where can I leave my catamaran on the East coast for a couple of months?

[UrbanH]

Hi everybody ,
my name is Urban and I am from Germany.

I have recently bought my first boat, a 49ft catamaran, which I am going to sail through the Mediterranean and further to the United States.
I have planed a visit to the US long time ago, when I did not think about buying a sailboat. Now I like the idea to cross the ocean on my own boat instead of flying. After I have arrived, I will travel mostly inlands, a friend of mine loans me his car, and will stay approximately 5 months traveling. So, now my problem is, where do I leave my boat for five months?
Its a 49 ft catamaran, 25ft width and approximately 12 metric tons, 28.000lbs heavy.
I would prefer Texas shores as the place to leave my boat, since it is closest to my friends home. I know there is the hurricane season, but I am planing to leave towards the northeast by time, (to cross back to Europe)
I am absolutely NOT familiar with American behaviour or what people are used to do. Is it normal or possible that people anchor inside of the intercostal waterways? is it mandatory that you leave your yacht in a marina? How expensive is it to rent a space for about 5 months in a marina or put it on land?

I would be absolutely glad if anybody could give me some suggestions:

1. close to Texas would be nice
2. inexpensive place weather to rent a space in a marina or, what I prefer, put it on land.
3. is anchoring for several months an option? which place? should be safe from weather and people.
Thank you all and I am looking forward to your posts.

Urban

[Sparx]

Welcome Urban.

Do not leave your boat on anchor for months. Too many things could go horribly wrong. Also, seemingly abandoned boats are creating tension in the communities, which creates restrictions none of us want.

Houston Texas and Corpus Christi Texas are two places to search for a marina that can store your boat on land. Others my have better marina recommendations.

[Seymore]

Originally Posted by UrbanH

I am absolutely NOT familiar with American behaviour or what people are used to do. Is it normal or possible that people anchor inside of the intercostal waterways? is it mandatory that you leave your yacht in a marina? How expensive is it to rent a space for about 5 months in a marina or put it on land?

Hi Urban and welcome to the US.

Yes, it is quite normal for people to anchor in, and up the many creeks and rivers off to the side of, the Intracoastal Waterway.

No, it is not mandatory to leave your yacht in a marina.

It will cost you (very approximately) $12 per foot of boat length per month to leave your boat in a marina or on land in a boatyard for 5 months, plus about $300 for the haul out fee.

[Chotu]

It is normal to anchor all over the place, but it is not normal to leave your boat at anchor for months on end. As the other poster said, this causes lots of laws and restrictions against our freedom to anchor in general.

Not only that, if you anchor your boat and leave it alone for months, people will notice that. And people will break into the boat and steal things from it. It is considered abandoned in many ways at that point by criminals and they will take everything. They will strip the boat. It is not safe to leave a boat anchor like that. Especially a nice catamaran. That is a prime target for thieves.

It will be well worth your small investment to put the boat in a marina.

Try using this tool to find marinas as close to your friend's house as you can.

Waterway. Guide

I find this to be a very useful tool for locating marinas. You can find all of their contact information on each listing on the map, and then you can email them and find out their rates and policies. You will be able to pay by the month at all of them, mostly.

Nearly every marina will have a travel lift or some way to haul your boat out of the water and put it on land if that is what you are choosing to do. There are a lot of resources and facilities for boating in the United States.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Nearly every marina will have a travel lift or some way to haul your boat out of the water and put it on land if that is what you are choosing to do. There are a lot of resources and facilities for boating in the United States.

This keeps coming up again and again. I can tick off at least 20 “marinas” in the greater Houston area. Only 4 of them have a yard with travel lift. Of those only one has the real estate to long term store a vessel. That one doesn’t have a lift large enough for the OP’s cat.

[Sailmonkey]

Where specifically in Texas is your friend? Pricing for slips is more favorable the further you get away from population dense areas.

You don’t really want to leave your boat unattended at anchor for an extended time, the areas that would be acceptable for this practice will draw unwanted attention to the seemingly abandoned boat.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

This keeps coming up again and again. I can tick off at least 20 “marinas” in the greater Houston area. Only 4 of them have a yard with travel lift. Of those only one has the real estate to long term store a vessel. That one doesn’t have a lift large enough for the OP’s cat.

Too bad your marinas are ill-equipped to handle the needs of boaters there. That’s unfortunate. A catamaran can be pulled out by a tractor. You don’t need a travel lift. A pick up truck can do it. All you need is a trailer.

Sounds like a good business opportunity for someone in Texas. Open up some real marinas that cater to what boats need.

Unfortunate for the OP as well.

That’s pretty much why I told him to take a look at the waterway guide to contact some places and find out.

