# Status of my boat search - Catalina 28



## TakeFive (Oct 22, 2009)

Hi everyone. I came here a few months ago looking for advice on where to sail near Philly with my first cruiser-class boat. At the time I was looking for a cruiser/daysailer with capabilities for an occasional overnight. Many of you provided excellent suggestions which we have followed up on. I wanted to give you an update on how my search has progressed since then, and maybe ask for any further help you can provide.

I have resigned from my Golf Club to free up time and money to dedicate to the forthcoming boat. That was a major threshold in locking in my commitment to do this.

I still plan to moor on the Delaware River near my home for the first season. I want it close by while I familiarize myself with the boat, finish up any minor projects to configure it to my liking, and also so I can run down there on short notice when storms come through - until I have more confidence to leave it further away. After that it's likely we will move it down to the Chesapeake Bay. My wife and I have talked about maybe retiring on the Eastern Shore of the Bay sometime, so what better way to learn the area than to put a "floating vacation home" there?

Previously I was interested in a 25 footer, but given the likelihood of eventually keeping it further away, we have slightly increased the size of what we are looking for to better accommodate the frequent weekending that we would be doing. This has also led us to increase our price range from the $10-25k range to the low-mid $30's, in order to get something that we would be happy with for several years, and not looking to upgrade too soon. Although I was able to find a nice mid-80s vintage C27 for well under $10,000, we have decided to stretch a bit to get a newer boat with amenities that my family is more excited about. Part of this is the realization that we're likely in for at least $5000/year in slip, storage, and maintenance whether we get a $10k boat or a $30k one (and the cheaper boat might actually cost more in maintenance and hidden repair costs). For some reason, I feel funny about pouring $5k a year into a boat that is worth only slightly more than that. And if we maintain it right, the more expensive boat should hold most of its value, so the extra money is just tied up, not gone forever. (However, I do realize that a boat is a lousy investment, and that it's virtually certain that I will never get all of my money out of it.)

As I have mentioned before, my wife really liked the Catalina designs best of all, and their customer loyalty says a lot about the company. It's still a production boat, but seems to be well-executed. Little "gimmicks" like a walk-thorough transom, stern perch seats, and well-designed dodger/bimini are very important to the family. The one model that seems to balance all the trade-offs perfectly is the C28. We actually like it significantly better than the ubiquitous C30. We have found a few C28s currently available in our (expanded) price range and will likely make an offer on one in the next month. We've done some price negotiations and have a pretty good knowledge of what we would pay for each of the boats that we are considering.

In looking around it appears that the MkII version of the C28 (1996 and later) has some really nice improvements over the 1st generation model, particularly with the significantly greater storage space in the galley. So if we could find a C28MkII in excellent condition with dodger/bimini for $35k or less, we would jump quickly at that. In fact, it is our (blind/unreasonable) hope that a MkII could come up in this price range that has us holding off for a few weeks before we make an offer on the current inventory. If we are unable to find a MkII in our price range, then we will go for a slightly older first-generation C28 model. We can't wait forever, and want to be on the water this spring.

If you know of any friends considering selling a well-loved Catalina 28 MkII (1996 or later) this spring, please let me know right away.


----------



## chef2sail (Nov 27, 2007)

Great to see you have moved from the day trip component to the weekend cruiser. You will not regret it. It is a great idea for keepinbg the family together and happy. Once you spend a few weekends on the Chesapeake up one of the rivers or creeks you will be hooked for sure 

It sounds as if you have educated yourself well over the last few months. Of any of the production boats I favor the Catalinas, and their resale value is best. Good luck finding you "alternative lady"

Dave


----------



## djodenda (Mar 4, 2006)

There is a Catalina 28 Mark II for sale on my dock. I know the owner and know the boat. It's in great shape from my casual observance.

The boat is in the Seattle area.

Here's a link to the ad:

1997 Catalina 28 mkII Sailboat

I know the owner is seeing some action on this boat, as it was out for a test sail on Saturday.

