Gryphon2
Well-Known Member
Anyone any experience of laying up in USA for about 6 months to a year? Trinidad seems expensive these days so maybe USA cheaper if you do not need work?
Laying up in east USA
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Saguday
Well-Known Member
Yes, a bit, we laid our boat up there for about 3 years after we finished our live aboard wanderings before we could get her back to the UK.
Obviously gets more expensive the closer you are to a big city. We were in the northern Chesapeake in Maryland and it was not an unreasonable amount of money with a good yard (shrink wrapped to get through the winters). I think it was about half what it would have cost us to do the same in the UK. It gets cheaper the further south you go, North and South Carolina being much cheaper than the Bay, if memory serves it was about 30% cheaper than the Chesapeake if not a bit more. Ends up being a trade-off between cheap and hurricane risk really, I think the Carolinas up to the Bay is a reasonably good compromise with a plentiful supply of marinas to choose from.
I can suggest some places to contact in the Chesapeake and can recommend where we were (we are still good friends with the staff there) if you are interested.
Obviously gets more expensive the closer you are to a big city. We were in the northern Chesapeake in Maryland and it was not an unreasonable amount of money with a good yard (shrink wrapped to get through the winters). I think it was about half what it would have cost us to do the same in the UK. It gets cheaper the further south you go, North and South Carolina being much cheaper than the Bay, if memory serves it was about 30% cheaper than the Chesapeake if not a bit more. Ends up being a trade-off between cheap and hurricane risk really, I think the Carolinas up to the Bay is a reasonably good compromise with a plentiful supply of marinas to choose from.
I can suggest some places to contact in the Chesapeake and can recommend where we were (we are still good friends with the staff there) if you are interested.
john_q
Well-Known Member
Have you thought about Rio Dulce, Guatemala?
Robin
Well-Known Member
When we bought our liveaboard boat we laid it up ashore where we had it surveyed, for a year whilst we returned to UK because I had to get my Green Card Visa before moving here full time.
We had a 47ft trawler yacht mobo and kept her ashore in St augustine florida at St Augustine Marine center. They were very helpful, had a good boatlift and the yard allowed DIY work or they had all services available. In the event of a named storm, they tie the boats down to ground anchors, but ST Augustine in NE Florida has a good record of missing the nasties. Our current boat is a 36ft sailbat and is afloat year round in Halifax Harbor, Daytona Beach on the Intracoastal Waterway, a sheltered marina with fully floating docks, our insurers raise the deductible during hurricane season for 'named storms', but charge no extra premium as they like the marina we are in which is the refuge of choice when others evict their berth holders. We pay $10/ft/month for our 36 foot Oceanis 36CC. There are no services actually on site but most can be arranged locally, liftouts and bottom paint jobs usually done right next door, we pay $50/month for a diver to maintain the bottom and anodes etc
http://www.staugustinemarine.com/
http://www.halifaxharbormarina.com/
WE live locally to Halifax Harbor and could introduce you to a boatminder service and/or keep an eye on it for you ourselves.
We had a 47ft trawler yacht mobo and kept her ashore in St augustine florida at St Augustine Marine center. They were very helpful, had a good boatlift and the yard allowed DIY work or they had all services available. In the event of a named storm, they tie the boats down to ground anchors, but ST Augustine in NE Florida has a good record of missing the nasties. Our current boat is a 36ft sailbat and is afloat year round in Halifax Harbor, Daytona Beach on the Intracoastal Waterway, a sheltered marina with fully floating docks, our insurers raise the deductible during hurricane season for 'named storms', but charge no extra premium as they like the marina we are in which is the refuge of choice when others evict their berth holders. We pay $10/ft/month for our 36 foot Oceanis 36CC. There are no services actually on site but most can be arranged locally, liftouts and bottom paint jobs usually done right next door, we pay $50/month for a diver to maintain the bottom and anodes etc
http://www.staugustinemarine.com/
http://www.halifaxharbormarina.com/
WE live locally to Halifax Harbor and could introduce you to a boatminder service and/or keep an eye on it for you ourselves.
