novice boater wrote:

hello everyone, im thinking of buying a small 23-27 foot river/canal
boat
but i need some advise as i am new to this recreation
where can i store my boat when not in use?
can i leave it at a mooring on the canal/river safely or do i need to
take it out the water?
i know i have to use slipways but are there any lists of where to find
them?
and what are the costs involve in boating apart from the boat of
course?
any help and advise would be appreciated.
i am new to this so please dont think im being a doughnut.
im just gathering info and help
thanks.............


You are really going to need to look in the area where you plan to spend
your time with the boat and do some visiting. Talk to marina operators
and see what they charge for storing it in the water or on the land.

Of course you will need somthing to pull it out of the water if you
decide to trailer it.

The boat is just the beginning, depending on the age of boat and how
it's powered things like maintance and insurancewill vary pretty much.

We had a 21 ft cuddy that was kept on a trailer frist in SC then in Ga.
In SC we could keep it at the house and the lake was real close by.
Since we purchased the boat new. And kept the maitance up to due. plus
was lucky enought not to have any failures with the power plant. The
cost was gas + insurance and I would have the locale marina guys
winterize and do the yearly maintance (change engine and driveleg oil as
this was a stern drive for about $200.)

In Ga we kept that boat on it's trailer and was charged about $180 every
six months if memory servers.

But then again you need to look into these cost with the local people
and speak to your insurance people on that cost of what they really cover.

I good place start is to take a boating saftey course. Beside learning
some good basics about boats and boating. Most insurance co will give
you a discount and you will meet local boaters. They can tell you about
their experiance, cost and places to go and those to avoid. Also what
type of boats they like to use and why.

Capt Jack R..