Cruisers Forum
 


Reply
  This discussion is proudly sponsored by:
Please support our sponsors and let them know you heard about their products on Cruisers Forums. Advertise Here
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Rate Thread Display Modes
Old 10-10-2016, 10:40   #1
Registered User

Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 3
Keeping a boat on Long Island?

I'm a first-time boat owner and will soon be moving to the NYC area. I've got a 36 foot Beneteau (5'5" max draft) and I'm trying to find a place to moor the boat for a reasonable price and not too far out on Long Island. Any suggestions, tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Also, it seems like the south part of Long Island (Oceanside, Freeport, Bellmore, Merrick, Wantagh, etc.) has a good amount of waterfront/canal front properties for sale with private docks. Does anyone have experience sailing in this area? Is it deep enough to keep a 5'5" draft boat on a private dock behind one's house?

Any info would be much appreciated. Thanks!
Nonixskis is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-10-2016, 11:17   #2
Registered User

Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Astoria, NY
Boat: Sabre 38
Posts: 566
Re: Keeping a boat on Long Island?

Hello and welcome to here and NYC!

I sail out of Sheepshead Bay (Sheepshead Bay Yacht Club, SBYC), which is only a bit west of where you are looking at. Been here for a few years.

As far I can have been able to tell, there is no sailing in that area, except for small (trailer) boats. It's just too shallow everywhere. On top of that, the bridges you'd have to navigate through are quite low.

About the closest solution would be the to the East at Great South Bay through Fire Island Inlet. But even that, beyond the channel running along Fire Island, is considered a no-go for most sailboats. At least that is what I have been told, and judging from the charts, it's true and I dear not test it even with my 4.5' draft.

If Sheepshead Bay or Gateway Marina aren't too far (45 minutes to an hour from Oceanside, about the same distance for me from Astoria), check them out. Access to the Lower Bay, Rockaway, Sandy Hook, Atlantic Highlands and Key Port is worthwhile. Send me a PM and I can have you check out SBYC.
__________________
Stephen

s/v Carpe Ventum
1983 Sabre 38
My Intro
fallingeggs is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-10-2016, 18:47   #3
Registered User

Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Great Neck, N.Y.
Boat: Lancer 30, Little Jumps
Posts: 821
Re: Keeping a boat on Long Island?

Welcome to CF.
Well worth while exploring, is close in northshore of Long Island.
Our marina set on a great waterside park with waterside concerts Sat. and Sun.
in the summer. Launch service to 11 p.m. most nights and is on the sound
so your sailing when you cast off. And immediately into deep water.
Cost is at $15. per ft. plus 500. flat fee if not a Great Neck village resident.
Steppingstone Park and marina is a mile east of Throgs Neck bridge, about a mile south across the sound from City island and about a mile west of Manhassst bay which has
extensive marine yards and services, a West marine, all kinds of near/on waterfront wonderful restaurants within dinghy or water taxi. And ample free town mooorings.
(check out on Active captain)
Express train service is 22 minutes otherwise 35 minutes from midtown Manhattans
Penn station. And lots of near day and weekend destinations as you head out east on the sound.
If interest happy to talk/show you around.

Think you are talking about the Great South Bay on south shore of long island...have sailed on friends small centerboard boats for hours in 4 1/2 or 5 ft of water...very unsettling for a keelboat sailor. Good wind, not a lot of water.
__________________
hugosalt
s/v Little Jumps
Lancer 30
hugosalt is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-10-2016, 19:22   #4
Registered User
 
CaptNemoO2's Avatar

Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Long Island
Boat: Beneteau Oceanis 510
Posts: 197
Re: Keeping a boat on Long Island?

Welcome to the forum. It seems people here are afraid of the south shore, but the truth is is great sailing. It's biggest downfall is the lack of places to go for a weekend cruise.

For some background on me, I grew up sailing out of East Rockaway/Oceanside. Have been sailing the south shore for almost 32 years (it will be 32 next week when I turn 32!). Most of that was on a '90 Catalina 42. In 2012 I bought my Beneteau 510, with a 6' draft. Due to typical yacht club b.s. I left and got into the town marina in Freeport.

