BLUEMOMENT

Welcome to the forum.

I keep my Centaur on a swinging mooring on Windermere, it's £850 a year, £106 per meter.

Look for a mooring not in a marina, but I have no feeling for how much they may be. I can only assume they are cheap when you look at somewhere like Ravensglass.

Can't comment on Wales/ NW England particularly but I too have been trying to boat on a budget. I got my Albin Vega for 10k. Would recommend a Vega because of the sturdy construction and the backup from a very active class association.

Up until this year I rented a mooring for the summer c.£650 for a 27' boat and kept the boat on the hard in a marina in winter, about £700 to £800.
In the spring I bought a mooring from a sailing club for £800. My ongoing annual costs will be c. £55 for Crown Estates and £80 to £100 for inspection. In this case it is a condition of owning the mooring that I join the sailing club will be £185 so total of £340. There will be maintenance costs, but hopefully not for a few years. So in theory you could lay your own mooring and then have a few years of c.£150 for summer costs.

In a way winter is tougher - my great plan for this winter coming was to put the boat on a mooring over the winter but my insurance company are not happy about that. Some companies will insure for winter swinging moorings but require regular surveys (expensive). I just met a couple up in Ullapool who keep their boat on a mooring overr the winter and don't bother to insure it- personally I wouldn't be wild about this idea as if your boat did break free from it's mooring and damage another (very expensive) boat you would have no financial cover.

This year I am going to get two quotes - one from a yard (probably about £650/ £700) and another from a marina. Winter pontoon berths can be a similar price to being on the hard or cheaper as the demand in winter is for being on the hard not in the water.

I know folks on the forum will have different experiences but this is what I have found so far.

Cheers

John

Seriously, Merchaud, don't think about leaving her in the water this coming winter, unless, of course, you can afford very expensive insurance and the inspections which go with it.
Global Warming is now getting to the state that all scientists are predicting far more frequent and far more severe winter storms. Only an idiot would stay in the water this winter. Last was mild so we must have built up some real trouble for next Jan and Feb. Whatever the cost get into a yard. If you can't afford it or the insurance then sell your boat now and pick up a cheapie wreck for rebuild from the windblown fools in the Spring.

JackJ wrote:Seriously, Merchaud, don't think about leaving her in the water this coming winter, unless, of course, you can afford very expensive insurance and the inspections which go with it.
Global Warming is now getting to the state that all scientists are predicting far more frequent and far more severe winter storms. Only an idiot would stay in the water this winter. Last was mild so we must have built up some real trouble for next Jan and Feb. Whatever the cost get into a yard. If you can't afford it or the insurance then sell your boat now and pick up a cheapie wreck for rebuild from the windblown fools in the Spring.

Last winter was mild??????
Rubbish, I spent more days scraping ice off windows this year than any other year I can remember I spent a a weekend in Aviemore when the temperature never got above -5 during the day and down to -18 at night.

But this should be another thread

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Merchaud,

We have year-round third party insurance for our Albin Vega for £120 from Bishop Skinner (aka Blue Fin). This covers us to stay in all year on a swinging mooring and also covers us for all European waters (including the Canaries and Azores, which is why we originally went with them as we had a wee jaunt down that way).

(If you want fully comp you will have to pay a minimum of £300 for a survey first, and will be lucky to find a policy that doesn't require your boat to be on the hard or in a marina during the Winter months.)

Buy your own mooring in a sheltered spot and make sure your ground tackle is bombproof, then you won't have any worries. We left Fairwinds (Albin Vega 27) in the water the year of the 'Hebrides Hurricane' when Oban was on the news because the seafront had boats washed up on it and she survived 80mph winds with no problem. I would recommend fitting two strops from the riser to the boat, and if you are not planning on using her for a couple of months then you can take the sails and sprayhood off her to minimise windage.

Otherwise, expect to pay a minimum of £800 for Winter storage ashore. Many places seem cheaper, but then there is lift out, mast cranage, lift in etc . . . always check for the extras.

Check out Fleetwood down your way - http://www.marinasonline.net/marinas/de ... ur-village" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - a certain Claymore of this parish will advise.

However - North Wales marinas will be more expensive, but will provide much better local cruising - Fleetwood, Whitehaveen and Maryport offer little in the way of attractive day sails.

I think Fleetwood would cost around £800 for 6 months for a £26 ft boat. Join Blackpool and Fleetwood YC and you could get brought out for a few bob then its about £10 - £20 a month on the hard over the winter

There are still ways of doing this without breaking the bank if you take the time to research

I'm dreaming of tidal sailing again.

Fleetwood is a possibility, what's access like, from the WWW site it looks to be HW±1.5hrs? And where do folk go for the W/E, anyone know?

Conwy and Porthmadog have been suggested too, anyone any experience round there?

Porthmadog only came up 'cos a non-sailing bloke I work with has a sister who lives there, the moorings seem cheap so I'm assuming you can't get out so easy and when you do there isn't anywhere to go.

Not TIC btw. Superb post.

Dawg but that is annoying!

You won't get a marina for much under £3k. Even swinging moorings in the more popular areas will cost £1k pa. Cheap moorings can be had where access by sea &/or road is difficult or when location is exposed (NW'lys are particularly bad over an ebb tide on the Mersey Dee & Conway rivers) Tides are really big & lots of tide gates for drying harbours, overfalls, headlands, the Swellies, Trwyn Ddu & Caernarfon bar to name but a few.

Cheaper locations; River Alt (nr Formby/Bootle), Mersey at New Brighton & Tranmere (exposed & not good cruising), River Dee (very exposed N'Wly), Beaumaris (mud flats & roll like a pig), Bangor (mud flats), Rhyl (tricky entrance in strong onshore winds), Red Wharf bay (exposed NW'ly at high water). Many of these allow you to lay your own mooring, but you will need to get local acceptance (club or local mooring layer).

Drive around the places & chat to local boaters. Visit the clubs & ask. You need lots of opinions - they will all differ Then you can decide.

Julian, thankyou for your reply. It's what forums are about, informed opinion from those that have been there and done it.

Much better than opinion from folk who know nowt but talk loud about it.

The bloke I work with's BiL owns the South wall in Porthmadog but it seems it is potentially full at the moment. I don't know if I would like to go from a swinging mooring to a wall, walls are hard even at a good price plus a couple of hundred harbour fees.

Anything less than the £900 I pay now is a bonus and I think I could choose between the drying and non-drying moorings even though I'm one of those idiots who buys a bilge keeler for non-tidal Windermere.

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It says it covers 'raising or attempting to raise the wreck of your boat'