Save-A-Boat - The Forum for Plastic Classic Rebuilds!

At 0730 this morning, Glissando hit the water once more. The weather even cooperated. This year's major upgrades were limited to a new boom and gooseneck, Awlgrip on mast and boom, and a Strong track system for the mainsail.

(using the term "limited" rather loosely)

Damn, not a moment wasted. I know guys down here who've been floating for weeks and still haven't bent on all sails!

It's a beautiful day for a boat ride!

Super. It is nice to be in. Look for Cirrus after tomorrow. Been enjoying free slippage up in Harrasseeket River! But needed it due to engine trouble. Sure need a reliable one to get out.

I am trying to get closer to Handy this year...tough but persistence may help.

I think I can see the new track...it is on the outside of the mast, not inset?

Cheers,
Clint

Figment wrote:I know guys down here who've been floating for weeks and still haven't bent on all sails!

What's the point of that? I often see the same thing, and just wonder what the deal is.

I always try to have the boat ready to sail by the end of the first day. I still have a few things to do, but none of them will keep me from sailing at the first opportunity. I think I have to sneak down first thing today and give her a bath, however.

tartan30cirrus wrote:I think I can see the new track...it is on the outside of the mast, not inset?

Yes: the new track simply slides over the existing external track. I was happy to see that it looks less gaumy with the mast stepped than it did when I installed it on the ground; the UHMW track is about 1-1/4" thick.

For track installation description, click here.

tartan30cirrus wrote:Sure need a reliable one to get out.

Yes, I had the wonderful experience of anchoring in the middle of the Royal River due to an airlocked engine. Took 10 minutes or so to get her bled out and running again.

Tim,
Glissando's looking as beautiful as ever! What a combination with that beautiful scenery in the background!

dasein668 wrote:

tartan30cirrus wrote:Sure need a reliable one to get out.

Yes, I had the wonderful experience of anchoring in the middle of the Royal River due to an airlocked engine. Took 10 minutes or so to get her bled out and running again.

Damn that bites. Yop, me too...my oil pressure keeps dropping a shutting my engine down...faulty guage??...so I anchored and was able to pick a mooring up twice on my way home from Harrasseeket Hbr last night...but shes' on the mooring!

tartan30cirrus wrote:...but shes' on the mooring!

Just in time for our weekly nor'easter, with driving rain and another 40 knots predicted Saturday night. Falmouth will be a' rockin.

Woo-hoo.

Tim wrote:

tartan30cirrus wrote:...but shes' on the mooring!

Just in time for our weekly nor'easter

Unreal...been in CT and couldn't believe what ME was getting again...stayed tuned for this weeks Noreeaster on Monday night....can't wait for the season premiere...maybe on Mem Day weekend, huh. Patience is a virtue, i guess.

Cheers.

Hey, this is great weather?I for one can't wait to head out and test the 45 knot breezes with my trusty steed! I think I might need to tuck in a single reef, but it should be loads of fun and...

ooops, sorry. Wrong board.

Absolutely...this is great fun hvy weather sailing...the stuff Cirrus likes and having been a Triton sailor, I know the stuff she can eat up too! Anyway...I have grades to do.

Cheers.

dasein668 wrote:ooops, sorry. Wrong board

hehe...I know what you mean!

dasein668 wrote:test the 45 knot breezes with my trusty steed! I think I might need to tuck in a single reef

Wait...I was a Triton sailor...single reef for 45 knots! hmmmm. It is 45 knots out as I write this an picture our boats romping around on their moorings!.

Cheers.

Don't remind me. I'm heading down shortly for an early AM boat check.

For those of you who aren't familiar with our anchorage (where Clint, Nathan, and I moor), we are wide open to the two stormiest wind directions: SW and NE. It makes for some nervous moments during the season when the wind pipes up.

I can't believe how hard it blew last night. Not much sleeping going on here in Gorham....

I too am on my way out to check on the boat. And the forecast is for more of this lovely weather as far as the eye can see....

