Winter lay up over here or over there?

[FairweatherDave]

Winter lay up over here (Shoreham) or over there(Chichester)?

I'm not sure where to lay-up over winter. My "new" boat will be delivered by road from Essex. Option 1 is a good club close to home (15 mins) , but a days sailing to my summer mooring in Chichester. Option 2 is a good yard (Emsworth/Thornham) with launching directly into Chichester, but an hours drive away.

My new boat is a Westerly Centaur and although I am confident she's a good'un I don't think you learn about a boat until you are using her (in the summer) and I don't believe much work is required over the winter.

So convenience over the winter locally and club benefits or a yard where we get known and develop connections (eg with boat mechanics) that are practical should issues arise in the summer. Many thanks for any opinions/ other peoples experience. Dave

 

[FairweatherDave]

Cheap bump I know

Apologies for the cheap bump but I'd love an opinion on this. I'm trying to decide by the weekend/Monday so I can organise the boat delivery.

So...... good local club over winter and local connections which might not be so useful in the summer and a delivery trip to Chichester to factor in, or .....a local yard to Chichester and winter commuting along the A27 as well as summer?
Goes without saying she's an older boat with a relatively amateur owner who is only really happy sailing the Solent.

 

[DJE]

You are right that the first season's use will show you what needs doing and what would be nice to change. So don't set about changing too much in the first winter.
But for any amount of winter work I would prefer to have the boat as near to home as possible. Mine is two miles away which is great if you forget anything or if the weather suddenly improves enough to get a quick coat of varnish on.

 

[Scotty_Tradewind]

Wicormarine http://www.wicormarine.co.uk/ for those needing a good yard with lots of experts based there and a really busy DIY scene most of the winter.

 

[Vara]

From personal experience I would not put the boat into the SYC yard.

A days maintenance there used to go;

Get to boat, unpack tools prepare to work, see a mate has arrived, cup of tea, discuss job, adjourn to bar to get second opinion, tip out of bar, it's getting dark and cold, pack up tools and go home.

A brilliant place for a procrastinator with alcholic tendencies.

Took me several seasons to work out why the boat was falling apart.



(seriously though, the closer the better as I bet you'll find loads of little jobs that need doing).

 

[FairweatherDave]

Thanks for the replies all. I'm still undecided and will be visiting SYC in Shoreham very soon. That is probably my preferred option but the leg from Shoreham to Chichester would be a big one for me, even if I got the weather bang on.(what a light weight!) Wintering at Chichester is the safer option but has less potential for building my sailing/boat ownership experience. cheers Dave