David

I'll send you a PM with my contact information


----------



## TakeFive (Oct 22, 2009)

chef2sail said:


> ...and their resale value is best...


Yes, the resale value does hurt when you're on the buying side of things, but I know there's a reason for that and I will come to appreciate it down the road.

Sorry I never got back to you to set up a date regarding your prior offer. You can see that I have likely moved on from that boat I was considering before, and I did not want to waste your time.


----------



## blt2ski (May 5, 2005)

David,

Is marianne planning on getting a bigger/different boat?

Marty


----------



## christyleigh (Dec 17, 2001)

RD.... I just wanted to say that I had 3 good years with our '96 C28 MKII. It got us "out of the bay" and cruising to the local islands in the area and it served us well. C320 lust took over and the next 6 years were good on that.... and on... and on...


----------



## BarryL (Aug 21, 2003)

Hello,

Can I ask why you like the C28 better than the C30? There are so many more C30's around than C28s that I bet it would be easier to find a C30 than a C28.

Barry


----------



## TakeFive (Oct 22, 2009)

christyleigh said:


> RD.... I just wanted to say that I had 3 good years with our '96 C28 MKII. It got us "out of the bay" and cruising to the local islands in the area and it served us well. C320 lust took over and the next 6 years were good on that.... and on... and on...


Seems I caught the same disease ;-( I've upped my price range yet again and am looking at some C320s. We wanted the design features of the C28MkII with more storage and headroom (my oldest son is 6'5" and my youngest will be in a few years). I'll keep you posted
.


----------



## Jasper Windvane (Mar 2, 2006)

Rhythm.. you gave up golf for sailing? I laughed when I saw that. 
I also quit golf to return to sailing. Not that I was a course member 
or anything, but golf takes up lots of time. And so does sailing. 
If I ever find the boat I want .. I am looking, and looking, and looking.. 
I plan on carrying my road bicycle on board with me.. Ya gotta have 
some toys. 
I've gone and four different directions looking at boats. I've owned four 
cruising boats through the years, so I have a basic idea of what I want 
and don't want. I sail alone, so the boat does not need a very 
female friendly climate. 
Is it very far from where you live to the ports on the Chesapeake Bay side of 
the Delaware Canal? I'd think the sailing may be better than the river, 
although I do not have any experience sailing there. 
In lots of respects I'm luck to sail in New England, the ports aren't far away, 
but the weather stinks. My last season of sailing in Maine, we had thick 
thick fog for three weeks. I like to see the rocks before I run into them.


----------



## TakeFive (Oct 22, 2009)

Part of the reason we have increased the size/comfort of boat we want is the realization that we will end up in the Chesapeake. From where we live it is 12 minutes to Delaware River, 45 minutes to Bohemia, 1 hour to Sassafras (Georgetown Yacht Basin), 90 minutes to Worton Creek, 2 hours to Rock Hall. The further we go, the better the sailing.

We are close to deciding to ditch our original plan to keep in the Delaware for the first year, and just keep it in MD from the beginning. Part of the reason is the fear that we might end up having to pay sales/excise tax to both PA and MD if we move it to PA, then back to MD.


----------



## Sabreman (Sep 23, 2006)

You're following the same path that we took 23 years ago. When we bought our first cruiser, a Sabre 28, we wanted to keep it in Ocean City, NJ or Cape May since we in Marlton, NJ. After slip rental sticker shock on the Shore, we looked to the Northern Chesapeake. We eventually bought our boat in Worton Creek, but kept it in Riverside NJ for the first winter. We kept the boat on Fairlee Creek the first year and then moved to Virginia and kept the boat in Reedville. We've never looked back.

Once you get to the Bay, you'll never leave. It's worth the drive; the flavor and tone of the Bay is far different than the Delaware. The Northern Bay has a much more cosmopolitan feel than the middle or lower Bay and there are a million gunk holes to explore. The Northern Bay is fairly narrow and nearly as well protected as the Delaware, but with many more holes in which to ditch if the wind picks up. Lots of great Restaurants too. And fall is magical; September to mid-November is heaven.