Hello Tim,
I was curious about the moorings you fellows tie up to. Who maintains them? Are they public or private? I have never had to worry as back in Barbados all I had to do was pick a place, drop the engine block with mooring chain attached and wollah! Here in Florida, I maintain friendly relations with a neighbour and tie up on the river - no mooring worry. When the wind pipes up, only due west or due east is a concern. Being down in the river, the 10 foot banks and the large trees above do a nice windbreak job.
Hope everyone's vessel is fine,
Cheers,
Ian

The moorings here are privately owned and maintained, though regulated by the town.

Here is the scene from this morning at about 0630. Winds were about 20-25 when this photo was taken, with 2-3' whitecaps in the anchorage, but the wind and waves must've been very bad overnight, as the docks at the club were trashed. I saw a few flapping roller furling genoas, and even one roller furling main out, but otherwise all the boats already in the water seemed OK.

The worst is that the winds are supposed to stay more or less up for the next several days, giving no relief. This sucks.

Here's some NOAA weather buoy wind data from 1100 on May 23rd to 1100 today, the 24th. The worst gusts were between about 2100 and 2300 last night, which is certainly when I was the most aware of the wind here at home. The tabular data didn't translate very well, but you can see that the buoy recorded a high gust of 44.7 knots at both 2100 and 2300 last night.



Date Time Direction Knots Mph Kph Meters/sec
sust gust sust gust sust gust sust gust
05-23 11:00 AM NNE 13.6 15.6 15.7 17.9 25.2 28.8 7.0 8.0
05-23 12:00 PM NNE 13.6 15.6 15.7 17.9 25.2 28.8 7.0 8.0
05-23 1:00 PM NNE 11.7 13.6 13.4 15.7 21.6 25.2 6.0 7.0
05-23 2:00 PM NE 13.6 17.5 15.7 20.1 25.2 32.4 7.0 9.0
05-23 3:00 PM NE 9.7 11.7 11.2 13.4 18.0 21.6 5.0 6.0
05-23 4:00 PM NNE 11.7 15.6 13.4 17.9 21.6 28.8 6.0 8.0
05-23 5:00 PM NE 17.5 19.4 20.1 22.4 32.4 36.0 9.0 10.0
05-23 6:00 PM NE 23.3 29.2 26.8 33.6 43.2 54.0 12.0 15.0
05-23 7:00 PM NE 29.2 36.9 33.6 42.5 54.0 68.4 15.0 19.0
05-23 8:00 PM NE 33.0 42.8 38.0 49.2 61.2 79.2 17.0 22.0
05-23 9:00 PM NE 35.0 44.7 40.3 51.4 64.8 82.8 18.0 23.0
05-23 10:00 PM ENE 33.0 40.8 38.0 47.0 61.2 75.6 17.0 21.0
05-23 11:00 PM ENE 35.0 44.7 40.3 51.4 64.8 82.8 18.0 23.0
05-24 12:00 AM ENE 31.1 38.9 35.8 44.7 57.6 72.0 16.0 20.0
05-24 1:00 AM ENE 29.2 36.9 33.6 42.5 54.0 68.4 15.0 19.0
05-24 2:00 AM ENE 27.2 33.0 31.3 38.0 50.4 61.2 14.0 17.0
05-24 3:00 AM ENE 25.3 31.1 29.1 35.8 46.8 57.6 13.0 16.0
05-24 4:00 AM ENE 27.2 33.0 31.3 38.0 50.4 61.2 14.0 17.0
05-24 5:00 AM ENE 25.3 31.1 29.1 35.8 46.8 57.6 13.0 16.0
05-24 6:00 AM ENE 31.1 36.9 35.8 42.5 57.6 68.4 16.0 19.0
05-24 7:00 AM ENE 29.2 36.9 33.6 42.5 54.0 68.4 15.0 19.0
05-24 8:00 AM ENE 27.2 35.0 31.3 40.3 50.4 64.8 14.0 18.0
05-24 9:00 AM ENE 25.3 29.2 29.1 33.6 46.8 54.0 13.0 15.0
05-24 10:00 AM ENE 27.2 33.0 31.3 38.0 50.4 61.2 14.0 17.0
05-24 11:00 AM ENE 23.3 29.2 26.8 33.6 43.2 54.0 12.0 15.0

Well, the boat was still on her mooring, thank god. But I'll be repainting this winter. I had the same anchor platform debacle that Tim suffered a couple of years back.

