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Old 11-04-2012, 19:30   #31
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Re: Best Marina in the Clear Lake Area ?

Port Aransas, we are moving to Island Moorings, good hurricane protection, good prices and management, good sailing . Corpus Christi ( dont know much except great sailing) Clear lake ( plethora of marinas to choose from, good place to outfit, lots of boat, great sailing)
What kind of boat are you looking for? Modern, traditional? Maybe we know of a good deal .
Good luck,
Erika
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Old 11-04-2012, 19:34   #32
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Re: Best Marina in the Clear Lake Area ?

Oops sorry mis- read the post!
Clear lake marinas.... Waterford has best protection but can be tough on really deep draft vessels, say over 7 feet, not impossible, but in the winter you might need to wait for high tide.
South shore harbor is another good one as long as you are not living aboard( they don't allow live aboards)
All the rest are ify when it comes to hurricane protection ( IMHO )
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Old 11-04-2012, 19:45   #33
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Re: Best Marina in the Clear Lake Area ?

Seabrook marina after Ike, fared better then some but still hard hit

http://db.tt/KdDoKVRZ


Watergate marina, built new piers after Ike and added flimsy breakwater. I do not think the new piers are as good as Waterford

http://db.tt/rNQ6KcZQ

Hope that helps

Erika
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Old 11-04-2012, 21:05   #34
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ocean Girl
Clear lake is great but there are no beaches.

I am in Clear Lake. I pay an average of 500 a month for a 40ft slip at Waterford. This includes a liveaboard fee (80 I think) and electricity (metered at 13 cents I think). I think my marina is one of the most expensive in the area so you could do better in price.

The only decent beaches are south from Port Aransas on to Corpus Christi. Corpus has some good beaches and lots of wind. But you are correct, the beaches are not up to Florida standards. Plus because of the shape of the coast and prevailing south easterly winds we are almost always on a lee shore.

The up side is there is fewer regulations, you can camp, walk your dog, even drive your car right up to the water, though some beaches only allow off road vehicles due to cars getting stuck (and the dunes are off limits)

Texas doesn't have the prettiest beaches but it does have the nicest people you will ever meet.

Cheers,
Erika
+1 for Erika's point of view.

I've been looking into (in detail) putting a 40'er into the Clearlake area and the insurance companies do seem to rank according to marina.

I don't have any anecdotal evidence but the fact that Waterford came through Ike relatively unscathed would not have been lost on the insurance companies, especially after FEMAs reports.

You only have to look at the grand height of the pilings at Waterford and you'll see that it was built to ensure pontoons didn't simple float off the top with the storm surge with the boats still attached.

You'll have to file a hurricane preparedness plan with your insurance anyway - but as you're up in Austin you're not going to manage to get down to move your boat out into the bay with 3 hooks on it and several hundred feet of anchor chain - you need to make sure you're moored somewhere which stands a chance historically in the face of a major event.

Erika's very prudent in the assumption that it's less expensive to have a place which is less likely to result in Hurricane damage than to be solely reliant on the replacement value offered by the insurance companies; which can have deductibles up in the $9k range for named storms. Plus, I dread to think what your premiums would run at the year following a total loss claim! Bear in mind that many harbors in the clear lake area require $300k worth of liability insurance - so ducking the insurance question isn't an option.

I recommend you call some insurance companies and ask the "what if" question regarding Seabrook, Kemah, Waterford and Galveston yacht basin. It would be interesting to know what the percentage price differential is - if any....

Phil
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Old 12-04-2012, 10:13   #35
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Re: Best Marina in the Clear Lake Area ?

Ocean Girl && Cavalier,
Thanks for the input.
boats.. well jeez I am looking more "classic" than modern... the idea is to circumnavigate, and i would rather be more comfy in a slightly heavier boat than a newer lighter one. I am not racing... also in the more modern production boats, i just dont see the storage and tankage. I am leaning towards center cockpits as i do like the larger aft cabin. I have a daughter that will be going with, so definately need 2 seperate sleeping cabins. 40-49 feet. If ya see a good deal on something send me a private message.
Thanks again!
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Old 12-04-2012, 14:19   #36
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Re: Best Marina in the Clear Lake Area ?

From Austin, you might also want to consider Corpus Christi and Port Aransas. Better sailing, cleaner water.
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Old 12-04-2012, 16:13   #37
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Re: Best Marina in the Clear Lake Area ?

We used to be at Waterford and I loved the amenities. I did not love slugging 45 minutes with several soft groundings to get to deep water. We pull almost 6 feet and had constant problems with water depth-even in the marked channel. If you aren't going to be sailing often or you have a shallow draft its a good choice.

