Need help deciding to move the boat to San Diego from Michigan

[appick]

Hi all,
Well due to good fortune and a really smart (not to mention beautiful wife), we moved from Michigan to San Diego this spring. We've been getting the house settled and just enjoying ourselves a bit getting to know the area. The original plan was to move Bombay our 36 ft boat this fall.

Here's where I need to help making sure I'm not doing something really dumb. We bought the boat for a killer deal in Michigan because it needed a fair amount of work having been on the hard for 5 years owners were in their 80's. We paid less than $10k for the boat. Currently the boats engine leaks a bit and I've got an injection pump issue to work on. The bilge flooded to the floorboards because the storage yard shoved me under a tree and the leaves plugged my cockpit drains in the 6 months it sat there. So I need a new battery bank too because it flooded the batteries and drained them . I also need to address the bottom paint as it has fresh water VC17 on it that needs to be completely removed in order to put an ablative paint for saltwater on. Also all the thru hulls are industrial steam bronze gate valves (first owner was a boiler maker/ plumber in Milwaukee).

So I can get a mooring in San Diego Harbor for an entire year for what I was paying for only 6 months of use in Michigan. Sailing all year sounds kinda fun. I'm looking at anywhere between $4k to $7k to ship it, am I crazy? Adding the paint and bottom blasting $2500, batteries $500, and eventual thru hull replacements $1500 I'm going to spend over $5k just on maintenance. Plus all my deck hardware is chromed bronze, which is original so its mostly just bronze now and I'm not too sure how saltwater is going to affect my sweetwater queen lol.

How worried should I be bringing an old freshwater boat to the salt? How is it keeping a boat in San Diego or California in general? Does your bilge have to be spotless? I've always used oil soak pads and bilge snakes to keep my 45 year old Westerbeke W30 from making a mess. I don't have a float switch bilge because I always check before turning it on, I don't want to discharge oily bilge water. Plan is to build an engine pan as it doesn't have one currently. How bad is it out here? I don't want to loose my boat but I don't want to leave it in Michigan either I'm dying here with no friends and no boat...

[nightowle]

It's possibly worthwhile. How hard would it be to sell it and buy something different in SD? You'll love the sailing there!

[appick]

I've thought about that but I'd probably be able to sell the boat for maybe $10k. For that price around these parts I'd be looking at a much smaller boat that'd probably need just as much work but with all the saltwater problems... Ugh

I guess what I'm looking for is to hear it's worth keeping a boat out here. My biggest fear is loosing it for lack of a place to store it. There are no haul out marina's here where you can store your boat its in the water year round. In Michigan I can store the thing for about $1300 a year on its cradle.

[gjordan]

Your 4K$ to 7K$ for shipping sounds a bit low. Is that a firm quote from a reputable trucking outfit or one of the bidding companies that sends you the lowest bid? I needed a similar sized boat moved and it was already on a trailer. I contacted a company called (I think this is the name) U-Ship and they hooked me up with a guy that wanted to tow it with a 3/4 ton pickup. I ended up using a mobile home mover who had a very powerful truck and all of the correct insurance. If you add the selling price where it is and the shipping cost plus de-rigging and re-rigging at this end, you will come up with a much larger sum to compare with buying a boat locally. There are lots of project boats in Calif in the under $20K price range. If you are in love with the boat then money doesnt matter, but financially it seems like a very marginal deal. That is just my opinion and may not agree with your plans. Best of Luck. _____Grant.

[Valmika]

I use a hard bottom paint on my boats in Los Angeles. You are,also close to ensenada Mexico where you can get quality work done,at a fair price. If the transport price is real and you love the boat. Go for it. If not join a club for a bit and see what boat you like for the ocean. If you get up to LA and feel like sailing. Give me a holler

[W3GAC]