Supposed to blow 40 to 50 again tonight. Added a couple of extra lines and battened things down a bit more.

I think I'm going to go throw up now.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

you gotta be kidding me. ANOTHER anchor-smiley?
damn. you guys gotta find yourselves a new mooring field. This carnage has got to stop.

I feel for ya, Nathan.

Let's just hope that's the end of it.

Tim wrote:Let's just hope that's the end of it.

Seriously. With the forecast for tonight, I can tell you I won't be sleeping. Again.

Let's hope that we don't lose any more boats down there. This morning there were several boats up high and dry in various places. The new marina at Back Cove apparently had some boats under their docks, as well as one sunk at the dock.

And apparently, though I haven't confirmed with Peter, this boat broke loose, wiped out the fuel dock at the boat yard next to the yacht club, and spent the night on the rocks before he was able to get her back afloat.

Let's have some prayers for the boats on the Foreside!

Ouch! Nathan, sorry to hear about the platform and re-painting.

Mike is right. You guys seriously need to find a better place to anchor. Of course you already know that and would if you could but ... Two mishaps in three years is pretty bad statistically speaking.

When you say you experienced the same debacle. Do you mean exactly the same or a similiar result? Is there a flaw in the system? Too early to tell probably but when the pain subsides I would be interested in the analysis.

Again, sorry to hear your troubles. We all feel for you.

-Britton

NOT Chase...what a beautiful boat...hope it isn't too bad...she took her owner on a wonderful Atlantic Circle ride.

Just down to check on boat...I am so upset and cold it is hard to write this...I am the downwind-most moored boat in the field. Besides a dodger ripped to shreds and a pendant that is chafed (even with chafe protection) one of the boats that broke free slammed into Cirrus. It could have been worse...the boat came down onto the port toerail and fwd portion of track but apparantly did not hit the topsides (based on a quick look from the launch bobbing around in 2 foot seas). The 12"+ section of toerail has been reduced to splinters...I hope the deck-hull joint is OK...stanchion bent to 90 degrees and the genoa track wasted. I want to throw up too not necessarily for what has happened but for tonight...will it be worse? Pray for us folks. I will. And I am not religious at all...

Cheers.

Could be worse...a beautiful red Triton (or is it an A30 Tim, Nathan?) is currently on the rocks...this sucks folks.

Tim, Nathan, and Clint,

It's just hard to read your posts and know that I can't actually do anything to help. I'll definitely send some good thoughts your way tonight, and I sincerely hope the weather moderates very, very soon. I know how it feels to not only stress over your boat, but to have to do it for days and days in a row.

Thanks for keeping us posted and I'm glad your boats are all still bravely facing the elements, although the damage they have taken is pretty heartbreaking.

Good weather vibes coming your way...

--- Rachel

Ditto, I read the happenings with a lump in my throat and a knot in my gut. I too think I may throw up. I know how excited you guys have been to finally get to the water and how very hard you have worked to get there.
Sending my best regards for an uneventful night and a rising barometer.
I'm heading down to the pier to pour some Pussers into the sea in hopes to appease Neptune in your honor. My thoughts are with you.

Keep the powder dry!

bcooke wrote:When you say you experienced the same debacle. Do you mean exactly the same or a similiar result? Is there a flaw in the system? Too early to tell probably but when the pain subsides I would be interested in the analysis.

Hard to say for sure at this point. If it ever calms down a little bit I'll be able to take a better look at the situation. The result was definitely exactly the same. The whole platform is sheared off right at the stem, both anchor rollers gone, and the Bruce hung by its chain and beat the hell out of the bow. Luckily (?!) the plow ran out about 10 or 12 feet of chain, so it was hanging below the surface and didn't do any damage that I could see.

