.

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2009 H180 w/3.0 Merc
Homebuilt Minimax Hydro
2011 Zodiac Cadet 310

kyboater - I think your thought of "I'm leaning more towards keeping my current set up and buying a cheap truck to leave at the boat storage and creating my own personal "in/out service" could very well be a good fit for you, especially if you don't mind having a cheap truck and have a place to keep truck/boat.

You should add up all the expenses with what it truly costs to keep that "cheap" truck, as there would still be insurance coverage, general maintenance, license fees, truck depreciation, etc. This assumes the "cheap" truck is only used for boat transport and launching and not for your normal day to day commuting.

As boat sizes increase and ease of trailering decrease, then slips simply just start to make much more sense.

chrisvs - As you mention even in our freshwater lakes the variation in fouling conditions are great. Our 328 Vista came from the Trent Severn Waters and it remained in a slip for six months of our boating season with no anitfouling paint with no problem. I'd have a carpeted underside of our boat in Lake St.Clair without antifouling paint.

I can see the advantages for both trailer boating and slip boating. Just depends a lot on boat size and how someone wishes to boat (and spend their $).

Have fun with your decision.

Mike.

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Current Boat
- 2001 Four Winns 328 Vista "Hour Decision"
- 2010 310 Mercury Inflatable

Previous Boats
- 30' Doral Prestancia
- 25' Doral Citation

I love the differnce opinions between the lake boater & the saltwater boaters. From lake boaters "I will sell my boat first" to saltwater boaters having no problems on being on a slip.

Slips for us saltwater boaters can be cheaper since we have more yacht clubs to pick from. Clubs all-around are cheaper since there non-profit. Bottom paint really does not hurt the resell value for us since its a normal part fo boating. A lift, you will never see one around here! We have at lest a 12' swing in the tides, plus there currents to deal with. Becuase of this our docks float, so no lifts here.

Rack storage is a popular option at a lot of marinas here too, to keep the boat at a marina, not have to trailer it, and be in and out quickly. No bottom paint necessary because the boat doesn't sit in the water. Do they have that type of setup in the lakes like out here on the coast?

Here's a picture a couple weeks ago I took at Northside Marina on Sesuit Harbor in Dennis, MA.

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1988 215 Sundowner 5.7L OMC

I have heard of rack storage but have never seen one. There are very few of them in the Boston area. I think in general, the saltwater boater owns a bigger boat. At 26 feet, I have one of the smaller boats at my club. Plus, you almost never see an open bowboat. Never mind the sail boaters we have.

This is a pick of my club from the air. 166 slips & growing/

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=win ... tedIndex=5

In my harbor we have an eclectic mix, big inboards, fishing boats of all sizes, small cruisers, bow riders, and a number of sailboats. Interestingly power is evenly divided, 1/3 OB, 1/3 inboard and 1/3 I/O. All on rotating moorings, many left in during Sandy (10 ft surge over high tide) a few broke loose and had damage. I pulled mine the Friday before the storm.

On the South Shore of the island during the storm it was completely different, in many cases the boats left in the water did better than those on land, most of the South Shore is barely above sea level so there were boats scattered everywhere, on major roads (Sunrise Highway) train tracks, in people's back yards, etc. A real mess.

To keep the birds off I use pennant flags strung along the boat, they don't like them and stay away. That is really the only other problem besides marine growth when you are in a slip or mooring. I think with the traffic here, your boat is probably safer on a rotating mooring than if you trailered it every weekend in the season.

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

Not exactly sure what this has to do with anything? Our docks at our lake all float here too because our lake changes levels throughout the year, and we have tons of people with lifts. The lifts attach to the docks, so not sure why them floating would prevent you from having a lift... Just curious about that statement is all...

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2004 Four Winns 328 Vista
1997 Larson Cabrio 290 - sold
1988 Rinker Fiesta Vee 248 - sold

Yes, this is correct, and what I meant when I said "properly bottom painted", but good to point that out..

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2004 Four Winns 328 Vista
1997 Larson Cabrio 290 - sold
1988 Rinker Fiesta Vee 248 - sold