We are now at Boardwalk. The large parking garage provided a nice wind break from Ike. If you get one of the slips by the entrance, you lose this advantage. We can be in the Bay in 10 minutes and that to us is huge. It wouldn't be my choice if I were living aboard just now as its noisy on the weekends.

I know several folks who have been happy with Seabrook though it is more exposed than others.
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Old 12-04-2012, 16:23   #38
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Re: Best Marina in the Clear Lake Area ?

We thought Waterford was just OK. If we went back, we'd probably go to Portofino. It's right at the bridge, and the pool is right next to the water. And, unlike Waterford, it's gated.
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Old 12-04-2012, 17:22   #39
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We thought Waterford was just OK. If we went back, we'd probably go to Portofino. It's right at the bridge, and the pool is right next to the water. And, unlike Waterford, it's gated.
Isn't portofino a "dockominium"? I.e. you have to buy the slip...
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Old 12-04-2012, 17:37   #40
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Re: Best Marina in the Clear Lake Area ?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cavalier View Post
Isn't portofino a "dockominium"? I.e. you have to buy the slip...
Yes, but there are slips available for sublease.
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Old 12-04-2012, 17:46   #41
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Re: Best Marina in the Clear Lake Area ?

I have not ever prowled around in Portofino.
It does seem a good location.

Are those all floating docks in the Portofino Marina?

.
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Old 12-04-2012, 17:47   #42
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Yes, but there are slips available for sublease.
Thanks for the info! their website seems to be all slipominiums/pilominiums (?) and transient berths upon request... my mouse-pointer was stopped in its tracks on the way to the "contact us" button.

You wouldn't happen to know where any sublease information is posted would you? Does it require a physical visit? We'll be down there on Tuesday...
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Old 12-04-2012, 17:49   #43
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Re: Best Marina in the Clear Lake Area ?

The only problems with Portofino are that the bridge side has had some shoaling problems in the past. Not sure how it is now. That, and you get some dirt from trucks on the bridge. We have 2 friends sub-leasing there now. I'd give them a call. We looked real hard there about 4 years ago, but we ended up going to Corpus Christi instead.
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Old 12-04-2012, 19:23   #44
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Re: Best Marina in the Clear Lake Area ?

Quote:
Originally Posted by bstreep View Post
From Austin, you might also want to consider Corpus Christi and Port Aransas. Better sailing, cleaner water.
I did, but I am in and near Houston more often as my parents live in Huntsville, and they will want to go sail with the Grandkid.
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Old 15-04-2012, 12:44   #45
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Re: Best Marina in the Clear Lake Area ?

We are in Seabrook Marina (since June 08). It is a very active and sociable marina with a gated pool that just opened and a new workout center, plenty of picnic tables for each pier. Variety of piers to choose from floating concrete (some covered and new), floating wood, and fixed wood piers. The rates are going up this April for Seabrook, but they are competitive to Kemah Boardwalk. Water included, and metered slips (same per month or annual). We have a neighbor from Austin that comes down to bimonthly or more to work on his sailboat. The biggest plus is that it only takes a few minutes to get to the Bay. Plenty of bathroom and showers around the marina (5), and a big berm of dirt around the parts of the marina (fuel dock at the marina again soon). Daily and good nightly security roam the marina. If you want more info or pictures, pm me and I can give you more detail. Outriggers restaurant is nearby (Sundance 1 got taken out by IKE and not rebuilt).

As for Portofino (which has a new Yacht Club), Craigslist lists some of the subleased and if you join TMCA, some members at Portofino (own multiple slips) occasionally will list their slips for sublease. Lots of parties there and a nice AC cooled clubhouse, bathrooms are old.

(Hurricanes normally hit here every 25 years-- hopefully we are ok, some of the boats lost were from boatowner error, like tying off to the post versus the ring-sinking their boat, neighbors boat, and ripping the head sail of adjacent boat).

You can still see the Friday night summer fireworks from our slip and do not have to hear the toot toot of Kemah Boardwalks train as loud until 11pm and not under the buzzing powerlines. There are fun places to sail around Galveston Bay and Trinity Bay and great restaurants (mom and pop style and chain) along Galveston Bay shoreline.

Beach limitation: I prefer sailing to going to the Galveston Beach (25 miles away), since I always get bored on the beach. We get some great winds on the Bay (sail without tacking for an hour) and Trinity Bay side is private and same depth as Galveston Bay side.

Hope this helps...
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