Lived/ sailed San Diego area for 5 years. Be prepared for light/ never heavy winds in Summer... at around 10 kts max starting between hour after sunrise and 10ish like a switch turns on... and off about 6p. Winter same switch action but winds a tab more exciting at 12-15 and shorter wind period with wind switching off at 4p. Yes, hard to find dock/ haulout space. Many keep their boat up at Dana Point for both dock/ mooring/ dock space and haulout/ storage but now dealing with I-5 traffic. As perfect as wx/ sailing conditions were... after six months, we began to feel like we were living in a sailor’s version of the Bill Murray movie, Groundhog Day because after you sail every inch of San Diego Harbor shoreline (clockwise and counter clockwise 20 times in daylight and beautiful night motoring (no wind) and up Coast 10 miles, down Coast 10 miles, even done the Coronado Islands (Mexico)/ even anchoring out there for the night many times... but as beautiful as it always was... it really started to not be as exciting/ enjoying over time. Maybe because it just was too perfect! Guess we all have different exceptions of sailing hobby and dream of such perfect wx, especially when in bad conditions! But at least for me, I didn’t know that my longer/ daily enjoyment of sailing was so dependent of having some less than ideal wx and a greater variety of 1-2, 3-4, and 6 hour ‘different’ destinations. Maybe we were spoiled by having so many places to sail to, anchor, over-night, nature everywhere, ‘excitement’ of changing wx/ wind changes... from prior 5-10 yrs sailboat experiences in Chesapeake Bay, Caribbean, NY Harbor. With San Diego wind always from NW, it took an over-nighter w/ engine to get to beautiful Catalina Island, Avalon Harbor and with another over-nighter to get back home... at least a 3-day holiday weekend to just go/ return. It’s just the reality of San Diego location... was/ still would be a bit cautious of sailing South into Mexico waters, nothing West except Coronado Islands (Mexico again) until Hawaiian Islands, that leaves going up/ returning from North coastline (in light winds) to reach equality crowded marinas with destination scenery more or less same as San Diego. Now I would do it all again, so don’t get me wrong. I just wish I had someone share this with me us so I had better expectations. Would not have purchased as big sailboat as I did, fitted with cruising up-grades,... storm sails, dual anchors, chain rode/?windless.,... These all were needed/ used when we left San Diego and returned to more diverse sailing/ wx areas and when we returned to serious cruising again.

[thunderhoof]

I have been living and sailing in San Diego for over 25 years, having moved from the Long Island Sound area.
My suggestion is to dump your current boat before spending another dime on it. Come to San Diego and join the sailing community. There are clubs you can join here for not much cost if you do not have a boat to berth / maintain.

The sailing here is different compared to anywhere in the North / East. You should determine where you fit in as far as boat size, amenities and sailing plans. Since there is sailing year round there is ample opportunity to make friends and to go sailing on their boats.

Welcome to SD and Good Luck. Send me a PM if I can be of further use.

[mlaver]

Welcome to SD to you and your smart, beautiful wife. I think you'll like sailing here. The Coast Guard only checks bilges for cleanliness quarterly.

It sounds like between shipping from MI and all the repairs you're going to have to do you're pushing 20K. I'd think you'd really have to love your boat to go through the effort, but many (myself included) have done non-rational things for love of a boat. That said, if you take the 10K you could get by selling your boat and add the 15-20K you're hypothetically spending I think you'd find a lot of good options in the same size range. There are tons of boats in Ventura, LA, Orange, and SD counties, and since we're going into a period of lower demand you'd probably be able to find a pretty decent deal.

[jenders]

I agree with GJordan. Your shipping costs looks low to me too. And there are so many boats for sale on the West coast, from Puget Sound to La Paz, Baja, that you may want to reconsider.

[WingRyder]

I am following a YouTube Channel of a couple that did just the opposite. They left San Diego, and bought a boat in Racine, WI. There are some beautiful coastal communities in Northern Michigan. I had no idea!

[mack2465]

This is something I can actually help with been driving oversized loads for over 20 years 4k to 7k for a 2400ish mile trip is way to low you don't give the beam but I imagine it is over 10ft I would put it Closer to 10k to 15k. Anything cheaper expect major problems not unheard of for people to underbid a load then abandon it on the side of the road.

[JPA Cate]

appick,

This is only an opinion, but what I think is, given the post above, you might want to turn the stewardship of your present boat over to a new person. Then, you and your smart and lovely wife spend some time sailing OPB's, and consider the next step. There are a host of lovely folks in the SD sailing scene (check out the Silvergate Yacht Club--it's where the folks at Seven Seas Cruising Ass'n, many of them, came from, nice people).

Ann

[svsonora]

All mooring is supposed to have a 1+ year wait list - how'd you swing it?
Great deals on boats pop up all the time in San Diego. Unless you truly have an amazing deal, where you'll still be able to sell your boat for more than what you paid for + have in + transport cost, I would sell her in michigan and get a new boat in SD.

SD is my hometown. SDSU grad here. I hope you love it!!

[jeepbluetj]

W3GAC - Nobody's getting a 35' slip in Dana Point in anything less than 6 years or so. A 30' slip is around 2 years. San Diego is easier than DP.

Under no circumstances ship out a boat that needs that much work. You'll be $20K+ by the time you get it sailable out in San Diego. So sell it and get a boat for $30K in San Diego.

By all means, sail in SD. 10 kts daily just means you just don't want some massive full-keeled beast for daysails. But a lighter fin keel production boat is just fine. My C-30 is plenty happy at 10 kts. (Ok, little happier at 15... but 10 works)

Best thing is you can sail every month out of the year.

[Don C L]

Well, you know where I am... unfortunately I am agreeing with those who say to consider selling your boat and looking in SoCal for one, because good deals do turn up out here. As far as salt on the boat, well, you know the C29 and mine has been sitting in the water here (in fact the same harbor) for 50 some odd years