I'm sure that others can provide advice for good marinas; my knowledge is a bit dated.

Welcome in advance.


----------



## bljones (Oct 13, 2008)

RhythmDoctor said:


> I have resigned from my Golf Club to free up time and money to dedicate to the forthcoming boat.....
> 
> (However, I do realize that a boat is a lousy investment, and that it's virtually certain that I will never get all of my money out of it.)


The boat is a better investment than your golf club membership ever was or ever will be. Do the math:
5 years of golf club membership @ $5k/yr= $25k
5 years of required overpriced drinks, overpriced food and tacky clothes = $25k
5 years of new woods, drivers, balls, bag, shoes = $5k
Total spent $55k
Total numbers of benificiaries= you. 
Total retained value= $500 worth of used clubs and smelly shoes.

Boat purchase= $30 k
5 years of all-in maintenance, moorage, and incidentals @ $5k/yr (your figure, and I feel you would be hard pressed to spend that much) = $25k
Total invested= $55k
Total number of beneficiaries= your entire family, and your friends.
Total retained value= $25k worth of very well-maintained boat, if you adhere to your $5k/yr maintenance schedule.

The only people who argue that a boat is a lousy investment are those who would rather be golfing.

BTW, most of the executives at AIG, GM and Chrysler are golfers. Larry Ellison and Richard Branson are sailors. Who asked for a taxpayer-funded mulligan? I'm just sayin'.

Glad to see you come over to the dark side.


----------



## TakeFive (Oct 22, 2009)

bljones said:


> The boat is a better investment than your golf club membership ever was or ever will be. Do the math:
> 5 years of golf club membership @ $5k/yr= $25k
> 5 years of required overpriced drinks, overpriced food and tacky clothes = $25k
> 5 years of new woods, drivers, balls, bag, shoes = $5k
> ...


lol! But your numbers are a little off. My country club was a relative value at $3600/year, but dues have been going up much faster than inflation because the club has been in the red. No required food or drink (yet). I bought my Callaway irons off ebay for $199, TaylorMade woods for $125 each off ebay too. Yes, I'm cheap - except when it comes to boats.

I'm bargaining hard to stay under $50k for the boat - we'll see how successful I am. (We want one in really nice condition.) Slip fees and maintenance will be a little higher than we had planned with the larger boat. In-season slip near my house on Delaware River would have been only $1400/year, but on the Chesapeake it looks like $3200-3600, plus more for winter storage. (Just starting to shop around, and so far I've only found "resort" marinas with swimming pools. Maybe I can find one for less than this.) But I think we'll end up little over $5000/year for slip/storage/maintenance if we moor on the Chesapeake.

But I am enjoying spending Saturdays with my family instead of my golf buddies. Driving around looking at boats with the boss has been a lot of fun, just for the time together. Our time together on the water has always been great on our Phantom sailing dinghy (until we need to use the head lol), so it will be nice to actually have a head so we can go out for more than a few hours at a time!


----------



## bljones (Oct 13, 2008)

I'm glad you have a sense of humour, RD. And I am glad you are enjoying the boat search.
The Cheaspeake is great, but don't overlook the advantages of having a slip close to home. I sail out of lake Erie, and my slip is less than 15 minutes from my home. Thanks to the close proximity, I am on my boat more often during the season. Yeah, Georgian Bay and the North Channel is one of the great crusining grounds of North America, yadda yadda, but if it takes me four hours to get there, then a) I am sailing less often, and b) likely paying more for the popularity of the location, and c) driving my costs up by adding travel costs to my sailing costs (yeah, I am cheap too.)

First things first: Find the right boat for you, then decide where to keep it. and then enjoy the hell out of it.


----------



## TakeFive (Oct 22, 2009)

bljones said:


> ...First things first: Find the right boat for you, then decide where to keep it. and then enjoy the hell out of it.


