Covered slip or open slip ?

[baz]

I'm told that a covered slip offers a great deal of protection for the boat. Of course, a covered slip will cost more per month and I'm wondering if over the long term the extra cost saving on the wear and tear, weathering from sunshine, rain, snow, bird droppings, etc is really worth it.

Just what are the disadvantages of mooring in an open slip vs. a covered slip ?

For those that moor in an open slip can you list the things that really bug you because the boat is left in the open.

For our R-25 the cockpit is self draining so rain filling the cockpit area isn't an issue. However, I'm thinking that heavy rain and high winds could blow the rain water into other interior areas of the boat -- just how well is the boat's sealing against this sort of weather ?

Thanks in advance.... 🙂

 

[walldog]

If you have an slip with a roof over, be sure the pidgeons cannot roost under it. They will poop more your boat than the occasional gull flying over.////not grinning.

 

[baz]

If you have an slip with a roof over, be sure the pidgeons cannot roost under it. They will poop more your boat than the occasional gull flying over.////not grinning.

Right... will check that one out. I have looked at that aspect before signing up for a covered slip by looking at boats already moored in the covered slips and saw no evidence of bird droppings. The roof structure is such that birds could roost but for some odd reason I see no evidence of this either.

 

[Bruce Moore]

Our R25, Moondance, has been in the water at Elliott Bay Marina for just over a year. The entire marina is uncovered. We haven't experienced an window, door, or hatch leakage. The cockpit scuppers will clog and drain slowly occasionally, but periodic cleaning takes care of that.

Rainwater will leave the boat slightly dirty, but we're going out often enough, even in the winter, that we're hosing off/washing the boat to get the salt off anyway. More a pastime than a chore.

 

[rt11002003]

I've used covered slips for the past five years, approximately; at two different locations. The major issue has been spiders and the mess they create. Bird droppings are next on the list, but hasn't been a major issue.

The major benefit has been shelter from the effects of sun and weather, if properly oriented to the sun and the weather patterns, practically impossible to obtain together. Go for the sun orientation, get on the North side in the middle of a dock that runs East/West. Anyway, I like them and have Tuglet under one.

I've used open slips for more than 35 years. Sun damage to gelcoat and weathering of everything are the major issues.
The second major issue is water penetration and damage to laminates around any area where holes have been made in the surface for cleats, windlesses and etc. and not properly sealed. That's a subject in and of itself. The rain keeps most everything washed off, except bird droppings in the berry season, but will cause mildew in some conditions.

Always pay attention to scuppers, wherever the boat is. Osmosis blistering can be expected, sooner or later, if one keeps a boat in the water. The vinylester resin used in Ranger tugs slows it down. When you finally get blistering, repair the blisters and use a good barrier coat to seal the underwater surfaces. Bottom paint does nothing about blistering; it kills marine growth.

Covered boats in dry slips. Keep well ventilated under the cover. Expect the covers to be a pain and collect puddles along with accumulating mildew.

Aren't boats fun? :lol:


Gene

 

[baz]

...snip...
The major benefit has been shelter from the effects of sun and weather, if properly oriented to the sun and the weather patterns, practically impossible to obtain together. Go for the sun orientation, get on the North side in the middle of a dock that runs East/West. Anyway, I like them and have Tuglet under one.
...snip...
Gene

Hey, that covered slip orientation and dock position is almost exactly what I have. Great feedback. Thanks. 🙂

 

[bluebayou]

Had my R-25 in a covered slip on the California Delta for 4 months. Right away, I noticed all these little black specks all over. Asked the harbormaster, and he grinned, "spider poop, can't avoid it." Someone else's advice to look at the other boats under the roof---before signing up is very well, but in my marina, the owners all paid for laborers to wash their boats off while they were elsewhere. Something else that I figured out later, for most boats had no spider marks.
As for orientation, I did have the North side on an East-West set of berths, and I wish I didn't. Here's why: In sunny weather, it's nice to sit in the cock-pit and have a, well, cock-tail or two. If you're totally in dark shadows, it's not very cheerful; but, if you're on the South side of an East-West line of covered berths, well, you've got the best of possible worlds. Your cabin and bow are always in shade, and, late in the day, your cockpit has just enough sun to bask in.
I'm surprised that no one mentioned the effect of sun on teak wood, which the R-25 has just a bit of. That's a good argument for a covered slip as well: keep the teak out of the sun whenever possible.
Finally, the small increase in price (only about 50% or so) over an Open Slip is minor compared to the cost of replacing warped teak, mold, and other items catalogued above. I vote for a covered slip----if you can find one.
Oh, and watch out for the clearance of your radar mast, unless you don't use radar. You don't want to be hinging and un-hinging your mast every time, so, in my case, I needed 13 feet of clearance from the water to the lowest beam in the roof structure. Low Bridge.

 

[captain's cat]

Oh, and watch out for the clearance of your radar mast, unless you don't use radar. You don't want to be hinging and un-hinging your mast every time, so, in my case, I needed 13 feet of clearance from the water to the lowest beam in the roof structure. Low Bridge.

Besides the clearance, there are the tides, if you have them where you are. Make sure you clear at high tide and at a very high tide! :shock:

Charlie

 

[rt11002003]

My vertical clearance is 12 feet. I went into the slip, fat, dumb and happy the first time, thought all was good; that I'd checked everything. Then there was a loud "clang". The VHF antenna is about six inches too long to clear the roof. Fortunately, no damage. 😀

The afternoon sun in Alabama and Georgia, my two regular boating areas, is way too hot to sit in a large portion of the year. Sometimes the nights are too. Sorry, I forgot most of you are much further North than I. bluebayou's advice is much better suited for most of you.

I, also had someone washing the spider mess off my boat when I kept one on the TN River; it was 175 miles away. The tug is about ten minutes away, so I keep it fairly clean. It's just across the bay from my house with a spit of land between, less than one mile by air. If my sailing club would lease me a slip, I'd keep it there. But, a policy of no powerboats, except club owned boats, prevents that. I live less than 100 yards from the club slips. 🙁

Gene

 

[captain's cat]

Hey Gene, put a steadying sail on that mast and tell them that the Yanmar is an aux engine!! :lol: :roll:

Charlie

 

[rt11002003]

That would work with some of the Board of Governors. 😉

Gene

 

[baz]

Oh, and watch out for the clearance of your radar mast, unless you don't use radar. You don't want to be hinging and un-hinging your mast every time, so, in my case, I needed 13 feet of clearance from the water to the lowest beam in the roof structure. Low Bridge.

Besides the clearance, there are the tides, if you have them where you are. Make sure you clear at high tide and at a very high tide! :shock:

Charlie

I'm pretty sure that the slip's roof structure raises with the dock fingers so vertical distance from water surface to roof structure is a constant dimension.