Hello from La Malbaie, Quebec, Canada

[Giacomo]

Hello everybody,

I just joined this forum and wanted to say hello to everybody.

I am planning on retiring december 2008 and teach only during the fall session.

What brought me to join this site is that I am trying to estimate the cruising costs and was wondering about where to leave the boat between june and december and the costs associated to it.

I will explore the site more in depth and try to find the information by myself but if anybody can help me, I would appreciate.

If any of you is thinking to visit Quebec, dont forget to also visit Charlevoix, the nicest region and drop by for a chat. You can see my small hotel at maisondesberges.com.

Thanks

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Giacomo,
Welcome aboard!! It would be hard to answer questions without knowing where your boat will be June to December.
Since your boat will probably not be here in Hawaii I'll let others who know the East Coast a bit better respond to your questions.
Good to have you in the forum.
Kind Regards,
JohnL

[Jentine]

Welcome Giacomo. I would assume that you would move your boat as far south as you can during the prior summer. Keep in mind that the Carolinas, Georgia and Northern Florida are cooold in December. Florida would be your best bet, probably mid coast, to lower your costs somewhat.
Jim

[Knottygirlz]

Hi Giacomo, Welcome to the forum! As Skipper John said, it really depends on your cruising plans and where you want to be. We are also on the north shore of the St. Lawrence, about 100 miles west of you. We too plan to cruise in our retirement and our current plan is to explore all the northern waters from May - Oct and the south for the winter months.

There are a few different threads on the board about cruising costs so enjoy your stay!

Lori

[Québec 1]

Salut Giacomo,
I just bought a 26M and will be retireing in dec 2008. I live in Levis. I plan on leaving my boat in Florida during the winter and hauling it back to Québec every spring. Let me know when you come to Québec

[scallywag]

June to December(really November) are the hurricane months. The insurance companies charge a premium to keep a boat in Florida. In fact they like the boats to be north of North Carolina. You will have to weigh the costs of insurance and storage on the hard to determine what will be best for you. I am charged $2,500us for insurance on my 36' Princess. I do not pay any mooring or dockage because I live on a canal. Maybe someone else can be more specific about their costs further north.

Welcome aboard Giacomo, I plan to retire 2009. My first boat was a MacGregor Venture 23'. I still have her but she is in need of sprucing up. As you know with teaching, it is not a 40 hour week. This is my little bite of boating for the week. The rest of the weekend will be spent grading papers and completing course work.

John

[Pblais]

As noted dock fees can vary a great deal. Areas of higher population genrally cost more. Around here fees vary by about a factor of 2 or even more. Prices in Annapolis, MD are a lot more than here at the southern end of the Chesapeake. being hauled out of the water in hurricane season can help lower the cost of being out of actin during hurricane seasoon but of course splashing and hauling are a cost that has to be added.

The costs of cruising is a complicated topic and requires a bit of research to understan how all the costs work and how to match your own budget to what you really want to be able to do at the price you can afford. You often need to make adjustments to make the money work.

For the Atlantic east coast southern VA is a good location as fees only get higher the farther north you go and we are just north of North Carolina. Hurricanes coming up the Gulf Stream tend to take a sharp right turn out to sea before they get here. Dock fees in new England are very high but unless you inherit a slip from your father it's very difficult to even get an expensive slip in many locations.

[Québec 1]

I was thinking of keeping the 26M in a boat yard during the winter and just trailering her from the yard to where ever I wanted to go. So I don't need a slip just a secure place to store it until I motor up ,hook up and drive to water. I bought the Macgregor because I could just hook,drive and sail and pay slippage when it was necessary. Virginia sounds great tho.
Thanks for the prompt reply