Dry Stack versus Towing

[oGaryo]

Hi, had a chat with Wiggo when out at the weekend and he's got me thinking about the benefits of Dry Stacking the boat (19ft) on the south coast versus towing a lump of plastic 120miles there and back each time we want to go for a spin.

Currently, it's about £80 in petrol to get the boat there and back + £16.50 to launch.. then there's the hidden cost of trailer upkeep and the hassle of launching and towing is also getting a tad tiresome. My current cost for boat storage is £0 as it's on the drive and it's obviously convenient for maintenance.

I'm not expecting a break even cost analysis but am hoping the differential between the two is paid back with intangible benefits such as being able to drive down in the Insignia rather than chug down with the Shogun + boat in tow.

So, has anyone recommendations for a cost effective Dry Stack operation in the solent area (west ideally) compared to towing??

p.s. I'd intend to keep the trailer for the occasional none solent experience and notice Lymington Yacht Haven provide dry stack facilities (looks pricey mind you)

 

[landlockedpirate]

Towing gives more freedom to choose cruising grounds. But I agree with you, even with relativly small trailer boats like ours, towing them to a slip can be a bit of a pain. My brother put his last 23ft sports boat on the racks at Hamble Point, I loved the ease of going out for the day, quick phone call and boat was in water and waiting, they even wash it down when its recovered.

You cant justify the choice by expense, the racks will always be significantly more expensive than a trailer but if you can afford it I would give it a try. If you can keep the trailer you will get the best of both worlds to choose different cruising areas as well.

 

[thefatlady]

If you want cheap, try Drivers in Southampton, Itchen. They do it on a monthly basis. However, the yard is a tip, the crane doesn't inspire confidence and it's in a somewhat inconvenient place. http://www.dryberthing.com/

If you want good, try MDL Saxon Wharf. Very professional and well equipped. More expensive and on annual basis (10% discount for first year). Contact Jonathan Walcroft 02380 339490. Also somewhat inconvenient, up the Itchen, but MDL Outlook (incl. 30 days on MDL marinas) thrown in.

There are quite a few others. e.g. Cobbs Quay,
Parkstone Bay, Poole http://www.parkstonebay.com/marina/services/dry-berths/

Just Google

 

[enterprise]

Never tried dry stack but did do boatyard storage for the summer period for 5 years, it can make all the difference to getting out for the weekend or staying at home because it's just too much hassle.

The cost can be offset against increased usage, as an example (in our experience)-

1.Tow boat to water from home, 360 mile round trip, 4 hrs towing in either direction,
did it 4 times a year, spring bank holiday, two separate weeks each summer and a week at August bank holiday and that was it, boat used a handfull of times on each trip depending on weather.

2. Leave boat in boatyard, increased usage as now it was only 3 hr road trip, weekend trips became the norm, season increased from starting at Easter and ending late September, only problem if you can call it a problem was cost-

six months broken storage + approx 8 weekends and 5 weeks visitor berthing, trailer storage etc about 60% as much as an annual berth, so-

3. Annual marina berth, full twelve months usage, journey time now reduced to 2.5 hrs., ( no need for a 4wd anymore ),walk aboard anytime day or night access, Friday night getaways, weekends at least 2 per month, every weekend when the sun is out, 5 weeks onboard during the summer.
So if you really break down the cost compared to usage then it would be in our case, marina - drystack - boatyard - towing.

Depends on how much time you have available to use your boat as to which option suits you the best, drystack sounds ideal so I would definitely explore the possibilities.

 

[BrendanS]

Lymington Yacht Haven is fantastic. Really good staff who know what they are doing, and a pleasure to deal with. I had my boat there for several years. Great location and if they are not on duty, you can phone them and they'll put it in the water before they go. Thoroughly recommended.

I ended up using mine weekday evenings as well as weekends, as it was worth a trip down for a blast out, or a meal in Cowes, just for the hell of it. Also used it a great deal in winter months. None of which I'd have done if trailering, so had substantially more use of the boat.

 

[oGaryo]

thanks guys, I've sent enquiries in to MDL (Hamble Point and Saxon Wharf) + SouthamptonDryStack.. with a view to seasonal dry stack and then tow home for winter storage on the drive with occasional winter fishing trip from the trailer. I've also asked if it'd be ok to keep the trailer in their yard during the summer in case I want to use the boat elsewhere one weekend. Will see what they come back with.

Thanks for the idea regarding boatyard storage but a primary concern is to go down there in the car and leave the 4x4 at home as the SWMBO pootle to the shops mobile so I don't think that'd work out well to be honest.

 

[oGaryo]

Lymington Yacht Haven is fantastic. Really good staff who know what they are doing, and a pleasure to deal with. I had my boat there for several years. Great location and if they are not on duty, you can phone them and they'll put it in the water before they go. Thoroughly recommended.

I ended up using mine weekday evenings as well as weekends, as it was worth a trip down for a blast out, or a meal in Cowes, just for the hell of it. Also used it a great deal in winter months. None of which I'd have done if trailering, so had substantially more use of the boat.

had a look at them too as their locality would be perfect but a quick google suggests they're rather expensive when benchmarked against the ones I've sent enquiries to.. shame, as I say, the location would be spot on

 

[enterprise]

Yes, we kept the 4x4 and towed home every winter as your suggesting but the yard had a tractor and its own slipway, so the tow car, if not needed could stay at home.
We only had the one car at the time so we used it instead of the tractor having had to use it to get there anyway.

When doing the calculations don't forget to add in the running cost for the tow vehicle, running a 4x4 these days is no laughing matter, halving the cost of a round trip to the boat does wonders for the sanity.

