www.iFourWinns.com

You saying that "The lifts attach to the docks," If you use the link from my last posting and look at the set up of mains & fingers, my next statment will make more since.

The club is set up with 2 slips share a finger, this saves space & money. If the lifts were installed, now you would need a finger on each side and one that can support the wight of the boats to ether side. Most saltwater boats are bigger. Its not uncommon for a 32 or 34' foor boat to wight in at 15,000 to 25,000lbs. The sail boat a few slips down is a Hans Christain, a blue water boat and at 38' is 30,000lbs.

So now this finger needs to support all that wight from the 2 boats, rathen than the wight of 4 or 5 people getting onto there boats. There can not be anything over these slips too, because of flying bridges on some power boaters or even outrigging and mast from the sailboats.

The cost is too high, we are at $23 per foot, something like lifts would put us in the $125 to god knows were per foot.

Make more sense there.. Our docks all have at least a standard width finger, and a mini-finger... My boat is one of those 16,500# ones, so I'm very much aware of the weights, but the weight of the boat shouldn't effect the docks as far as the lift is concerned (at least our style of lifts anyway). The weight of the boat is supported by the lift (and yes, we have 32' cruisers on lifts here). The only added weight to the dock from using a lift would be when it's in the down position and hanging from the docks.. None the less, I understand the issues you're talking about with the way your slips are configured..

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

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... [/quote]

You saying that "The lifts attach to the docks," If you use the link from my last posting and look at the set up of mains & fingers, my next statment will make more since.

The club is set up with 2 slips share a finger, this saves space & money. If the lifts were installed, now you would need a finger on each side and one that can support the wight of the boats to ether side. Most saltwater boats are bigger. Its not uncommon for a 32 or 34' foor boat to wight in at 15,000 to 25,000lbs. The sail boat a few slips down is a Hans Christain, a blue water boat and at 38' is 30,000lbs.

So now this finger needs to support all that wight from the 2 boats, rathen than the wight of 4 or 5 people getting onto there boats. There can not be anything over these slips too, because of flying bridges on some power boaters or even outrigging and mast from the sailboats.

The cost is too high, we are at $23 per foot, something like lifts would put us in the $125 to god knows were per foot.[/quote]

Make more sense there.. Our docks all have at least a standard width finger, and a mini-finger... My boat is one of those 16,500# ones, so I'm very much aware of the weights, but the weight of the boat shouldn't effect the docks as far as the lift is concerned (at least our style of lifts anyway). The weight of the boat is supported by the lift (and yes, we have 32' cruisers on lifts here). The only added weight to the dock from using a lift would be when it's in the down position and hanging from the docks.. None the less, I understand the issues you're talking about with the way your slips are configured..

[/quote]

With your setup as I mention, boats with flybridgs, outriggers & sail boats are not going to fit. You mentioned the levels in the lake changes, by how much do they change?

Yes, with my particular slips setup, a fly-bridge wouldn't even work without a lift... We do however have, in my marina, a few docks with much taller roofs, and I know of at least one Carver style boat with a fly-bridge under that roof, that is on a lift.. Personally, with a boat that size, a lift is a bit more of an expense than I want to mess with, as aposed to what it would cost to bottom paint it, but to each there own.. Our lake levels change based on rainfall, and the Corps particular feeling that week.. Can stay pretty steady through a season, or change 6' or more over a weekend with a locally heavy rainfall, and the damn remaining opened minimally (as the Corp will tell you, we're a flood control lake first, recreation second).. Our docks all float, but are anchored throughout the system to the bottom by cables, and on winch systems to be manually adjusted as the lake levels change.. We don't have any boats running out-riggers here, and of course a sailboat just woudn't work in most instances in a covered slip.. Admittedly, our docks probably wouldn't fair very well in a rough water environment, but if level changes are all there is to worry about, then our style should work if you have the manpower, or the money to use powered winch systems, to make your required daily tide adjustments.. Anyway, the OP's post says he's at Cumberland, so his waters are pretty similar to what we have here, and I assume, his docks are probably a pretty similar system as well.. For his boat, a lift would be an ideal alternative to trailering, or leaving her floating in the water for the season, if you had the extra money to float for the one time expense, and the year round cost of having something in the slip.. We get charged for the slip, and the boat length in it, if you have a lift, you don't get charged anything extra for having it there. They haven't even charged us for leaving them there over the winter with no boat in the slip until this year, and then, it was only like $30 for the winter months.. My boat is 35' LOA (with platform, and they count everything) in a 33' slip, and they allow us to go up to 36' in that slip and pay an overage charge. My slip rent for the summer season here (April - October) is $3100+ and I'm shoe horned in there.. Our next upgrade flat ain't gonna work there, and we'll have to move up to a bigger dock/slip..

