Wintering in NYC

[waterworldly]

Can anyone offer any insight into staying over in the Hudson, around NYC? We have been here for the summer and are considering living aboard this winter. Do the sails need to be taken in? Other tips for winterizing would be greatly appreciated. We will be onboard full time and the boat is equipt with reverse heat. We intended to bring aboard some sort of small electric space heaters. In the event of loss of electric we have an 18kw generator at our disposal. Water is not an issue, as we have large tanks and can refill at the convenience of the weather. We were looking forward to some fall sailing on the Hudson. Thanks for any input in this decision.

[speedoo]

79th Street boat basin is a NYC marina, on the Hudson, that offers both moorings and dockage, but dockage is both expensive and difficult to obtain. Best thing about this marina is that you are right on the upper west side of Manhattan, just a few blocks from the subway which gives you great access to the entire city. A few blocks further east is Central Park. But you have to use your own dinghy to get ashore if you get a mooring there.

Marinas : West 79th Street Boat Basin : New York City Department of Parks & Recreation

Not sure about the liveaboard situation there. Even if it's allowed, I don't know if you can count on being comfortable at night.

[myosys]

Originally Posted by waterworldly

Can anyone offer any insight into staying over in the Hudson, around NYC? We have been here for the summer and are considering living aboard this winter.

Try Liberty Landing Marina, followed by Lincoln Harbor Marina. These two marinas are on the NJ side of the Hudson.

On the NY side, I know about the marina at Chelsea Piers (Surfside 3?) and North Cove, but these are likely to be extremely expensive.

Try marinas.com and look up and down the map for marinas.

Anyway, back to the two I'm more familiar with. Lincoln Harbor is a bit rolly, even with that new sea wall of theirs. There is 1st-come-1st-serve covered parking, and a big parking lot just outside the building. NY Waterway ferry is nearby, as is a Ruth Chris Steakhouse. A very short ride to lots of amenities in Edgewater & Hoboken.

Liberty Landing, I think, has some sort of ferry service to World Financial. But, just outside of the area, is a very rough neighborhood (i.e. do not walk there.) The marina is not rolly; well protected in Morris Canal.

speedo is right about 79th st allowing liveaboards, as I remember the "boat squatter" city that was there. most of these boats have been forced out. spaces are very hard to come by there, and you're not going anywhere at low tide. the marina is badly in need of dredging.

good luck!

[hugosalt]

For your consideration...Manhasset Bay...extreme western Long Island Sound...very protected...several live aboard marina options...also excellent fall sailing (I usually sail into early Dec.)
railroad takes about 30 minutes into Penn Station (midtown
manhattan) Hudson is less than 2 hours...if interested can give more info. Hugo

[waterworldly]

Thanks for the replies, BUT, I wanted advise on what to do TO the boat, I already have a spot to keep her in the water!

[Drew13440]

Thanks for the replies, BUT, I wanted advise on what to do TO the boat, I already have a spot to keep her in the water!

Don't know where your "spot" is, but it will be VERY windy and very cold on the lower Hudson in the winter. If you're at 79th Street, reduce windage, plug in and turn up the heat. I'll send you to a great deli or two, but we need to know where your "spot" is to really help.

[SailFastTri]

Originally Posted by waterworldly

Can anyone offer any insight into staying over in the Hudson, around NYC? We have been here for the summer and are considering living aboard this winter. Do the sails need to be taken in? Other tips for winterizing would be greatly appreciated. We will be onboard full time and the boat is equipt with reverse heat. We intended to bring aboard some sort of small electric space heaters. In the event of loss of electric we have an 18kw generator at our disposal. Water is not an issue, as we have large tanks and can refill at the convenience of the weather. We were looking forward to some fall sailing on the Hudson. Thanks for any input in this decision.

Yes the sails should be stored somewhere, or they will likely mildew unless you use them and air them out regularly. Sail lofts store for a reasonable fee (if you need cleaning or maintenance they will often store them free) or you can rent a storage space.

As for being able to "refill at the convenience of the weather" you should check with the marina as to whether their water lines will be winterized (another term for "shut off and drained"). Dock water lines will freeze unless they are either left running (wasting water) continuously or insulated with heat tape.

[djmarchand]

Reverse cycle boat heating stops working at water temps of about 40 deg F. Otherwise the heat exchanger will freeze up.

So all of your heat will be electric resistance heating. If you can't shrink wrap your boat, which would be a good way to cut down on the heat loss, then it will take a bunch of KWs to keep it at a decent temp. Probably about 5,000 watts. Do you have 50 amp shore power? If you are limited to 30 amp then two space heaters is all that you can run. Probably not enough.

[stevesailor]

there's also sheepshead bay, right east of coney island beach. it's brooklyn not nyc, i was there for a while and enjoyed it. the train is a short walk away to get anywhere in the city (though its a long train ride to manhattan). you can rent moorings from the yacht clubs, or you can apply for permits through the city to set one. we anchored outside of the mooring field for a month and it was nice. the only official dinghy landings are the yacht clubs, which charge a fee to use, but i remember it being cheap.
you can pull up elsewhere for free if you're creative.

we stayed anchored off of 79th for a while, and it was really really rocky from all the wake and wake bouncing off the land. we were replacing the forestay then, which was exciting to do with all the wake...
you can pay 79th to pull up your dinghy to their dinghy dock. the night staff there was really nice i remember.

hope this helps!

[RunningFish]

I spent this past winter at Chelsea Piers. Water temp dropped below 40 for about a month so reverse cycle A/C stopped working. Espar diesel heat was very helpful, electric alone would have required a lot of amps.

I didn't find a need to pull in sails or anything else on deck to reduce windage, but we had lots of soot fall on deck and it was hard to remove.

[duncan_ellison]

Just an update on 79th St Boat Basin.

I just called them hoping to pick up a mooring next week. No problem with availability, but they won't accept anything over 40ft.

When I mentioned that our displacement is ~22K lbs, she said "no way, you'll wake up in New Jersey" !

Looks like a slip there is the only way to go for us, all the other marinas are way out of our price range.

Duncan
S/Y TALISA
currently @ Northport, NY