On Sep 26, 10:38*am, Wayne.B wrote:

We could reenact the recent spirited discussion about what it takes to
do long range cruising.

Or we could talk about slips vs. moorings.

I decided to just use the mooring this summer since I expected to be
away a lot more than I was and was looking forward to having my boat
always hanging off on her pendant instead of worrying about fenders
chafing the topsides.

Wow, was I ever wrong. The tide runs hard through the channel where my
mooring is and it seems like the boat is always pushed hard ahead
against the ball with the wakes sawing it up and down. I had a line
set up at the marina dock such that the fenders hardly ever touched
and the gelcoat has gotten more wear in this one summer than three
seasons at the marina dock.

In addition, the constant wetting of the lower topsides by the
constant wake and chop in my rather exposed mooring location have
resulted in a nearly foot wide band of green growth above the boot
top. I also used to hose the boat down at least once a week and after
hard sails at the marina. The effects of the salt sitting on the boat
at the mooring are quite evident. The boat looks like she's been
ridden hard but I did run 1500 - 2000 miles of water under the keel
this summer.

Hopefully, I'll only be on the mooring for a couple weeks before and
after a summer long cruise next season. If I do end up having to stay
close to home, the price of a marina slip is not going to seem as high
as it did last spring.