That is the order that I am doing things, by necessity, although I'll need to know for sure which state by the time I go to closing. The decision where to keep it is severely complicated by tax implications, and PA's well-known refusal to grant reciprocity to neighboring states. It seems my original decision to try out PA waters for a year, and move to MD later if I want, may likely result in paying 6% to PA, then 5% to MD. See this thread for someone else's experience:
http://www.sailnet.com/forums/boat-review-purchase-forum/61292-where-document-title-register-2.html#post560198

[Edit: Oops, I need to do some more research. Pennsylvania and Maryland do have a reciprocal agreement for income taxes. I need to get the exact wording of the agreement to see if it extends to excise and sales/use taxes. But my prior statement that PA does not have reciprocity with neighboring states is wrong. They do not get along with DE (or NY), as I am reminded every year when I do my income taxes for my Delaware-generated income, but PA and MD get a long a little better than I thought.]


----------



## TakeFive (Oct 22, 2009)

Since this thread had drifted to the tax question, I have created a new thread to continue the discussion on Maryland excise taxes. (Click here)


----------



## TakeFive (Oct 22, 2009)

Here's a quick update on our boat search:

Because of our interest in comfortable cruising and my 6'5" son's desire for as much headroom as possible, we continued to increase the size and price range of boats that we were looking at. I placed unsuccessful offers on a couple of Catalina 320s. My prices were right in the middle of the range of comparables from soldboats.com, but because these boats are very new on the market and in very nice condition, the owners are still optimistic about getting prices that are 20% higher than soldboats says they should get.  That's their right, and I've moved on.

Over the past week, practicality has taken over, and I started thinking of the 80/20 rule. If we find a smaller, less expensive boat for daysailing near home on the Delaware we would have 80% of the fun for 20% of the price and much lower slip, storage, and maintenance costs. Realistically we could not spend more than 1-2 weeks a year doing cruising while I am still working, and I had to wonder whether it is worth the extra cost of owning a big boat when we only need that amount of space for those 1-2 weeks. Such a boat is bigger than we would need for daysailing on protected waters.

I think I could have the "best of both worlds" with the smaller, less expensive boat near home for sailing after work and on weekends, and charter a 32-40 footer down on the Bay for the 1-2 weeks of cruising each year. (Ulladh mentioned in a prior message that he does this to supplement his own sailing on the Delaware.) I could also avoid the choice of where to keep it - I'd have my own boat near home, and could get a charter boat almost anywhere.

The economics are pretty simple: Under $1000 to slip a 25' boat on the Delaware vs. about $3600 for a 32' boat at an upscale marina like Haven Harbour. The difference of $2600, plus difference of maintenance cost, could pay for 2 weeks of chartering, and if I have a busy year that prevents us from cruising I'm not ticked off that I'm spending so much on a boat that we can't fully use.

Also, while chartering (and daysailing the smaller boat), I would be learning a lot more about my preferences in boat features (as well as upgrading my sailing skills), so if we were to decide to move up later it would be a much more knowledgeable decision.

My wife really wants the Catalina perch seats and walk-through transom, so I have my eye on a Catalina 250 that's in really nice shape. We could keep that near home (or move it to Lake Wallenpaupack someday if we want), and charter on the Bay, Keys, USVI, etc. to fill in the rest.

Comments? Do any of you have nightmare stories about bareboat charters?


----------



## TakeFive (Oct 22, 2009)

Well, today I think we reached agreement on purchase of a 1998 Catalina 250. This was the completion of the process we started in the above message. It was significant that I was able to stick to one boat model for 4 weeks without lusting after something else. This "feels" like the right boat for us at this stage - although we're very serious about also chartering a much larger boat for one week this summer.

We will keep her in the Delaware River for this year, but already thinking of the Bohemia for next year. That location seems the best compromise between distance and quality of environment.

I am looking for a surveyor for this boat, and have talked to a couple guys I found on the SAMS website. Any other recommendations for specific people? (The boat will need to be surveyed in Riverside, NJ before I take posession.)


----------



## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Good luck RD... Keep us posted.