I too saw some chafe on one of the pennants. It was pretty minor, but with the upcoming wind forecast I ran a couple of backup lines to different strong-points on deck, just for redundancy. Not much else that I could do, really.

Clint, so sorry to hear you had troubles too. Let's just hope that we've seen the worst of the damage from this February storm...

Oh, and it may have been a Triton. Gracie is a claret Triton that normally lives down at that end of the anchorage.

Looks like someone got Gracie off the rocks and brought her into the protection of Mussel Cove and dropped her anchor...at low tide she is in mud; floats at High tide. Hope the owners find out the news soon.

Cheers.

For some reason, I missed these posts earlier; sometimes the little "new posts" flags don't seem to show up.

The overhanging anchors on a platform, on these Tritons, is a flawed design. The boats bob their bows down so far in the large waves that they tend to often "pick up" the mooring lines when they rise again--particularly, as is often the case in a gusty storm, if the boat yaws at the mooring. This can deposit the lines on top of anchor flukes, platforms, rollers, etc. This problem only exists when you might be moored in a field that allows 3-4' waves to build. A "real" anchorage, in a protected area, would never be an issue. This problem could occur, in theory, with any boat with anchors stored on an overhanging platform. 99% of the time it's not a big problem.

The other problem is that once the lines are on top of the platform or fouled on an anchor, and the boat continues to pitch badly, the stresses on the cantilevered part can be just too high, breaking the platform with the unfortunate results experienced by us. Hence my big piece of stainless, which hopefully would prevent the breakage.

After my experience in 2002, I always remove the anchors when heavy weather is predicted (as I did this time). It's a pain, but it beats the alternative. I might do it once a season as a precaution. Actually, unless we're cruising, I only keep the one CQR on the bow; the Bruce stays home until we depart.

Who knows, I may have a mess somewhere on the boat (I haven't been aboard since these winds began), and I am expecting pendant chafe for sure, but hopefully nothing else is going on.

I just put on brand-new Yale pendants this season, which pleases me at this point. I have the built-in chafe guards, but didn't yet have a chance to put on my real chafe gear that I usually run: reinforced polyethylene tubing wrapped and secured with lots of duct tape. This works very well and is easy to inspect and renew. I am fully prepared to buy two new pendants next week if I find significant chafe. A weeks' use out of $130 worth of pendants is a good deal, right?

bcooke wrote:You guys seriously need to find a better place to anchor

Yeah, that'd be nice. The thing is, we don't often have these February-pattern northeasters ripping through during the sailing season. Every so often it happens, and lots of boats end up having trouble or breaking loose. This is a terrible anchorage in bad weather, but in the usually-benign summer patterns it is fine. It is a good place from which to sail, since you can head off in several directions and need not travel for miles before reaching open sailing water. Stsill, many a boat has been wrecked here. I remember a storm in October 1980 in which the boats were stacked three deep on the shore. Very sad. Fortunately, that hasn't been repeated since to that magnitude, but almost every year there is a casuality or two--usually boats that stay in too late in October. That's why I haul by the first week of October each year.

Off-season storms like this happen once every few years or so, at one end of the season or another. What's a guy to do.

Move, I guess. Then relocating the boat becomes a natural thing.

Tim wrote:After my experience in 2002, I always remove the anchors when heavy weather is predicted (as I did this time). It's a pain, but it beats the alternative.

After your experience in 2002, I always do too. Except this time, as I didn't really expect this kind of snot.

I may try to rethink the whole anchor arrangement, though nothing satisfactory is coming to mind at the moment....

dasein668 wrote:Except this time, as I didn't really expect this kind of snot.

Nor did I expect it and I worked in meteorology for a bit...but there was no warning/advisory put out for wind.

Cheers.

I admit that I felt almost foolish last Friday evening, out on the boat in a pleasant calm, battening down the boat and removing the anchor. Then, winds predicted for Saturday and Sunday really never materialized, and it seemed we were out of the woods.