MDL do run a good offer, 30 nights visitor berthing etc which means if you take an annual dry stack and decide to try the west country for instance instead of your usual cruising ground, as long as you try Torquay, Brixham or Queen Anne's in Plymouth your stay will be free (well sort of).

The main thing is ease of use, if it's easy you will use it, 120 miles not towing, about 1.5 - 2 hrs drive, easy to do after work on a Friday, full weekend of fun, boat left at 8pm Sunday home for 9.30pm.
Half the usual petrol/diesel cost, twice the enjoyment, no hassle.

Ok it costs for the convenience but once you way up the overall cost per use it all makes sense.

 

[oGaryo]

Yes, we kept the 4x4 and towed home every winter as your suggesting but the yard had a tractor and its own slipway, so the tow car, if not needed could stay at home.
We only had the one car at the time so we used it instead of the tractor having had to use it to get there anyway.

When doing the calculations don't forget to add in the running cost for the tow vehicle, running a 4x4 these days is no laughing matter, halving the cost of a round trip to the boat does wonders for the sanity.

MDL do run a good offer, 30 nights visitor berthing etc which means if you take an annual dry stack and decide to try the west country for instance instead of your usual cruising ground, as long as you try Torquay, Brixham or Queen Anne's in Plymouth your stay will be free (well sort of).

The main thing is ease of use, if it's easy you will use it, 120 miles not towing, about 1.5 - 2 hrs drive, easy to do after work on a Friday, full weekend of fun, boat left at 8pm Sunday home for 9.30pm.
Half the usual petrol/diesel cost, twice the enjoyment, no hassle.

Ok it costs for the convenience but once you way up the overall cost per use it all makes sense.

summed up perfectly... will spend the extra hard earned without a thought so long as the benefits of doing so stack up (excuse the terrible pun)

 

[shetland]

Dont forget Premier at Gosport.

They have a new dry stack, opened this month

 

[oGaryo]

thinking this through a bit more actually.. and just wondering if owning a 4 x 4 makes sense.. high serviceing costs, £400 road tax, high insurance etc and only used to go down the road to work for SWMBO which is < a mile away + tow the boat.. how about dry stack in summer and hire/borrow a tow vehicle to bring her back when the weather gets nasty.. the savings on running the 4x4, may just make it financially more attractive so long as I am sure the location of the dry stack is 'everything' I need it to be location wise.

spreadsheet time!

 

[BrendanS]

Is there any reason to bring it back? Don't know how most operate now, but you used to get annual price, so no saving to putting it there only for summer months.

 

[AndieMac]

thinking this through a bit more actually.. and just wondering if owning a 4 x 4 makes sense.. high serviceing costs, £400 road tax, high insurance etc and only used to go down the road to work for SWMBO which is < a mile away + tow the boat.. how about dry stack in summer and hire/borrow a tow vehicle to bring her back when the weather gets nasty.. the savings on running the 4x4, may just make it financially more attractive so long as I am sure the location of the dry stack is 'everything' I need it to be location wise.

spreadsheet time!

Try it for a season first Gaz before selling the four-wheeler, if you change your mind, buying and selling cars can end up expensive as well, especially if the current 4x4 is a good one.

Good luck with the decision, and if it means more boating, go for it.

 

[matt13]

I have a 20 footer and can fully recommend Saxon Wharf, it does takes 20 mins to get to Southampton Water but I personally quite like this as a little meander at the start and end of my trip. Also as an MDL Outlook member you get fuel at disount at any MDL fuel pontoon (nearest Hythe and Hamble).

The guys at Saxon are extremely helpful and nothing ever seems too much trouble.

 

[enterprise]

Only downside to annual drystack would be maintenance and improvements, working on your boat becomes difficult I would imagine unless they have maintenance areas open for use by the customer, that's where your ability to trailer will come in handy.

I think you could possibly tow your outfit with a reasonable size saloon car on the odd occasion so hiring a van or car with towbar might be an option, however 4x4 hire can be pricey.

Have you access to a reasonable sized saloon car?

I would buy the OH a nice little diesel sports car or hot hatch for work, and use that for the trips at weekends, something that will return around 50-60mpg, the reduction in fuel cost and maintenance will soon make the drystack option look increasingly attractive.

As said in my original post, marina berthing is the ultimate in convenience allowing a degree of usage even if the weather has other ideas, but drystack would be a good half way option for a sports boat, cuddy or small cruiser.

 

[thefatlady]

I have dry berthed up to 34ft and found it to have some advantages. I like the convenience of a marina, but it can be more hassle. The big advantage with MDL is that you have 30 days free berthing available at any of their marinas, so you can have the best of both worlds

Maintenance ability depends whether you are raised on a stack or whether you are stored on the ground. Saxon Wharf have a maintenance rack where they will move you for any significant work if you wish. Many others probably do the same.

The best dry berthing I did was inside a large hanger building with a 120ft gantry crane at Woolston. Unfortunately that facility is no longer available.

 

[oGaryo]

many thanks for the advice on this again.. all good stuff and am looking at the options whilst quotes come in (1 so far)

 

[ThunderPT]

Hi

I have a similar dilema, having always stored at home then towed/launched myself previously.

I agree with what's been said above, the cost of running a second car (4x4) is not cheap in itself, and the hassle has put me off of a few occasions so the potential extra usage would be a definite bonus.

Would you mind updating how you got on with the various yards in terms of facilities & costs please? And if you made the decision to use any of them, how are you getting on?

Thanks in advance

 

[Wasco]

Southampton Dry Stack on the Itchen are well worth a look. Good value and fantastic service from a dedicated team.

 

[Geoffs]

I long ago decided dry stack is the answer. As you say, towing a lump of plastic is a drag!!

It does limit cruising grounds, as against towing, but being based at Cobbs Quay, Poole I find there is plenty of variety.