There are some places that can get skinny, but for the most part 6' draft is not an issue if sailing out of East Rockaway or Jones inlet. Anything further east is shallow and a long ride to the ocean. I've ran my inflatable aground in Great South Bay too many times to count. In the areas you mentioned, some of the canals get low, but there's about a 4 to 6 foot tide. Anyplace there's water at low tide is no problem at high tide. My current marina has a speed bump right at the entrance, I don't go through within 1.5 hours of low tide. No problem, I just go for longer sails! Jones inlet is no problem if you stay in the channel, DO NOT go west of the green 1 bouy, there's a sandbar with breaking waves at low tide. The inlets can get lumpy with opposing wind and tide, but if you tough it out, the oceans more often than not calm enough for sailing. If you're in the west side of Island Park, you can sail in Reynolds Channel if the ocean or weather is rough. For where we were it was a 45 minute to an hour trip to the Atlantic Beach bridge. As far as day sailing goes, it's tough to beat it here. Since moving to Freeport, I'm 15 minutes from the dock to the ocean and sailing, assuming the bridge operator is there. I usually sail at least twice a week, sometimes more (I work full time). You get out there and sail anyway the wind will let you. If the wind dies (rare), put the sails away, drift and go swimming.

There's more to say, but I'm responding from my phone, and tired, but feel free to ask me anything about the area.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app
CaptNemoO2 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-10-2016, 20:46   #5
Registered User
 
Idylles15.5's Avatar

Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Northport NY
Boat: Idylles 15.5
Posts: 345
Send a message via Yahoo to Idylles15.5
Re: Keeping a boat on Long Island?

I work at Manhasset Bay Marina in Port Washington. Best train line on the island. Same line as the guy mentioned from Great Neck. Express train in the mornings and after work. 40 min train ride and you could walk to the Marina in 15 min or just hop in a cab. I coud go on and on, but just look at our Website. Manhasset Bay Marina, Port Washington NY. Family owned by the La Mottas who are very nice people. I work on all the sailboats there, and I also keep my 15.5 Idylle there. Call Pat in the office in the morning, 516 883-8411. Tell him Nelson told you to call.
Idylles15.5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-10-2016, 08:40   #6
Registered User

Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 322
Re: Keeping a boat on Long Island?

Grew up on the south shore of Long Island and very few sailboats for a reason, relatively narrow channels and bridges that would need opening. You could head out the inlet, but that brings another host of issues based on weather and tide. Highly recommend peconic bay area out easy if you don't mind traveling out to your boat, or the north shore of Long Island.
marlinmike is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-10-2016, 10:02   #7
Registered User

Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Brookhaven, NY
Boat: Pearson 34-2
Posts: 260
Re: Keeping a boat on Long Island?

Hi! I have sailed here all my adult life. You will be very restricted sailing on Great South Bay with that draft. There are boats east of Bay Shore that have drafts like yours, but they have to be VERY careful and can't go everywhere. The north shore is nice, but wind is sometimes an issue. The Long island Sound can be short on wind in the summer time. The east end between the forks has deep water and wind, the best area to sail IMHO. BTW, I sail on the Great South Bay with a centerboard boat, 3'2" Tartan 27-2. I hit bottom on occasion, like everyone else here.
fred4936 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-10-2016, 11:45   #8
Registered User

Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Oyster BAy NY
Boat: Catalina Mk1 36
Posts: 85
Re: Keeping a boat on Long Island?

I have sailed on the North Shore for about 30 years. I am in Oyster Bay, where you might consider the excellent service at Oyster Bay Marine. They have dependable launch service and mechanical and fiberglass work, which unfortunately I needed to avail myself of. They do quality work and stand behind it.
John McCrane is the manage for many years, and knows power and sailboats. He is often seen on weekends racing on the classic yachts. They have a large mooring field and a few slips. Fuel, water and ice are available and a short walk into the heart of town for restaurants and ice cream. This is also a short walk from the end of the Oyster Bay branch of the LIRR.
The water is also much cleaner then in Manhasset or City Island area.
I recently joined Masthead Cove Yacht Club, a paper club located in Huntington, another fine harbor.
As was said, the south shore is shallow, but they have wind. If the sea breeze makes it to the north shore its usually around 4 pm. Spring and Fall sailing usually have better wind conditions, and we have depth.
__________________
G
Gary Matthesen is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-10-2016, 11:47   #9
Registered User

Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 2,150
Re: Keeping a boat on Long Island?