Even though we were all aware of an extended lousy forecast, I think the severity of the winds, at least during Monday night (when the damage occured), was unexpected...and particularly the longevity of these winds. Day after day after day. I was a wreck just last evening, when for the first time all day the winds seemed to be gusting badly here--just after dark, of course. I managed to sleep, but the pit in my stomach this morning (just like yesterday...and the day before) was ridiculous, at least till I drove to the boat before 6 and saw that she was still there and looking fine. I've been prepared to lose her for three days now. Each morning seems a gift. As it turns out, the winds last night were quite moderate...but I am just on edge every time I hear our wind chime dong and watch the trees move.

Each day I hope signals the end...but then the next day arrives. "Second verse..just like the first." I'm about ready to lose it.

The anchor situation is difficult. The platform and anchor storage works extremely well while cruising, and is convenient, safe, and keeps these bulky things out of the way. And in most mooring situations--at a dock or marina, or in a generally protected harbor--there would be no issue either.

The problem only arises when there are large waves rolling through. This simply doesn't happen unless you are moored in an area with too much fetch, as we are. All it takes is about 2-to 3-footers to start plunging the bow underwater, and then the fun begins. These sorts of waves don't usually occur during the sailing season. I went with the overkill stainless steel platform support just to protect against those unforeseen days, but still try to minimize the possibility by keeping the platform clear when not on board.

From straining through binoculars, it seems that one of my mooring lines may actually be draped through the portside anchor roller now. I've been staring at it for days, trying to discern the details. This would not be the first time I have seen this happen; probably 2 or 3 times over the years, I have arrived at the boat to find this, usually during relatively fair weather and no storms. Obviously, bow-plunging is a fairly routine thing in this terrible anchorage, and can happen even if a snotty sou'wester (say 20-25) kicks up on a nice summer afternoon.

This is why I worry constantly from May to October, relaxing only when the boat is safely at home again. That's no way to moor a boat, but this is still the best overall moorage choice for me, taking into account availability, cost, staying out of marinas, and convenience.

Sorry...everyone not living here must be sick to death of us blathering on and on about our pitiful lives. It's just good to be able to vent from time to time. She's just a boat, right?

Tim wrote:It's just good to be able to vent from time to time. She's just a boat, right?

It is good to vent...and yes while just a boat she is also a set of dreams and accomplishments and adventures, etc. I really feel for the folks that lost a boat. 3 boats sunk at the Maine Yacht Center; 10 or so were hauled...huge holes in the bows such that you couls see INTO the v berths!!!...spring point hauled all their boats....4-5 boats broke loose in Falmouth HBR....carnage. I am trying to look at my damage -- as ugly as it is-- as cosmetic damage...although some water may be weeping in where she was struck near the deck hull joint...will need to inspect more closely...I am trying to take the attitude that it could have been worse for us.

Cheers.

Tim (and everyone else in the path of the Noreaster):

Speaking for myself (and likely others as well), I never once thought anyone was blathering on, whining, or anything even remotely like that during this storm.

On the contrary, I wonder how you all are doing, and wait for your report with bated breath, hoping that all is okay. For one thing, I care about you all as friends and fellow boaters, and in addition, there is always something to be discovered or learned about in situations like this.

So please keep us posted; we're thinking about you and your trusty boats.

--- Rachel

While I feel very sorry for those who had damage to their boats, I have to say that the Maine Yacht Center is in a bonehead place to locate a big marina. I don't wish damage on them, but I couldn't believe when they built it there in such an exposed location. It was asking for trouble, unfortunately (and, frankly, was an unnecessary addition to the local boating scene, but that's another issue).

hey guys. I am so sorry about the damage to your boats. I looked at tim's site to check out the platform and to see if I could see a solution. It noticed that the bow chocks were set far forward towards the anchor platform. would there be any thing gained by setting them further back, therefore further apart? I also thought that a strong cross bar could be set across the bow behind the forstay to hold the pendants out to the side. something about four feet long that could either fit onto a strong connection.
by the way tim, how could this community communicate efficienty through drawings. I feel awkward trying to describe what I mean when a quick sketch would make it real clear. I used to be an architectural draftsman. Is there a drawing format? should I scan in and make a pdf? I exist in the northern california MAC universe. I would want it to be translatable

robert

Drawings could be included as a PDF, JPEG, or GIF.