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Gerry
Well-Known Member
Green Cove Springs northern Florida, some 30 miles inland up the St Johns river. Good workman like yard. Secure storage for layup or in a real working yard if you need to get some jobs done. Booking essential.We spent a couple of months there preparing for transatlantic, great place.
http://gcsmarina.com/
http://gcsmarina.com/
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Gryphon2
Well-Known Member
Thank you to all with your replies, offers and knowledge. We have made no decisions yet but have a much better idea of our options! Chris
Jeannius
Well-Known Member
I second Robin's experience with St Augustine Marine Center. We were there for just over a year and prices were reasonable, even for a catamaran. Nice people, easy to get work done if needed.
chuckr
Well-Known Member
Take a look at Deltaville Boat Yard. We had some work done there and they are excellent. Also had some South African friends lay up there for hurricane season and travled inland USA and then relaunched and headed south.
michael_w
Well-Known Member
Further north you go the more expensive it becomes. Chums store their boat in the Solomons. FWIW the Maryland authorities are very helpful with Cruising Permit issues.
TQA
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I will second Green Cove Springs northern Florida also look at Indiantown Marina and Boatyard who allow DIY.
I would not CHOOSE to store my boat in Guatemala but if you had to then the Rio Dulce makes sense.
I would not CHOOSE to store my boat in Guatemala but if you had to then the Rio Dulce makes sense.
Saguday
Well-Known Member
Deltaville in Virginia is good, although we didn't lay up there we stayed twice on our cruise and they were all very helpful and they have good facilities. I remember the local supermarket owner drove to the marina and picked us up to go shopping for heavens sake, she was a star.
Second the comment about the Maryland authorities in Baltimore, they were delightful to deal with when we had to get our cruising permit.
Second the comment about the Maryland authorities in Baltimore, they were delightful to deal with when we had to get our cruising permit.
wazza
Well-Known Member
Wow Indiantown Marina seemed to have expensive rates, a lot more than Green Cove. It certainly isn't cheap having a boat in Florida...
BobnLesley
Well-Known Member
We plan to go look at Green Cove and other St John's River yards when we head back north next summer, but we've already looked at Deltaville, Solomon's Island, Middle River and a few others besides; unless somewhere in the St John's River really impresses, I expect we'll be lifting at Sailcraft's yard in Oriental NC, their prices were reasonable and whilst it's a DIY yard, the facilities/expertise are there for anything we feel we can't do Chandler's, hardware, supermarket and even (if I'm desperate) a West Marine within walking distance; oh, it's a lovely/friendly town too. Sailcraft did some rigging work for us this year and we were very impressed.
Robin
Well-Known Member
Florida gets very expensive the farther south you go. Here in Daytona Beach we pay just $10/ft/month for a 36 footer kept afloat year round. This is in a very sheltered marina, accepted by our insurers for hurricane season too but with no shorebased yard facilities on site, those are available (inc boatlift) immediately next door at Aquamarina (DIY allowed) if required, where we initially lifted out for bottom repaint etc.
Salty John
Well-Known Member
If I were laying up on the east coast I'd look at Atlantic Yacht Basin at Mile 12 of the ICW. Excellent facilities, knowledgeable and friendly staff and reasonable rates (when I was last there in 2000). Sheltered location. Florida and North Carolina have a high hurricane risk.
Robin
Well-Known Member
AYB is nice and sheltered, we looked at some boats for sale there a few years back. Our bit of Florida central east/north east has seen very few direct hurricanes and our local Marina is actually the preferred bolthole for those forced to vacate others in the area if a named storm is expected. We are 8miles from the nearest ocean inlet and all the docks and finger pontoons are floating and on high piles to help withstand any storm surge Local boats are very much in daily use throughout the official hurricane season. We Had intended originally locating in Hampton Virginia but at the time we should have moved our newly purchased trawler, 'Irene' came along and ran up the east coast, passing directly over our chosen marina base at Hampton, albeit doing no damage to it as that too was sheltered and had all floating docks. We were not able to escape Florida in time t avoid their sales tax and having paid itdecided we might as well stay as we had intended cruising around here and the islands anyway.
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