Pocket Cruisers, Parks Boat Ramps and Overnight Stays

[telecam]

We are thinking of buying a trailable 19’ pocket sport cruiser to do short 1 or 2-night cruises on the US coastal shores and lakes. The boat is super lightweight, around 1,034lbs including her fully retractable 154lbs swing keel and should be easy to trailer and launch from any boat ramp. I see that there are quite a few National and State parks with boat ramps but it looks like few allow overnight stays for cars and trailers. I suppose there is also the option of launching from public boat ramps outside parks which may not have parking limitation but would leave the car more exposed to potential break-ins and theft. I understand that public ramps can be quite busy on week-ends (and I have seen some…) but we are semi-retired and quite flexible with our schedule so, we plan around busy times. We have owned 35’ and 40’ cruisers at marinas and were looking for a new and more exploratory way to sail around and discover new areas. It surely won’t be as comfortable as the big boats but we really like the idea of being able to beach the boat anywhere, sail up shallow waters and walk/camp to shore.
I am just curious to hear from anyone who has or his sailing around US waters in a similar manner and whether or not this plan makes sense. Anyone with advices from past experiences is also welcome to pitch in.

[Sparx]

Well I have done this for years. Trailer the boat to somewhere interesting. Launch and go exploring. Great Lakes, Chesapeak Bay, Maine, Florida and many many inland lakes are all very doable.

I have never had a security problem parking the rig for a few days at a state park or state boat ramp. All the ramps in Maryland I have used have signage forbidding overnight parking. But when I enquire with the county parks or sheriff and explain what I want to launch and sail for a few days they take my license number and say go ahead.

I prefer to park the rig at a marina if I am going out for a week or more, taking advantage of the security. I have found many marinas quite willing to accommodate this.

With a shallow draft vessel one can get into some very interesting anchorages where other boats dare not go. In Maryland the Chester River, Wye Island, and Patuxent River are favorites, but the possibilities on the Chesapeake are nearly countless. I always wanted to do the inside passage up the Virginia coast, but never did.

You might want to check out the group called Shallow Water Sailors, who are active around the Chesapeake. In the past there was a group of trailer sailors from around the country that met at the North Channel of Lake Huron every year.

[telecam]

Hi Brent,

Thanks so much for your insight, very useful. I found the Shallow Water Sailors web page, sounds good. I'll read through it. I did indeed read a few accounts from other sailors that often, having a chat the park office is a good way to be allowed to keep car and trailer in the parks overnight. Just curious, what boat did you take around?

Cheers,

Terry

[BugzyCan]

I have a Macgregor 26 that is parked in driveway at home. It is a lot of work to load it up with supplies and pieces needed, tow to a marina, raise the mast, install boom., then put it in the water, park the car/trailer, fill the ballast, load everyone on, and finally move off the dock. The tricks are, as you mentioned, where to park the car and trailer, the ramp area needs to have a dock.
At the end of the trip, be it one day, or multiple days, the boat has to come out of water, drain ballast, then drop mast/boom and tie it all down for transport, then drive it home.

I would not worry about theft from the vehicle, you have insurance for that.
My wife thinks we should have our boat on a moorage to cut down all the prep time, and I agree, it would be nice to not have to raise the mast etc, and to park a regular car someplace for free and walk onto the boat, but the cost for moorage is more than I want to spend, so I just consider all of the extra work to be part of the day's trip.
I suppose you could bring someone along that is not planning on going on the boat, and they could drive the car/trailer back home, and then come get you at the end of the trip. That might work too, and save a few more bucks.

[Aswayze]

Before I settled in closer to the coast and began “normal” boating this is all I used to do with my boat since there was no really interesting sailing in the area I lived. I trailered hither and yon, launched and sailed for a week or two then came back. In some cases, I used park or public ramps but ended up using marina launch ramps just for the ease of management since that allowed me an easy point of contact right at hand even if I did have to pay for parking which I did not have a problem with anyhow. Generally, speaking I used to assess ramps I had no opportunity to visit before hand by simply looking at the parking situation on Google Earth and assessing if my truck and trailer sitting there for a week would be a nuisance or not. Like your boat, my Parker Dawson will launch pretty easily so I did not need to worry too much about the ramp itself, I was always much more concerned about the parking situation.


Launching at Grand Portage prior to cruising North Lake Superior

[Sparx]

Originally Posted by telecam

Hi Brent,

Just curious, what boat did you take around?

Since you asked... for me the requirements are a boat that is a comfortable cruiser for couple, with good basic amenities (enclosed head, galley, comfortable seating under cover, and a good bunk. All that tows nicely and is easy to launch. Shallow draft but enough centerboard underwater to be confident in a seaway.

I built a Princess 26 Cat Ketch for this use. The two masts are on tabernacles. making raising and lowering the masts a simple and quick task. It launches easily from a trailer without getting the trailer axles wet.