Or, you can just enter a link to a website containing the information you have, regardless of format. I agree that drawings are often helpful. I'm not much of a draftsman, so I rarely try to make drawings--and I have no experience with any sort of computer-based drafting, so a drawing for me would mean a hand-drawn sketch that I scanned in.

I do welcome all drawings. If you have format questions, let me know.

Tim, you mentioned a couple of posts back that the mooring you're in is preferable to a marina. How so? Is it just that your local marinas leave a bit to be desired? There are few moorings along the Gulf Coast, and while we do have a few exposed marinas, like some in the Pensacola area, it seems to me that even they would be prefereable to mooring. Both in fair weather when dockside access is nice and in foul where wind and wave breaks may be critical.

Additionally, my own experience in tying up for a hurricane makes me think a marina is a better choice. I can run lines all over the place and a good distance from the boat via the pilings. For example, when I tied up in preparation for Hurricane Ivan, I had 12 lines running off my boat, plus many bumpers. I was still nervous, but I would have been petrified had my boat been swinging on a mooring.

By the way, I'm sorry to hear about your and everyone else's hard luck up there. It reminds of hurricane season on the coast. I know the feelings of worry while the storm rages and the equally powerful feelings of relief when you find the boat safely where you left her. I evacuated to northern Mississippi last summer and it was a VERY long 7 hour ride to the marina; the marina first, then the house.

#218 wrote:Tim, you mentioned a couple of posts back that the mooring you're in is preferable to a marina. How so? Is it just that your local marinas leave a bit to be desired?

I don't know if its just our local marinas, but with this storm an entire section of one marina broke loose?one main run and about 20 fingers?with substantial damage. At another marina half a dozen boats sunk or were damaged.

And when I worked at a third marina, the amount of abuse the boats took during a winter nor'easter with 70 knot winds was truly amazing. While it may be nice to be able to run all those extra lines, you are also packed in with many other boats, docks, and pilings, which may or may not be as well anchored as you... If things start to break loose... ugh.

Marinas may be preferable in latitudes where the tide range is small, but where the tide range can be 8-16 feet things get more difficult. Securing directly to pilings in such a way as to accommodate that range is near impossible, and then you need to figure that the necessary additional length of the piling increases the lever arm of the force applied to it, and then figure that a boat tied to a dock doesn't naturally turn to present its profile-of-least-resistance to the wind.... Eventually you get to the point where swinging on a hook is just a whole lot simpler and more reliable.

I'm a fellow marina-dweller. As storm conditions go, it's a fairly benign location, way way waaaaaay upriver, around three or four good bends so there's really no serious exposure at all. Still, when the storms roll through we all make like spider-man and secure the boat with a dozen different lines. Damage can only come from the dock or from the boat next door, but still someone gets damaged nearly every storm. Truly, I'd prefer a mooring.

you mentioned a couple of posts back that the mooring you're in is preferable to a marina. How so?

I can tell you that the Coast Guard gets their boats underway when a hurricane is coming rather thal leave them at the pier. As you can well imagine, virtually all Coast Guard piers are far superior to what you will find at a marina.
For example at Cape May, NJ they will get the 47 foot motor lifeboat (the current workhorse at small boat stations) underway and set two anchors off the bow and one of the stern in a hurricane rather than leave it at the pier.
Also Navy ships and Coast Guard cutters are sent to sea to ride out hurricanes, but large ships are really in a different class.

Let me begin by saying that I prefer a mooring in general because of the privacy and ease of sailing in/out, and the simplicity of not needing fenders, multiple lines, and so forth. This preference does not include allowances for being in a very exposed mooring field, as I am, but given any protected area, I'd still choose a mooring over a dock anyday (unless it was my own private dock at the base of my own property...but that'll never happen.)

