How far away from your boat do you live?

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SimonA

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I'm thinking of keeping my boat a couple of hours drive from home. At present it's about 30 minutes away, the new marina I'm looking at is 110 miles, about 2 and a half hours drive.

Are there any problems with having your boat so far from home?
 
More fuel costs.

More time spent in a car instead of doing something interesting

Less inclination to nip down and do a quick repair or go for an afternoon sail

What we try to do [not always possible due to other commitments] is to spend longer on the boat but go less often.

110 miles isn't that far - some people keep boats abroad and cope somehow.
 
SimonA said:
Are there any problems with having your boat so far from home?
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I used to keep my boat 1/2 hour away and now it is best part of a day away.

My car mileage has reduced significantly, in that I tend not to go after work to complete an odd job, and at a weekend I am not going to nip home for a mastic gun .

I spend less time on my boat however the time I spend is of much higher quality.

Assuming you are heading toward warmer/more sheltered cruising grounds your family are more likely to join you too.

In my situation even though I am now hundreds of miles away from my boat

My car miles went down
Boat engine hours increased
Cruising season increased

It is true to say I have spent less time on my boat (sat on my own in the cold), but I have spent far more hours cruising in the sun with my wife ,daughter and friends.


On the down side, others may not be as happy to drive down to see you, and you may end up with two sets of friends, home friends and Boating friends , mother's day , father's day, Easter all become a challenge trying to balance family life while not missing the Tide.
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If the cruising is better, then it's worth it IMO. It also feels a bit more like you're going on holiday each weekend. The biggest downside is that you're less inclined to go for the day if you wake up and the weather is better than forecast, and it's harder to get small jobs done yourself.

Why not try it for a year, you can always change back to somewhere more local
 
also depends on the quality of the drive,and predictability. Never ending road works, pile ups,idiots doing 50 in the middle lane of the motorway......
We ve been about 2.0hours away for ten years.Days out just become a rush.. a rush to get up, a rush to get some food a rush to get the boat going, a rush to get back to the marina etc...2 days is fine, though.
The real difference, as Nick says, is when you get there. If its a nicer marina, and better boating, its worth it, and a visit to the boat is more of a break, and a few days becomes a mini holiday.But being further away, you actually get more tolerant of the weather, I think. There is always something to do, and its rare a whole weekend is a right -off, whereas maybe if the boat is a few minutes away you peer out the kitchen window, and dont bother?
 
SimonA said:
I'm thinking of keeping my boat a couple of hours drive from home. At present it's about 30 minutes away, the new marina I'm looking at is 110 miles, about 2 and a half hours drive.

Are there any problems with having your boat so far from home?
Click to expand...

I put my last boat at Hamble Point which was a similar distance. Yes it was worth it to explore a new area.

However now the boat is 150yds away below my lounge balcony. Had it over 6 weeks and never slept on it yet! Having it so close means I have bought a big day boat...

Paul
 
Up to now my boat is 60 miles away and a 90 minute drive. Been spending a fortune on diesel and hours in traffic jams on the A55 trying to get home on Sundays.

From this month, my boat will be fifteen feet away, if I want, as I could berth it outside my front door. In reality, it will stay in the outer harbour on its usual berth as I can get out without using the lock. So, it will be a two minute bike ride away.
 
188 and 3 plus hours away, but its worth every penny to wake up on the Hamble on a saturday morning, and an hour or so later be in Lymington or Yarmouth.

The rivers near to me, 25 mins drive are full of boats my size but nowhere to go unless you want to go 4mph with smoke trailing out the back and wear n tear on your 340hp monsters that are crying out to be revved!
 
How close is my boat !

SimonA said:
I'm thinking of keeping my boat a couple of hours drive from home. At present it's about 30 minutes away, the new marina I'm looking at is 110 miles, about 2 and a half hours drive.

Are there any problems with having your boat so far from home?
Click to expand...

