Winter in the Great Lakes

[dmksails]

Hi All! I'm thinking about moving my Tashiba-31 into the Great Lakes area - like Superior or Michigan. I was actually born in central Minnesota, so I'm very familiar with the weather, just never had any exposure to the great lakes during the winter.

Some of the questions I have are -
Do most people pull their boats out of the water in the fall?
Are there any areas where you can leave it in the water, possibly with a bubble system to keep it from freezing in?
About how much does it cost to store a boat on shore?

[Mike OReilly]

My info is mainly from the Canadian perspective. Hopefully south shore boaters will chime in...

The vast, vast majority of boats get hauled out everywhere on the Great Lakes for the winter. I’m personally aware of a number of locations in Lake Ontario where people over-winter on their boats, but the total numbers are small. I’ve never heard of a recreational boater leaving their boat in on Superior’s Canadian shores. I have read about one person who did it in Lake Huron.

If you are coming to Lake Superior, and want to over-winter there, I would suggest you look into Thunder Bay Yacht Club, or McKellar Marine. Both are in Thunder Bay. Actually, I think they, along with locations in Sault Ste. Marine, are the only places you could haul out on the Canadian side.

Prices at the TBYC (which is where I was) are very modest compared to most places down south. I left a few years ago, but could dig out the fee I paid if you like. Not sure what McKellar charges, but likely will be cheaper than southern rates. Challenge with TBYC is that it is a yacht club, so normally you have to become a member, which usually means an initiation fee the first year. This might make it too expensive. But maybe they have a way of dealing with transients … I’d call.

On the American side there are many more options for Superior. Look in the Duluth/Superior area. Bayfield area as well. Some great facilities down there, but likely more costly.