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

$23/foot? That's amazing! I have never heard of a slip so cheap! Slips at the marina near my house are $228/foot for under 26' and $250 for over.
http://www.hyannismarina.com/dockage/seasonal/

Waiting for a municipal slip...but the wait list is 30+ years right now!

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1988 215 Sundowner 5.7L OMC

Thats because I belong to a yacht club. Club are non-profit and all members MUST put in 8hrs a year.

Does that mean a 10' boat would cost $2, 280 per month?......or is that for the year?

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2005 Four Winns Funship 214 VP 5.7/Duo Prop

+2 I have the 220 and once it's at the sandbar or at the marina everyone jumps off and enjoys the island or the tiki bar. I consider it my fun taxi to get to where I want to go on the water albeit a very nice head turner that it is, I don't see any use for it as a hangout at a marina.

That's from April to October.

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1988 215 Sundowner 5.7L OMC

$1325/year is dirt cheap! I slipped my boat a few summers ago and it was about $300/month for a similar size slip. I loved the convenience of driving down, pulling the cover off and going out for a cruise.
It was not without some downsides, though: I did get a lot of growth on the hull (saltwater) - even with a boat cleaner scrubbing the hull every 2 weeks. Also, my boat cover was not really appropriate as a mooring cover - it comes down too far on the sides (trailering cover).....

We didn't hang out at the slip to socialize, and obviously we didn't sleep on the boat, but even so I loved it and I may do it again this summer.

Erik

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2002 Funship 214
VP 5.7 GX Si
2003 Tahoe

Its different where I am, even people with small boats like mine socialize on the moorings. We hang out and use our dinghies as little water taxis and visit one another. Since its a private beach assn, we are all neighbors. No big deal marina with big bills, we do it for little money and have fun all summer. We get a lot of use out of our 10 Walker Bay with the little 'Zuki 2.5 hp 4 stroke. The private beach assn membership is 270 a year, bottom paint is cheap if you do it yourself and 400 or so if you have it done, the mooring is 600 to buy and lasts for a while before you have to change the chains etc. Ability to use boat anytime I want...priceless....5 min and I am there...and I can check on it from the back window. Like I said if I had to trailer around here, no boat for me, too much trouble and stress.

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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

I trailer because of the 2 sides to the Cape. Also, we live .3 mi from a boat ramp for Nantucket Sound side, and have an annual pass for the Cape Cod Bay side. It works for us. We might try to bring it over to NY Harbor some day and see the city from the water! Are you far from NYC?

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1988 215 Sundowner 5.7L OMC

All I do is wet slip, I don't and never will own a tow vehicle.

If it's fresh water, change anodes out to magnesium. Make sure the boat has a good automatic bilge at least 1100gph. If you don't visit weekly invest in a charging system of some kind (solar, shore power). Expect to pull the boat out every 6 months to wax the hull, acid wash the waterline, and possibly repaint the outdrive. Rustoleum holds up better than VP's paint BTW, but on areas where it has worn to aluminum you will need to use the proper aluminum primer first.

Get a full custom cover and have it modified so you can put the dock lines through it to the cleats. The sun will do more damage in 1 month then what the water will do in 10 years.

I never bottom painted a fresh water boat it's not needed, but if you're worried an epoxy barrier paint would help hold back any blisters. I don't use either and in a year I might get one blister. That's to be expected even on trailer boats so who cares. The only boats that have real blister issues are ones that are quality control issues. A proper gelcoat boat shouldn't get much of any, but you will get some. That's just the fact of owning a boat. Learn to ignore the little ones.

Also the boat will get ants and spiders. Invest in some decent pest control. Oh... and a gas caddy

Other than that, enjoy!! Nothing like going out on the boat whenever you want!

Check out my Rick's Mods thread, I just updated it with a picture of my boat that's been in the water for 6 months.

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1981 Columbia 8.7
2015 Yamaha FZR - 87mph - sold
2006 Yamaha GP1300R - sold
2003 Chaparral 215 SSI - sold
2009 Stingray 195CS - sold
2000 Four Winns H180 - sold
1976 O'day Daysailer II - sold
Rick's Four Winns H180 Mods/Upgrade Thread

We are about 1/3 of the way out on LI Sound from NYC, too long of a trip in a small boat. The NYC thing is interesting but you have to be careful with the tides, currents and the other water traffic, there are barges, many water taxis, etc. But someone else on here did it in a boat your size so it is do able if the conditions are OK for it.

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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