"Jonathan Ganz" wrote in message

Maxprop wrote:
We noticed quite a few marinas up the rivers and canals that feed into the
Bay. What are the common depths of those things? Is running aground a
potential problem? And how do the slip rental fees of such marinas
compare
with those, say, in Sausalito or Berkley? (No, we aren't thinking of
moving
out there--your real estate values are off the scale. It would almost
take
a millionaire to move to SF these days.)

Definitely it's a depth issue on the rivers and canals. It's even an
issue right off the main part of bay in spots... San Leandro, even
places in Sausalito. Right around the corner from the Bay Model, you
have be very careful to stay in the channel, even during high tide.

Not surprising. What really impressed me is how shallow parts of the Bay
are. The deepest hole is right under the GG Bridge, and it even flattens
out somewhat out in the ocean. Guess I always thought something with a 8'
draft would be okay in SF Bay, but perhaps not, unless you slip at the St.
Francis, or somewhere similar.


I pay $150 for my 22' slip, which isn't too bad, given that it's a
prime location (Sausalito). You can do significantly better than that
when you're further out. Check http://www.latitude38.com/. I'm sure
you'd find more reasonable rates. Bererkely isn't cheap either, but
the really outrageous costs happen when you need over a 40'
slip. They're really in demand, whereas the smaller ones like mine can
be had just about anywhere.

That's not a bad price for your location. We chatted with one sailor on the
dock at Sausalito--he claimed his 40' slip cost more than his monthly house
payment. Must have bought his house years ago, or else he lives in the
Tenderloin.

You don't need to be a millionaire to live in the bay area, but it
sure does help.

We can't quite understand how so many seemingly average people can afford to
live in SF proper. $700K barely buys an upper 5 there, and many of the
people we saw in town didn't look like they could afford that sort of thing.
Guess looks can be deceiving, or perhaps those we saw rent, rather than own.

Max