----------



## CapnA (Jan 2, 2010)

Congratulations on your purchase. I also (more or less) gave up golf a few years ago for sailing. I didn't belong to a club, but I found that I no longer had enough time to play. Now I can spend some time with the family on the water. (I've even managed to get my six year old into racing)

I am also in the Philly area (Delaware County). We keep our boat down on the North East River in the North East River Yacht Club. (neryc.com) If/when you decide to move down to the Chesapeake, take a look at NERYC. It's only a 50 minute drive from door to door. In the summer, I can leave work at 4:00 PM and still get a few hours of sailing in before dark. The club has nice new floating docks, and the facilities are pretty decent.

Unfortunately, I don't have a local surveyor to recommend. I purchased my boat in Annapolis and used a guy down there.


----------



## NickPapagiorgio (Jan 21, 2009)

That's a nice lookin marina, CapnA... I live in South Jersey at the moment and although I'm probably a good number of year from actual boat ownership, I like to look into things like where to keep the boat once I do buy. I googled directions to that marina from my house and it's about the same as you, 50 or so miles. It seems like that's about as far north as marinas get on the Chesapeake. If you don't mind me asking, what do they charge for a season? 

Kevin


----------



## CapnA (Jan 2, 2010)

Kevin -

Thanks for your comments. It is a nice place, and the people are really friendly and approachable. As you mentioned, it is about as north as you can get in the Chesapeake. We even have a decent racing scene, which includes all skill levels from first time racers (and sailors) to boats that have won hardware in the Governer's Cup. 

Frankly, I had never heard of the town North East until I found my first boat there. I am glad that I did, because it really is the closest sailable part of the Chesapeake to my home. (It's also nice because we can sail right off the docks. No need to motor down the river to get to the bay before you can hoist the sails!)

The rates are fairly reasonable. A yearly membership is $600. If you keep your boat there, the slips range from $1760/year for a 20' slip, $2680 for a 30' slip, up to $4400 for a 50' slip. (The prices are hidden somewhere on the website).

If you are interested, try coming down for a visit when the weather turns warm. Sail race days are usually good a good time. They run on Saturdays starting in May. You can either contact me off line, or just show up at the club. As I mentioned, the people are really friendly.


----------



## Ulladh (Jul 12, 2007)

Rhythm
Congratulations on the boat purchase (pending survey).
The offer to assist moving from Riverside to Essington still stands, but I will be in BVI first two weeks of April, maybe the third week also if I can.
Which Essington marina will you be at?
Check saltwatertides.com for tide at Rancocas NJ (near Riverside) and Billingsport NJ (across the river from Essington) and try and schedule the departure for 1hr before high tide at Rancocas, this should get you to Essington at the beginning of low slack tide.
First time arrival at Essington is best done at slack tide, then practice your docking at different tidal currents until comfortable with the 6 knot plus peak current.
If you arrive before slack the first time, just grab a vacant outer "T" or Ancorage Marina fuel dock until the current eases.


----------



## PalmettoSailor (Mar 7, 2006)

bljones said:


> I'm glad you have a sense of humour, RD. And I am glad you are enjoying the boat search.
> The Cheaspeake is great, but don't overlook the advantages of having a slip close to home.
> 
> First things first: Find the right boat for you, then decide where to keep it. and then enjoy the hell out of it.


Congrats on joing the Catalina fleet.

Just as commentary, for those of us used to commuting over an hour to work, 90 minutes to the boat doesn't seem like a big deal, even for a daysail.

For the past 5 years, I've driven over 4 hours down to our boat, but this year we've finally reached our limit and are moving to a marina that will be about 1.5 hours from home and less than that if I were to leave from work. For us, this will be huge, since we usually spend Friday and Saturday nights on the boat every time we go. I'm thinking I may even do a few week long visits and commute to work from the boat this summer to help me rationalize the slip costs. lol


----------



## TakeFive (Oct 22, 2009)

CapnA said:


> ...If/when you decide to move down to the Chesapeake, take a look at NERYC. It's only a 50 minute drive from door to door. In the summer, I can leave work at 4:00 PM and still get a few hours of sailing in before dark. The club has nice new floating docks, and the facilities are pretty decent...


