I am about to embark on a new boat adventure. I heard that many clubs
and such have minimum lengths for boats too. For instance, my friend
has to have a boat with a minimum length of 20 feet or 21 I don't
remember, to have a slip at his marina. The reason I ask is I am
trying to decide on what size to get. Most of my boating will be
trailer boating, and I had been looking between 18-20 feet. However,
if in the future I decide (read "can afford") to have my boat in a
marina, I don't want to lose out over a foot or two. Do your marinas
have minimum limits and what are they? Thanks, Scotty


Are you confusing the minimum size boat required to join a yacht club -often in
the low 20's- some "yacht" :-) with a some requirement that a boat kept in a
particular slip must be at least a certain size?

May be different back East, but out our way you pay for the length of the slip
at so many dollars per foot per month. Nobody seems to care if you don't use
the entire slip. If you want a 60-foot slip for a 9-foot dinghy, no problem
since you'll be paying for all 60 feet. (In a really crowded marina, I could
see somebody asking the guy with the dinghy to take a more appropriately sized
slip to reduce the waiting list for 60-footers).

Usually, the problem runs the other way.
A guy buys a "4055" Pileknocker and asks the harbormaster for a "40 -foot"
slip.
By the time you add a 4 foot bow pulpit and a six foot swimstep, the boat
actually measures out about 51 feet. Everybody walking down the central float
has to dodge the anchor hanging into the walkway, and the boat sticks well out
into the fairway aft. Cheapskate ought to rent a 50-foot slip instead of a 40
and get something that actually fits his boat. :-)