[telecam]

Originally Posted by BugzyCan

I have a Macgregor 26 that is parked in driveway at home. It is a lot of work to load it up with supplies and pieces needed, tow to a marina, raise the mast, install boom., then put it in the water, park the car/trailer, fill the ballast, load everyone on, and finally move off the dock. The tricks are, as you mentioned, where to park the car and trailer, the ramp area needs to have a dock.
At the end of the trip, be it one day, or multiple days, the boat has to come out of water, drain ballast, then drop mast/boom and tie it all down for transport, then drive it home.

I would not worry about theft from the vehicle, you have insurance for that.
My wife thinks we should have our boat on a moorage to cut down all the prep time, and I agree, it would be nice to not have to raise the mast etc, and to park a regular car someplace for free and walk onto the boat, but the cost for moorage is more than I want to spend, so I just consider all of the extra work to be part of the day's trip.
I suppose you could bring someone along that is not planning on going on the boat, and they could drive the car/trailer back home, and then come get you at the end of the trip. That might work too, and save a few more bucks.

Indeed, the MacGregor 26 seems to be a bit of a handful for this type of trip. We are looking at buying something quite lighter. The Flow 19 is just over 1,000lbs with 0.3ft draft with her swigkeel fully retracted. The trailer is 500lbs so, all together, it's a pretty lightweight package to tow at 25' and 1,500lbs. I am told that after a bit of practice, she can be rigged by a single person in 30 to 45 minutes... I am not worry so much about getting the car stolen but more getting stuff inside the car snatched.... We are planning to take road bikes along in the van and those are pretty nice and expensive.

[telecam]

Originally Posted by Aswayze

Before I settled in closer to the coast and began “normal” boating this is all I used to do with my boat since there was no really interesting sailing in the area I lived. I trailered hither and yon, launched and sailed for a week or two then came back. In some cases, I used park or public ramps but ended up using marina launch ramps just for the ease of management since that allowed me an easy point of contact right at hand even if I did have to pay for parking which I did not have a problem with anyhow. Generally, speaking I used to assess ramps I had no opportunity to visit before hand by simply looking at the parking situation on Google Earth and assessing if my truck and trailer sitting there for a week would be a nuisance or not. Like your boat, my Parker Dawson will launch pretty easily so I did not need to worry too much about the ramp itself, I was always much more concerned about the parking situation.


Launching at Grand Portage prior to cruising North Lake Superior

I think that is quite more boat than we want to tow (we are just planning one or two nights out on the water) but it looks like you have it together. Thanks.

[telecam]

Originally Posted by Sparx

Since you asked... for me the requirements are a boat that is a comfortable cruiser for couple, with good basic amenities (enclosed head, galley, comfortable seating under cover, and a good bunk. All that tows nicely and is easy to launch. Shallow draft but enough centerboard underwater to be confident in a seaway.

I built a Princess 26 Cat Ketch for this use. The two masts are on tabernacles. making raising and lowering the masts a simple and quick task. It launches easily from a trailer without getting the trailer axles wet.

Looks like a cool boat. How much does she weight?

[Aswayze]

My point had a lot less to do with the specific boats in question but rather the approach we took towards launching and parking as that issue is the same regardless what the size and weight of the boat. If I was wanting to do a one or two day trip I would be looking at a lighter and easier to manage boat as well, probably a Dovekie.

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by telecam

We are looking at buying something quite lighter. The Flow 19 is just over 1,000lbs with 0.3ft draft with her swigkeel fully retracted. The trailer is 500lbs so, all together, it's a pretty lightweight package to tow at 25' and 1,500lbs. I am told that after a bit of practice, she can be rigged by a single person in 30 to 45 minutes... I am not worry so much about getting the car stolen but more getting stuff inside the car snatched.... We are planning to take road bikes along in the van and those are pretty nice and expensive.

The Flow looks neat.

We've owned a trailerable 19' microcruiser (Sandpiper 565) for 13 years now. Currently we have the best of both worlds: we keep her in the water at a yacht club which is just a 10 min walk from home , but we also pull her out at least once a year and trailer to someplace new. There are so many interesting sailable lakes within a day's drive from home. We've cruised for up to a week like this; it's tolerable if you can swim daily, and reprovision and have a hot shower about midway.

It pays to do some research and calling around beforehand, and sometimes making a marina reservation, before visiting a new spot, so that a slip and parking are all waiting for you. We've trailered to and launched in Ontario, Québec, Michigan and NY, and managed to arrange trailer parking in each place. It's even more fun if you can get a group of similar boaters together and make it a small flotilla.

We've never had a break-in or damage to our parked vehicle or trailer. You can go nuts with locks etc for the nice bikes, or maybe just fix up some nice older bikes for taking on trips.

Micro-cruising has been great for us - easy, fun and inexpensive daysailer, and great platform for exploring new areas that would be hard or impossible to visit with a larger boat. We still hope to get a larger sailboat soon to keep at the club, but I have no intention of ever selling the Sandpiper.

[Cheechako]

It can be a bit of a problem finding where to store the trailer and vehicle. But many parks allow parking for a fee here in Washington. Not sure elsewhere.
Be sure to have a 4WD vehicle, ramps are slippery and you cant pull out often!
The other option is to have a marina that has parking lift the boat in.