Finding a slip/mooring in Narragansett Bay

[cdocsail]

How does one find a place to keep a boat? Besides just cold calling every marina, I thought in this day and age of the internet, there might be something more efficient that I am not aware of.

I tried a couple of places but they were all booked for the season.

I am just a day sailor and tyically sail Rhodes 19 and Bulleyes. But I want to buy a boat and keep it in a marina so I can wake up in the morning, go down to the boat and sail without having to drag a trailer into the water every time. To this end, I am also going to get a 'larger' boat - somethng between 26 and 37 feet so I can go out of the bay and into the sound. Prob something seaworthy like a Cape Dory or a Contessa or C&C

[Shrew]

It's May. I signed both of my slip contracts back in November. Most marina's have wait lists. At the end of the season they send out contracts to their existing customers. Then when all the contracts are back, they start calling down the wait list. Anything left after they reach the end of the waitlist (usually very little) sits waiting for someone to call.

By May this process is over. Get on the wait lists of all the marinas and wait to be called. I've been called as late as July to notify me something just opened.

[Shrew]

Incidentally, I keep my boats in Rhode Island as well.

Also Narragansett Bay is highly sought after with expensive slips. Easy access to open ocean, a short trip to Block Island, an easy jump to the Hamptons or Martha's Vineyard.

[cdocsail]

Thank you. I did call around and got prices like 1400$ a foot. Is that normal?

[Kettlewell]

There are also lots of rental moorings in Narragansett Bay, with much lower prices though you will still pay a lot in popular harbors. Personally, I have found it much more productive to first figure out likely places to keep the boat, and then visit in person in the off season with your checkbook in your back pocket. Sometimes this even works at the last minute before the April/May boat launching rush if a place has a mooring or slip still unsold for some reason. Offer to pay for the season up front and right then and you can sometimes find something. I have done that several times.

[cdocsail]

@Kettlewell Thank you for your reply.
I am totally new to the idea of owning a 'bigger boat'. Obviously I need a slip to put the boat into the water but I feel like I might be putting the cart before the horse. I know people get the boat and trailer it or leave it in dry dock till they have a place. I am not going to live aboard. The alternative is to rely on the experience of a company like sunsail or dream yacht. If I buy the boat for them, a lot of these details (insurance, mooring,etc) are all set up. But they really want >40 feet which I do not since I am solo. Handling big boats alone can be a chore. But If I keep having to cold call marinas , I may just have to go with one of those companies-and they seem to be out of Newport. I dont really care much where I keep it - after all I will be driving an hour to get to the boat. But the sailing off of Cape Ann (north shore of Boston where I have been mostly) is unprotected and the weather can get dicey. I picked Naragannset because it is new to me and I like exploring new places.

But if a slip at a marina is going to cost $20,000 a year and I get on the water with good weather only 10 weekends during a season- then it would be almost cost effective just to bareboat charter. The waiting list for a town mooring near me is 20 years-I will be aging out of sailing by then.

[Kettlewell]

Rental moorings can be had for as low as $1,000 to probably an average of $2500 for the six-month season in Narragansett Bay. I have never had a slip for a boat--just a mooring ball. Check out New Bedford too--commercial, less expensive, and a great location for exploring Buzzards Bay, Cape Cod, and the Islands.

[psk125]

The minute you mention wanting a slip, marina owners eyes light up. If they have 40' slips and you want a slip, you pay for the whole slip, not just the 24' of your boat. Ask about mooring prices and when the launch runs instead. Pope's Island Marina in New Bedford has 300 moorings. You only need one.