Thanks for the suggestion. Since I work in Wilmington, Northeast is even closer for me. I had not previously considered the Northeast river because that part of the Bay looks too shallow north of Turkey Point. But after looking at the chart again, there looks to be a couple miles of sailable water north of Carpenter Point. So you could do short sails in the river itself, or motor the 6 miles down the channel past Turkey Point for a full day and/or weekend, right?


----------



## CapnA (Jan 2, 2010)

RhythmDoctor said:


> Since I work in Wilmington, Northeast is even closer for me. I had not previously considered the Northeast river because that part of the Bay looks too shallow north of Turkey Point. But after looking at the chart again, there looks to be a couple miles of sailable water north of Carpenter Point. So you could do short sails in the river itself, or motor the 6 miles down the channel past Turkey Point for a full day and/or weekend, right?


For reasons that I don't fully understand, the North East River seems to be secret to people in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. North East has a great crabhouse ("Woody's") where cold beer and hot crabs make a great end of a day on the water. However, the area doesn't get a lot of press, so a lot of people don't realize that the depth is not as much of an issue as it may appear. It really is the closest direct access to the Chesapeake. If you look at the charts, there are some well delineated areas that are shallow. My former boat (Cal 25) had 4' draft, and I could sail pretty much all around the North East River. My current boat draws 5'8", and there are some areas that I avoid at low tide. However, I never felt that draft was much of a problem. The shallow areas are well marked on the charts, and it is easy to pick a course for a daysail that avoids them. The prevailing winds blow out of the Southwest, so we typically have a nice close-hauled course down Turkey Point, and return on a broad reach/run. It makes for great daysailing. The river is actully quite wide, so I don't feel "constrained" when we daysail.

As far as overnighting is concerned, we motor or sail (depending upon the wind) down Turkey point and the Upper Bay is right there. We typically take short overnight cruises down to Still Pond or the Sassafrass. St. Michaels/Baltimore/Annapolis can be done in a day, but it is a longer haul to get down there.

If/when you decide that you want to keep your boat on the Chesapeake, I would definitely recommend you consider North East. It may or may not be right for you, but it is close. Shoot me an email off line if you ever want to come down and take a look at our club. The are also several other marinas in the area, so we are not the only game in town.


----------



## NickPapagiorgio (Jan 21, 2009)

CapnA said:


> Kevin -
> 
> Thanks for your comments. It is a nice place, and the people are really friendly and approachable. As you mentioned, it is about as north as you can get in the Chesapeake. We even have a decent racing scene, which includes all skill levels from first time racers (and sailors) to boats that have won hardware in the Governer's Cup.
> 
> ...


CapnA,

Now that you mention it, I do remember seeing a shallow (I believe unmarked??) channel up the eastern side of the north portion along Elk Neck State Park. My wife and I and some friends usually charter a boat out of Harve De Grace every year so I'm pretty familiar with the area. We've taken the last couple of years off though because one of the couples we go with got pregnant the year before last and the other couple got pregnant last year. We're also taking this year off because my wife is pregnant (with our first ), but I definitely plan to get back out next year. Anyway, it's been a while since I looked at a chart so my memory may not be the best.

I'd love to check out the marina in the spring. I'm assuming you wont be heading down until the weather breaks a bit??

Kevin


----------



## CapnA (Jan 2, 2010)

Congratulations Kevin! Having a baby puts a whole new perspective on things. We we didn't take our daughter sailing until after her first birthday, but she has pretty much grown up on the water. Now she's seven, and we bought her a used sunfish last summer. As long as she still likes it, we are trying to encourage her. There are many worse things she could be into...

You are correct that the channel up the North East River along the eastern side of Turkey point. Fortunately, it is well marked and easy to follow. The one downside of the North East River is that you pretty much have to overnight in a marina, because there are not well protected coves. 

I will be heading down there in another month or so. We're planning to launch sometime after tax day, and regular racing starts the first weekend in May. As I mentioned before, if you want to check it out, either send me a message or just stop in once the weather turns warmer. We're always looking for crew on race days.