[jmschmidt]

Hi Urban, I like the Houston/Galveston area, especially Clear Lake. Protected waters, reasonable prices (especially compared to the Caribbean), nice people, plenty of great bars and restaurants, and near an international airport with direct flights to Europe in case you want to go home for awhile.

Good luck.

[geoleo]

Originally Posted by jmschmidt

Hi Urban, I like the Houston/Galveston area, especially Clear Lake. Protected waters, reasonable prices (especially compared to the Caribbean), nice people, plenty of great bars and restaurants, and near an international airport with direct flights to Europe in case you want to go home for awhile.

Good luck.

and Hurricanes and floods but not too often--for your needs Clear Lake it is.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Too bad your marinas are ill-equipped to handle the needs of boaters there. That’s unfortunate. A catamaran can be pulled out by a tractor. You don’t need a travel lift. A pick up truck can do it. All you need is a trailer.

Sounds like a good business opportunity for someone in Texas. Open up some real marinas that cater to what boats need.

Unfortunate for the OP as well.

That’s pretty much why I told him to take a look at the waterway guide to contact some places and find out.

There’s plenty of yard capacity around here for what boaters need, but it’s a separate entity from the marinas. We don’t have inexpensive out of the water storage either, boats stay in the water for years at a time as our water stays soft year round.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

There’s plenty of yard capacity around here for what boaters need, but it’s a separate entity from the marinas. We don’t have inexpensive out of the water storage either, boats stay in the water for years at a time as our water stays soft year round.

That's right. You have that strict distinction between marinas and yards over there. No idea why that's such a thorn in your side. Also no idea why you are trying to force the rest of the world to make some huge distinction between the two either. Probably should just let that go. Everywhere else, marinas have services and travelifts:

https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C...60.gPJmtynXWU4


You can't make the rest of the world say things the way you do. I mean do you require us to have a Texas accent when posting too?


Florida has copious storage on the hard and they have pretty soft water too. I think you have some issues in TX that could be a good opportunity for someone. No need to charge an arm and a leg for dry storage.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by Chotu

That's right. You have that strict distinction between marinas and yards over there. No idea why that's such a thorn in your side. Also no idea why you are trying to force the rest of the world to make some huge distinction between the two either. Probably should just let that go. Everywhere else, marinas have services and travelifts:



https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C...60.gPJmtynXWU4





You can't make the rest of the world say things the way you do. I mean do you require us to have a Texas accent when posting too?





Florida has copious storage on the hard and they have pretty soft water too. I think you have some issues in TX that could be a good opportunity for someone. No need to charge an arm and a leg for dry storage.

I’m just trying to make the distinction. If someone is specifically looking for a marina to haul their boat they’d be missing the larger picture.

Regarding the Texas accent. I’m not from here, I have no accent, and have been to other parts of the world that have the same distinction between marina and boatyard.

But carry on.....

[psp2psp2]

Hi Urban.

So, first of all you mention wanting to leave your catamaran on the US east coast, but then mention Texas ! I will concentrate my answer on your first idea concerning the east coast.....

A few years ago I left my yacht for six weeks in Charleston South Carolina, specifically at the COOPER RIVER MARINA. I did a lot of research beforehand, and chose this marina mostly because of the price. It’s owned and operated by the city parks department and was much cheaper than any other place we checked.

It’s also extremely safe, both from the weather (it’s a few miles up river from the ocean) and from unwelcome visitors on your boat while you’re away.

The management and staff were very professional and helpful.

The winters are mild.

The marina is a short drive from Charleston airport from where you can get good flight connections and rent a car.

Charleston is an interesting and historic city.

It’s a great place to base yourself prior to your departure back to Europe, being as it’s only 600nm from Bermuda, and south of most of the late-season northerly storms.

Addressing your other queries; I can’t think of any place along the ICW where you could safely leave a yacht at anchor.

Some boats are left on anchor at Spa Creek, Annapolis, but there’s quite a lot of traffic on the water and I think the chances of someone colliding with your catamaran would be quite high.


There are some images of Spa Creek Annapolis in this video

https://youtu.be/UMIcYH23AtI


There are a few locations in the Carolinas where you might leave a yacht on a mooring (Beaufort NC in the river, New Bern, Oriental and Belhaven) but I think it would be very risky, plus the moorings also cost money.

Good luck with your planned voyage!

AGE OF SAIL - Home

[dennismenace111]

There I an alternative and safe way to Lea your boat for 5 months! Here in South Florida, we have a city owned mooring field in Miami. You can rent a mooring and leave your boat safely. You can also leave her I the water at some of the larger Marina's on the New River in Ft. Lauderdale Florida

[smj]

Pier 77 in Galveston Tx is the only haul out yard in the area that could handle your beam.
HarborWalk marina in Hitchcock Tx is $8.00 per ft per month for a t-head if they have any available. Nice marina and well priced