Docks vs. moorings is a very regional thing. Moorings are the most common choice in Maine, although we have more and more marinas popping up everywhere, usually to accommodate summer folk and powerboaters; new marinas being built now tend to be going very upscale (like the ill-fated Maine Yacht Center here in Portland, a marina that took heavy damage this week).

A marina in Maine is very different from those down south, where most boats are tied to docks rather than moorings. Marinas here are floating docks, which are at risk to weather conditions, particularly since many of these marinas are not located in well-protected waters. Boats have no business being tied to docks if there is not protection from waves. The sort of fixed piers you're used to down south would be impossibly inconvenient here. (Fishing piers notwithstanding.)

Our coastline is very different--glacial, rocky, with many natural harbors and protected areas (again, Falmouth notwithstanding), but few inlets and rivers and no barrier islands. The waters are deep and tidal. These factors are all at hand when considering what might once have been the natural choice for boat mooring--docks or moorings. There is also lots of open space in most of these harbors to allow for the placement of mooring fields, which take up a lot of room. Narrower rivers or inlets would not naturally allow for this sort of space use.

Portland has at least 5 large marinas, but up here the majority of marina dwellers are powerboats, with a few sailboats thrown in the mix. One of these marinas has a breakwater that helps save it from significant damage during storms, but the boats still take a beating. One other marina is sort of up in a cove, and is pretty well protected. The other ones are so ridiculously exposed that to tie up there would be suicidal.

The tides also complicate things significantely, both for the strength of the dock system and the need to tie to strong pilings and the like. Being tied to a floating dock and surrounded by fools who don't care about their boats doesn't sound good to me.

I wouldn't feel comfortable in any of the local marinas, storm-wise. The exposure is too high, as Nathan pointed out above. There are four or five marinas in two nearby rivers (Royal and Harraseeket), and the protection in these rivers is very good; the boat would be safe there.

Still, these marinas are tight, the currents strong (making docking a challenge), and the trip to open sailing water is longer, especially from the Royal River (which is where I launch and haul the boat). The risk of collateral damage from other boats docking and maneuvers is very high in any of these marinas.

I'd love a mooring up the Haraseeket River, but alas, they are virtually impossible to come by, with a long waiting list.

Never mind the fact that in Maine, a marina means an annoyingly upscale, v-necked-sweater and Nantucket Reds type of crowd (in some areas) or the fraternity crowd on Carvers and Sea Rays (in other areas), neither of which I have any intention of joining.

I go sailing to get away. Just being on my boat is "away" when at a mooring, but would not be if there were 30 or 100 other boats immediately next door.

I feel for you guys. You do everything you can, but Ma' Nature can get you anyway.

Saw these pictures on another site. The Bean Marina in Portland(?)

These boats were raised after pounding into the dock and sinking.

Boats sunk at the dock

Commanderpete wrote:The Bean Marina in Portland(?)

That's the aforementioned "Maine Yacht Center."

Yowza.
Yeah, I truly would prefer a mooring, both for storm riding and for everyday boat enjoyment as Tim mentioned.

This year I was awarded a permanent slip at the boat club. I'm quite strongly obligated to accept it, because by rights I really should've been on the waiting list for another 7 years or so. I admit, though, that I did think twice before accepting it. I much prefer the quiet and privacy of the "stake mooring" (generally considered 3rd class accommodation) across the river, despite the fact that the keel is mudbound at low tide.

I too go to the boat to "get away", and I really enjoyed the buffer that rowing across the 40' channel provided.

They call it the "Bean" marina because it is located directly behind the Burnam and Morril (B&M) Baked Bean plant on the waterfront (a local landmark).

It's also directly across the channel (downwind, in the prevailing southerlies) from the Portland waste treatment plant. Beans on one side...waste on the other. Should create some interesting aromas.

Perhaps now is a good time to mention how one can nicely navigate through thick fog from Falmouth into Portland Harbor by nose alone: B&M Bean plant, sewage plant, Shipyard brewery, Portland Coffee Roasters, Portland Fish Exchange.

Mmmmm

Why do I get the idea that I am being lead around by the nose here....