Drew


----------



## BoxedUp (Nov 22, 2006)

Good luck on your new purchase!


RhythmDoctor said:


> Do any of you have nightmare stories about bareboat charters?


Other than forgetting to close the hatches when leaving the boat for dinner ashore and having to make a mad dash back to the mooring to close them when the evening rains came in the BVI, everything was great. The hassles involved in air travel today certainly do not add anything to the experience.

After our first charter I thought, why own a boat up north when the best sailing conditions and underwater activity can be had in the Caribbean for a week at a time...and even though we're going back in a few months for another charter, the draw of the sea and sailing has convinced me that I need to own a boat up north because one week every few years just won't cut it.


----------



## NickPapagiorgio (Jan 21, 2009)

CapnA said:


> Congratulations Kevin! Having a baby puts a whole new perspective on things. We we didn't take our daughter sailing until after her first birthday, but she has pretty much grown up on the water. Now she's seven, and we bought her a used sunfish last summer. As long as she still likes it, we are trying to encourage her. There are many worse things she could be into...
> 
> You are correct that the channel up the North East River along the eastern side of Turkey point. Fortunately, it is well marked and easy to follow. The one downside of the North East River is that you pretty much have to overnight in a marina, because there are not well protected coves.
> 
> ...


Drew,

Thanks for the response and the congratulations. Needless to say, we are very excited for the new baby. My wife is about seven months along and I have to say that it's been the fastest seven months of my life. I really can't believe it's been that long... how the time flies.

Anyway, I'll definitely take you up on that offer. I'd be more than happy to help crew for a race. I never done any formal racing but I've done quite a bit of sailing so I should be of at least some assistance. I'll shoot you a message once the weather breaks (if it ever does).

Kevin


----------



## CapnA (Jan 2, 2010)

NickPapagiorgio said:


> Drew,
> 
> Thanks for the response and the congratulations. Needless to say, we are very excited for the new baby. My wife is about seven months along and I have to say that it's been the fastest seven months of my life. I really can't believe it's been that long... how the time flies.
> 
> ...


Kevin -

You're going through one of the most exciting and intense experiences of a lifetime. Enjoy every minute of it!

Definitely shoot me a message in another month or so, and we'll get you down to the club.

- Drew


----------



## NickPapagiorgio (Jan 21, 2009)

Drew, 

That sounds good. I'll shoot you a message in a month or so... lookin' forward to it.


----------



## TakeFive (Oct 22, 2009)

All - Back to the original topic of this thead, on Thursday we surveyed the Catalina 250, closed the deal Friday, and motored her down the river to Essington, PA today. It was a chilly ride, but fun nonetheless. (Thanks for you great company and advice, Ulladh!) The breeze was too light and time too limited to put the sails up, and docking in the strong Delaware River currents was a real challenge. Both of those items are going to need a lot of work in the near future.

If anyone has any links to good docking tricks I'd appreciate them. I was having particular trouble backing up with (but slower than) the current. I would tend to turn the rudder in the direction to move the stern as if the boat was backing up in slack water, so the boat would move the opposite way from what I expected because even though SOG was negative, its speed relative to the water was positive. Any special visualization tricks to override my natural (incorrect) reflexes would be appreciated! Meanwhile I'll go have a look to see what Chapman's says about the topic.

My sincere thanks to all of you for the advice your provided during my search!


----------



## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Congrats and good luck with her.


----------



## Ulladh (Jul 12, 2007)

Rythm
It was a pleasure to share the first time on the river with you yesterday.
Your docking skills where quite good for first time docking in tidal current.
Keep practicing in different phases of the tide, add wind and every day will be different.
Get comfortable with the boat then enter Smacks Global Reggata.


----------



## chef2sail (Nov 27, 2007)

Rythm,

Congrats and Good luck. Hope to see you on the Chesapeake soon.

Dave


----------



## NickPapagiorgio (Jan 21, 2009)

Congrats on the boat purchase... Maybe it got lost in the shuffle, but where did you decide to keep her?