As long as you have the millions to afford waterfront property, almost any bay will do. Try Oyster bay. Fairly cheap houses starting at about 15m.
reed1v is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-10-2016, 12:04   #10
Registered User

Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Oyster BAy NY
Boat: Catalina Mk1 36
Posts: 85
Re: Keeping a boat on Long Island?

I don't live in OB or Huntington, but you can still rent or buy a mooring in OB. No "fortunate one" here! You can though see Billy Joel's boats, Dolans Yacht from Cable vision, or Murdock may drop in to his Center Island Home.
Dolan often runs a great fireworks display in the harbor on July $
__________________
G
Gary Matthesen is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-10-2016, 13:45   #11
Registered User

Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 3
Re: Keeping a boat on Long Island?

Thanks all,

I appreciate all the comments and insight. It looks like the north shore is the best option for quick sailing access even if the wind is not great in summer. Just wanted to clarify, when I was talking about the south shore, I was talking about properties like these:

Zillow: Real Estate, Apartments, Mortgage & Home Values in the US

Zillow: Real Estate, Apartments, Mortgage & Home Values in the US

Is it do-able to keep a 5'5" draft sailboat on the canal and then motor out through the channel to sail the ocean?
Nonixskis is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-10-2016, 20:11   #12
Registered User
 
CaptNemoO2's Avatar

Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Long Island
Boat: Beneteau Oceanis 510
Posts: 197
Re: Keeping a boat on Long Island?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nonixskis View Post
Thanks all,

I appreciate all the comments and insight. It looks like the north shore is the best option for quick sailing access even if the wind is not great in summer. Just wanted to clarify, when I was talking about the south shore, I was talking about properties like these:

Zillow: Real Estate, Apartments, Mortgage & Home Values in the US

Zillow: Real Estate, Apartments, Mortgage & Home Values in the US

Is it do-able to keep a 5'5" draft sailboat on the canal and then motor out through the channel to sail the ocean?
I can't speak to those specific canals, but once you get to the main channel, you should be ok. The state boat channel, which runs parallel to the shore line on the bayside is plenty deep. There are sailboats in there all the time. The biggest problem with those two places is the Meadowbrook and Wantagh bridges. There's one operator for those two and the Loop Bridge. He's mostly at the Loop since that gets the most boat traffic. The Meadowbrook opens more often than the Wantagh, and you can be waiting a while. If on the south shore, the Atlantic Beach Bridge and Loop Bridge are the most reliable for opening on time. ABB is on a legal schedule on the :00 and :30, has lots of horizontal clearance, and they don't force you to put the mainsail away (or didn't). That last bit was nice because you can sail on the inside. Loop doesn't have a legal schedule for non- commercial, but they stick to :20 and :50. They went even respond to your radio calls if your sail is up.

There are places down here, but they're disappearing and condos are taking their places. There are still a few good areas to put a sailboat behind your house but I wouldn't buy a house here just for that purpose.

What are your plans for using the boat? What about commuting to work? Is having the boat behind your house the only reason for looking at Long Island?

Sent from my SM-N920V using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app
CaptNemoO2 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
Long Island

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Long long long time, but finally some progress rustypirate Construction, Maintenance & Refit 13 09-04-2019 14:26
Long, long, long boat projects skipmac General Sailing Forum 72 10-09-2018 12:59
Crew Wanted: Delivery - long island to Long Beach Island NJ alegg Crew Archives 2 23-04-2015 11:08
Long-term keeping boat in Uruguay? SebastianSmith Rules of the Road, Regulations & Red Tape 6 03-10-2014 04:24
Any Problems Keeping a Swing Keel Boat in the Water Long Term? kcmarcet Monohull Sailboats 20 07-04-2011 16:44

Advertise Here


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 23:58.


Google+
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Social Knowledge Networks
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.

ShowCase vBulletin Plugins by Drive Thru Online, Inc.