Inwater vs Land storage for winter

[mike472]

I am considering buying a 370EC and need a 40' slip for it. I am a member of the Great Kills Yacht club in Staten Island, and I am on a wait list for a large slip. I will probably wait another ten years for a crack at one of the larger 40' slips. We store members boats on our club property for the winter.
Having just turned 55 and come into some disposable income I decided to go for the gusto and get a boat I really wanted and that I would keep for a while. I was going for a 290AJ because of the 31' length(I can get one of the 32' slips we have fairly easily) but then after reading some of the threads on this forum (Frank W) got me to look at a 2000 diesel-powered 370EC, and I liked what I saw. I then inquired at SI Boat sales up the street from my club and they informed me that they had slips for 8K for the season, $35 per foot winter storage. They store inwater. On the surface this freaks me out a little, but I don't know that I have many options on SI. I am still investigating.
I would appreciate anyones thoughts on the subject. SI Boat sales looks to be a professional organization and they are the pre-eminent dealer on SI. They have concrete docks and mostly large 40 and up boats that don't lend themselves to be taken in and out of the water very often. I think they have people watching everything, and I have seen many instances of people in my neighboring borough of Brooklyn storing inwater. The boat I'm looking at is a hardtop and the cockpit looks pretty protected by it with the back canvas in place. This marina is convient to my home, about 10 minutes away.:smt100:smt101

 

[Air O'Nautical]

Hi Mike,
I wet stored my 400ec last year and enjoyed it.
Much longer boating season and easy spring launch.
We were boating into December last year!

You still need to winterize all systems. I would also recommend shrinkwrap in the water as the boat is not made to carry a snow load. Make sure to have deicers in the slip that turn on when its cold enough. Check the boat often, Don't trust the yard to watch your boat all winter.

Then plan on a late spring/summer short haul for paint and zincs ect,ect.

High and dry is better but, wet will work too...
Good luck,
Mark.

 

[mike472]

Mark,

I found Mansion marina next door can go either way. They get 6K for the season, and 48 per foot to dry store including pressure wash. The owner showed me a great slip with a good sheltered spot. He wound up being 2k cheaper then SI boat sales who was getting 8K plus 35/foot wet storage. The concrete floating docks were nice and the free cable TV, but I'll keep the extra 2K and spend it on something worthwhile. I can get sat TV a whole lot cheaper. To me its worth the extra bucks to dry store and shrink. The extended season is something to think about though. The marina owner told me quite a few boats store wet in his marina. Mostly the over 14' beam guys. He has to take the 14'er's next door to Atlantis Marina with whom he has an arrangement to haul and store the over 14' boats. Thanks for your input.

Mike