----------



## TakeFive (Oct 22, 2009)

NickPapagiorgio said:


> Congrats on the boat purchase... Maybe it got lost in the shuffle, but where did you decide to keep her?


For this year we plan to keep her near my home. Last weekend we moved her to Anchorage Marina on the Delaware River in Essington, PA.


----------



## TakeFive (Oct 22, 2009)

Today we got our first chance to take the "new" boat out under sail. Things went great, and we successfully circumnavigated Little Tinicum Island. I hired Steve Mink, who runs the Liberty Sailing School in Philly (and the Liberty Sail and Canvas Loft), to make sure we didn't get ourselves into too much trouble.

Docking went much better this time, partly because we were docking against the current instead of with it. I stood backwards in front of the pedestal and backed in the whole way, including pulling in through the fairway backwards. It may have looked odd, but the boat really responded better with the outboard motor "dragging" the boat behind it.


----------



## Freesail99 (Feb 13, 2006)

> Docking went much better this time, partly because we were docking against the current instead of with it. I stood backwards in front of the pedestal and backed in the whole way, including pulling in through the fairway backwards. It may have looked odd, but the boat really responded better with the outboard motor "dragging" the boat behind it./QUOTE]
> 
> Many don't realize just how strong the currents can be on the Delaware river. When the wind dies it is very easy to sail backwards.


----------



## chef2sail (Nov 27, 2007)

My first experience years ago was when I anchored behind Reedy Island ( 5 miles S of the C&D Canal on the Delaware side) on a trip from the Chesapeake to Cape May. It has become our favorite stpover on our transit to New England every year to set up the run with the curent/ tide down the Delaware to Cape May.

Our first year we anchored/// wind from the SSE,,,tide running in. I awoke at 1 AM with a rush of air coming down the companionway steps. When anchoring in the Chesapake with very little tide/ current you always have you bow pointed into the wind,,,air comming down the front hatch. I bolted up the steps,,sure we were dragging anchor. After 10 minutes I realized that the tide/ current against the keel was the predominate factor aligning the boat vs the direction of the wind. Was a great lesson learned about the strength of the tide on the Delaware.

Dave


----------



## TakeFive (Oct 22, 2009)

Since it's the 5-year anniversary of shopping for our first (and current) keelboat, I re-read this thread (and a few others) to remind myself of some of the things we went through as we considered larger and larger boats, but ultimately decided to go smaller/newer with our Catalina 250.

We love the C250. It has been a perfect boat for us, and will continue to be for at least a couple more years. Low maintenance, low storage costs, easy winterization, surprisingly roomy cockpit, etc. The boat is so simple that we just sail, and that's great.

We haven't done much cruising, but it's not because the boat's too small. It is because our lives don't allow time for it. We've chartered for a couple weeks, and we have done numerous weekends and a several 4-7 days cruises taking our boat down through canal into the Bay as far as Rock Hall. In fact, we actually did more cruising this year than the previous four years combined, so we're heading in the right direction.

Our original plan was to keep the boat near home for a year, then move to the Bay. But it has ended up being five years in Essington, and counting. We just like having the boat near home so we can do frequent daysails. Next year we will probably stay in Essington again, but I will try to move down to Bohemia River around Labor Day and keep it there for the month of September.

While I feared that we would quickly outgrow our boat and want something bigger, the opposite has happened and we have grown more attached to her as we found ways to make the most of what we have. A Magma grill has made cooking much easier and keeps the heat out of the cabin in the summer. I've figured out how to use a portable air conditioner which we use for only 2-3 nights each summer. Even though we hardly ever use it, just having it available makes a huge difference, because it eliminates any fears that we will be miserable on the boat. We try not to use it, but we know it's there if we need it.

Soon I'll be dropping the mast for the winter and throwing a tarp over top to protect from snowfall. (Easy mast stepping is another nice benefit of the smaller boat.) I'm looking forward to getting caught up on other stuff this winter, hoping spring is just around the corner.


----------

