Mooring Strategy for 42ft. Cat in the Meds

[heizer1]

Dear fellow cruisers,

we are in the process of buying a 42ft catamaran in Europe. Our plan is to keep the boat in the meds for the next 2-3 years, cruising on it for 4-8 weeks per year (1-2 weeks per trip), getting familiar with it et cetera and then move aboard. We do not want to put it in a charter fleet.

At the moment we are evaluating different options for mooring for the times we are not at the boat (we are very flexible to the location of the cat):

1. Wet Mooring in the season / dry dock in the winter
2. Wet Mooring throughout the year / lift out only for yearly maintenance
3. Dry Docking all the time, put it always in the water and then out again.

There are several marinas who can only offer one option, which is totally fine for us as we can move the cat if necessary.

I would be very interested of what you would do and what would be best for the boat. My preference would be definitely option 1, as I think this would give the hull the chance to dry every year and reduce stress and potential osmosis problems.
For option 3, we have an offer from Aprilia Marittima 2000 out of Italy with an Haul Out flatrate which is reasonably priced and could also be interesting, but I'm not sure if I want to hassle with lifting the boat every time out of the water and the potential dangers. WHat do you guys think?

Thank you for your thoughts, it's the first cat we will own so we have a lot to learn form you,
Kerstin & Timo

[Dogscout]

I have seen many cats out of the water in storage in Preveza Greece. It seems to be a popular choice. I had my boat in Cleopatra for a year spanning 2019/2020.

[alamoana]

I see no reason for drying the boat. However there are advantages to options 1 and 3. I would choose depending on location and price. Good luck

[meirriba]

We have the following protocol.
Summer winter, summer in the water.
Then, boat out for antifouling, anodes, check of throughhulls, rudders, etc.
This is sometimes short, like week-two weeks, sometimes for the season (allows the hull to dry).
The season out, is usually followed by problems, as system like to work and being idle for longish periods is unhealthy.
When we are away from the boat for periods longe then a month, we pay somebody who we trust to come over and operate and air the boat and give it a check.
Connect batteries.
He starts engines a/c and generator for 10 minutes.
Opens seacocks then
Operates all pumps for few minutes, closes seacocks, open hatches for airing.
Checks batteries state and tops if necessary then closes back everything.
Sends pictures/report.

[At Peace]

Originally Posted by heizer1

Dear fellow cruisers,

we are in the process of buying a 42ft catamaran in Europe. Our plan is to keep the boat in the meds for the next 2-3 years, cruising on it for 4-8 weeks per year (1-2 weeks per trip), getting familiar with it et cetera and then move aboard. We do not want to put it in a charter fleet.

At the moment we are evaluating different options for mooring for the times we are not at the boat (we are very flexible to the location of the cat):

1. Wet Mooring in the season / dry dock in the winter
2. Wet Mooring throughout the year / lift out only for yearly maintenance
3. Dry Docking all the time, put it always in the water and then out again.

There are several marinas who can only offer one option, which is totally fine for us as we can move the cat if necessary.

I would be very interested of what you would do and what would be best for the boat. My preference would be definitely option 1, as I think this would give the hull the chance to dry every year and reduce stress and potential osmosis problems.
For option 3, we have an offer from Aprilia Marittima 2000 out of Italy with an Haul Out flatrate which is reasonably priced and could also be interesting, but I'm not sure if I want to hassle with lifting the boat every time out of the water and the potential dangers. WHat do you guys think?

Thank you for your thoughts, it's the first cat we will own so we have a lot to learn form you,
Kerstin & Timo

Have you thought about leasing a boat of the same make & size that you want to purchase for your 1 - 2 weeks cruises twice a year? You would be gaining experience on the same boat actually sailing rather than spending much of those 1 - 2 weeks cleaning and repairing.

Just a thought.