First year boating... winding down

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Rick D

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Went out with my 14 year old son yesterday... just he and I as my wife and daughter felt it was too cold. We had a blast and I let him drive out to about a couple miles off Greenport NY before we turned around and headed home.

So, when are other New England boaters pulling from the water? I'm not talking about the fishermen... you guys are hardcore.

It seems like there is plenty of fun to still be had... but it is getting cold here at night.. down into the low 40's so I doubt we will be swimming in the sound anymore this year.

I did not get to Block this year... and that's OK... I will get out there next year... but I'm not ready to pack it in yet. Have a wedding to go to next week so the next time I can get out will be the first week in October. Maybe a trip to a Greenport Marina for a night... with a heated or indoor pool?

Curious to hear when others in the area start pulling from the water.

--Rick
 
I'm not from anywhere around there but, sounds like you're using the boat and having a great time, great time with your son. Best of luck to you in the seasons to come.
 
Had a great boating season until August. Cold, rain, wind since then. :( Just pulled the boat for the season today: Double :(
 
Rick

This will be the first season we’re pulling the boat in 6 or seven years. I’m thinking just before Thanksgiving as my yard stops routine hauling then.

A lot may depend on your yard and it’s schedule of things- most I know of just shut down at a certain date and you must be out by then.

Last years Huntington’s Xmas boat parade had about 30-40 boats of all sizes

One issue is most harbors pull their channel markers and you have to rely on your GPS bread crumbs a lot
 
We're supposed to be out of our summer slip by October 15 but have often stayed a week or two more since the rule is never enforced. It's about a 50 mile trip up the Connecticut river to our winter storage marina and if the conditions are right, the fall foliage can be spectacular. Once we get there it takes us another weekend to winterize the engines, unload all the stuff we have accumulated over the summer and take down our bridge enclosure. Most years, that week has some really beautiful weather, making the whole winterizing process event more painful. How I hate to turn off those ignition switches off for the last time, especially when the sun is nice and warm and I'm winterizing wearing an old pair of shorts. But, we're in Connecticut where they say, "if you don't like the weather, just wait a minute."

Bill
 
We get hauled out after Nov. 1. Until then, we're on the boat every weekend and go out when the weather permits.
 
Man, you guys are killing me. I can't imagine not being able to use my boat as the weather permitted year round.

The weekend warriors have given up for the summer, we watched football on the dock all weekend and in another month or so the bald eagles will return hopefully. October/November are about my 2nd favorite time of the year to be on the water although with the DRY summer that we've had...we likely won't have much of a pretty fall this year.
 
We are out any time after Columbus day and before Nov 1. My insurance carrier requires I be out by then. For our family, school and soccer activities make it almost impossible to use the boat after Labor Day. The one exemption we make is Columbus Day weekend where we go to Newport. All kids activities cancelled. Might try to get out an afternoon or two to go fishing with my kids. But no regrets, used the boat a ton this summer. Can't wait for the next one!
 
Nov 1 for us too. You will have plenty of nice days in October to use the boat. Going up river to see the trees change may be more stressful this year because of the debris coming out but still worth a nice Saturday afternoon ride.

Tell the Mrs. to bring a blanket or even meet you in Old Saybrook so she can skip the Sound leg of the trip.

The key for me is to get the boat out with 2-3 "warm" days left to get through the cleaning. The first year I waited until the end and was miserable doing all the winterization and waxing in the COLD.
 
We haul it in early November. You really can' t stay in any longer where we are on Lake Ontario. Most boats are being hauled in our marina right now.
 
We haul after Thanksgiving weekend, first Saturday in December. Back in late March.
 
In the CA Delta, it is year-round unless you don't have a heat source onboard. I would even go spend a weekend at the dock if the weather was stormy or foggy. There were only two of us at my marina that would do that. The majority never saw their boats from November to April, thereby missing some of the most beautiful days on the water! Their loss......

My boat is now in Nome Alaska and they are still using it on the Bering Sea for a few more weeks. They have to store it for the winter when the ice starts forming along the shore......

Rick, see what your marina neighbors do and use that as a guideline for this first season. As you gain more experience, you may modify that routine to fit what you like to do!
 
quote:
Originally posted by Flutterby

Rick, see what your marina neighbors do and use that as a guideline for this first season. As you gain more experience, you may modify that routine to fit what you like to do!

Click to expand...


Thanks Liz. I did ask around and most of the boats at my yard are fishing vessels so they get hauled out later than most.

I think I will pull it towards the end of October... I have fuel in my tank I want use!... wouldn't want that crappy ethanol to sit all winter.

I'm thinking the weekend after this upcoming one, a trip to Long Island....perhaps the Montauk Yacht Club... two heated and one indoor pool for the kids.

Just not ready to have to shell out winter storage fees yet when I can still be cruising around.

--Rick
 
I just don't want to be restricted to beachcombing and surfcasting but it's inevitable. Stayed in until Halloween last year but then rushed all week to winterize since it snowed the next weekend! Powerwashing in that weather was COLD ! This year it'll be out on time by 10/15. I'm in Norwich CT too.
 
Kentucky Lake which (is the northern end of the Tennessee River) no hauling, maybe winterize. Last year we boated down to Florence / Muscle Shoals Alabama, arrived Thanksgiving Day. Left heat on. Grilled out on Pickwick Lake NY day (it was lower 60's). Used it like a condo all winter.

This year is a wait and see. If it looks like a bad winter I'll winterize the engines, water system is a wait and see. . .
 
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