My boat is at the back garden just behind the house , it means that I can go down any time and go out on short notice, If I am allowed by Swmbo.

It also means that its used as a shed, to go down and have a chat and a drink,


Tom
 
Just moved marina so instead of 1hr 25mins average, now 1hr 5mins... even that slight reduction helps IMHO... But I live 15 minutes from the Thames and Penton Hook Marina & I have a friend with a Boat on the Thames, been out on it once.....its just not for me...! I like the freedom a boat give you.... trundling up the Thames trying to keep at 5mph in constant fear that someone will report you to the next lock keeper for going to fast.... sod that, (and I'm no speed freak)
 
We used to keep a boat on the Broads, about 3 hours drive each way. Really painful journey, and meant that any jobs had to be done before we could enjoy ourselves.

Currently boat is 35 miles, 50 mins away. I can do the odd jobs and cleaning leaving the weekends to enjoy the boat.

Made a big difference to us.

We have considered the Solent, and much as we would love to be there, the logistics mean that we will get less and less use of the boat.
 
rafiki_ said:
We used to keep a boat on the Broads, about 3 hours drive each way. Really painful journey, and meant that any jobs had to be done before we could enjoy ourselves.

Currently boat is 35 miles, 50 mins away. I can do the odd jobs and cleaning leaving the weekends to enjoy the boat.

Made a big difference to us.

We have considered the Solent, and much as we would love to be there, the logistics mean that we will get less and less use of the boat.
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We live in Stoneleigh, not far from u guys,and keep our boat on the Hamble.

Takes us under 2 hours.

Mind u can do with my eyes shut now..........bin doin it 18years!!
 
Used to keep my boat 40 minutes drive from home. Now its 240 miles/4 hour drive (on a good day) in a much better (and more expensive) marina.

Hate the drive - love the setting when we arrive. As it's such a long distance, we tend to travel down Thursday evening and return early Tuesday morning, so it makes for a nice long weekend. We tend to visit every other weekend throughout the summer.

I definitely miss not being able to 'pop' to the boat to fix those odd little jobs though!
 
I live 92 miles away from the boat which is in chichester. Or I could have the boat on my doorstep (the mudway). Takes me hour and a half to get to chichester so a no brainer for me.
 
45 miles, about an hour away.

Works just nicely, as it's far enough away to be a journey / adventure / going away, but near enough to be convenient if lots of jobs to be done, or going every weekend (keeping travelling costs and time reasonable).

Would love to be nearer the coast, as it's a 2 day cruise (minimum) to get there by boat, but the extra distance would only put us off going as often, and would cut down on "time there" out of a weekend, which is the majority of our boating.
 
Are there any problems with having your boat so far from home?

Driving home,knowing that something needs fixing,still you will have plenty of time to enjoy those nagging little thoughts that will not go away as you mentally fix stuff in your mind over and over and over and over again.....
keep it cheap...keep it close...and you get to keep the boat !
 
5min drive, no traffic lights, 2 right turns, 1 left turn, 2 security gates, arrived! mind you, could get caught up with other members chatting and then it could be a hour or more, but still looking at my boat:D!

wouldn't want it any other way.
 
20 minutes STT, subject to tractors. Could probably be there quicker on the bike.
But this location is constrained by the tides, so use is restricted to a couple of hours either side of HW and neaps are a no-go area.

Have been 45 minutes and then 1,5 hours and 2 countries away - that was fun being stopped by the police in the small hours as you cross the border.

Really enjoy,
not spending a fortune on fuel to get there and back
being able to pop over and hide for a few hours
being able to go and check the mooring lines rather than waiting for the marina to call
the fees

Miss
the freedom to come and go at will
the greater tide window
shower and members facilities that I paid for and did not use
being focussed on making the most efficient use of every trip


Can get lured into just popping to the boat, on the way to or from somewhere else, to look at something that needs doing - but telling myself that I can pop over and do that another time


Confirms the old maxim, that every silver lining needs a cloud
 
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