# cheapest mooring in gta



## duchess of montrose (Nov 26, 2011)

Does anyone know what the cheapest mooring in the gta is (Toronto,scarborough,Mississauga and surrounding area). I have looked into aquatic park sailing club but I can't find a cost. I am perfectly fine with a mooring ball as opposed to a dock in fact i prefer it, I just need to minimize costs while not jeopardizing the safety of my boat. 

I know there are several mooring fields in Toronto and surrounding area but I can't seem to find info or costs. any help would be appreciated. also my boat is 30 feet lod 32 feet loa i don't have insurance, and probably can't get any until next season when I'm finished the work i plan to do, and she draws 4'6".


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## nodders (Aug 19, 2011)

The issue may not be so much cost but availability. When we were looking three years ago anyway, space was a challenge and owning a boat with no slip to put it isn't a whole lot of fun. There are a lot of clubs, but then you end up paying initiation fees and buying debentures which isn't cheap...once you have that down though, they tend to be quite reasonable. If you want to go a little farther out, I think Newcastle is fairly reasonable from what I have heard. You may have to start making some phone calls to determine price and availability. Doubtful that you can get anything without insurance though.


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## duchess of montrose (Nov 26, 2011)

Do i need to have every system up to spec to get liability insurance or is that just for damage loss etc


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## bljones (Oct 13, 2008)

duchess of montrose said:


> Do i need to have every system up to spec to get liability insurance or is that just for damage loss etc


You just need to have a boat.


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## duchess of montrose (Nov 26, 2011)

In that case I will be getting liability insurance, is that all most places require


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## bljones (Oct 13, 2008)

Yep.


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## boatpoker (Jul 21, 2008)

A mooring at Aquatic Park will be the cheapest. Email them through their website for info on prices and availability. There is also room in that bay to anchor.


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## nodders (Aug 19, 2011)

Actually there was a guy who anchored a 26 (or so) Tanzer in Humber bay park for over a year. Not suggesting you do that though as it wasn't pretty! Broke lose in the winter and got bounced around by the ice, washed up on shore, outboard got stolen, kids played on it....


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## skalashn (Jun 28, 2011)

We have friends at Aquatic park - it is a PITA to get to on weekends. You cannot drive into the park so you have to bike (~3km) or take their cart which is once an hour and often full. Also the stink from cormorants across the bay can be bad depending on the wind.

I am looking for a slip myself in the west GTA and everywhere except Port Credit seems to be waitlisted.


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## nodders (Aug 19, 2011)

skalashn said:


> We have friends at Aquatic park - it is a PITA to get to on weekends. You cannot drive into the park so you have to bike (~3km) or take their cart which is once an hour and often full. Also the stink from cormorants across the bay can be bad depending on the wind.
> 
> I am looking for a slip myself in the west GTA and everywhere except Port Credit seems to be waitlisted.


Mimico may have some slips unless you are over 40 ft. Awesome club.


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## skalashn (Jun 28, 2011)

nodders said:


> Mimico may have some slips unless you are over 40 ft. Awesome club.


I like the place but it is quite expensive to join. I am thinking about staying in Port Credit for a while until I can get something in Oakville which would be ideal.


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## skalashn (Jun 28, 2011)

duchess of montrose said:


> In that case I will be getting liability insurance, is that all most places require


I looked into getting liability-only last year and the quotes I was given were 90% of full coverage.


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## duchess of montrose (Nov 26, 2011)

i emailed aquatic park, and they have not yet replied. I don't want to anchor out because while i plan to live aboard in the summer, I don't want to risk losing the boat and anchoring out is fine if your staying on the boat but i feel uncomfortable leaving a boat all day to go to work or if i want to visit a friend for a night I can't trust the boat on the hook so I was looking more for a mooring. I'm fine with it being hard to get to as long as the boat is safe and its cheap. I'm a young guy I can handle biking. boat is 30 feet so well under 40. the reason for the liability only is more because I need to do some more work before i think I could get full insurance.


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## boatpoker (Jul 21, 2008)

Port Credit Harbour has lots of slips. Port Credit Yacht Club has lots of slips under 35' but they also have a $2500 initiation fee for boats of your size.


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## SVTatia (May 7, 2007)

duchess of montrose said:


> i emailed aquatic park, and they have not yet replied....


Aquatic Park is by far the cheapest, but the waiting list was long last time I checked. Try Hamilton, you may get more options in the inner harbor.

Even for liability-only insurance you'll still need a survey.

If you are working on the boat you can get insurance, its called builders plan - check with Robertson & Robertson (Skippers Plan). Once you finish get a survey and full insurance.


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## SVTatia (May 7, 2007)

boatpoker said:


> Port Credit Harbour has lots of slips. Port credit Yacht Club has lots of slips under 35' but they also have a $2500 initiation fee for boats of your size.


If you stay at the marina you cannot work on the boat.
At the club, on top of the initiation fees, you have dock debentures, bar charges, etc - probably the most expensive around.


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## skalashn (Jun 28, 2011)

Alexandra Yacht Club also has mooring balls as far as I know. Good location but may also be waitlisted.

I purchased full insurance last year for my new boat and did not have to provide a survey.


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## duchess of montrose (Nov 26, 2011)

what about other mooring balls i thought there were some in the west end somewhere


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## nodders (Aug 19, 2011)

what about the toronto sailing and canoe club? they have balls (thats all they have).


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## boatpoker (Jul 21, 2008)

SVTatia said:


> If you stay at the marina you cannot work on the boat.
> At the club, on top of the initiation fees, you have dock debentures, bar charges, etc - probably the most expensive around.


Actually you can work on your boat, you just can't bring in outside contractors.

No debentures at Port Credit Yacht Club. You must spend $30/month in the bar if you are under 30 years old..... I can easily down 30 bucks worth of Old Credit Amber in a month


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## zedboy (Jul 14, 2010)

If you've got chutzpah, big ground tackle, and a kayak/other tender, leave it riding at anchor in the basin in Tommy Thompson park in the outer harbour...can't beat it for protection against swell.

I have no suggestions for you big boat types. If you're under 24' you can go to Lake Scugog and get a slip for I think well under $1k.


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## duchess of montrose (Nov 26, 2011)

if i got really good ground tackle and used massive scope would it be safe to leave it there for like 8 hours during a workday. would that be responsible. and if it was really storming or something i could get a transient dock.


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## boatpoker (Jul 21, 2008)

FYI Tommy Thompson Park = same bay as Aquatic Sailing club.


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## sony2000 (Jan 30, 2013)

Scottie, what is the make of boat you have, since you need a main sail?
For insurance call April Insurance for a broker. Keep the policy under 10K, and you can have liability only, or full coverage, without a survey. Do you like that?
You will want coverage, especially if the boat sinks, or ends up on the shore.


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## i_amcdn (Jul 4, 2012)

Stick with city owned marinas. No debentures. No initiation. No bar tab unless voluntary.

My boss is still waiting for his debenture back from Cathedral Bluffs YC 4 years after leaving.

I was at Bluffers Park Marina last summer (my first with my Edel 22) and they are nice folks. I have since moved our home to Etobicoke right across from Humber Sailing School and the other "Yacht Clubs". I simply don't have 3-4K to give someone over and above my dockage so I am keeping fingers crossed that something opens up in one of the Mississauga city marinas. If not then I will trek across town to Bluffers.

The Toronto marinas downtown are too much. Outer Harbour will charge as though I have 30 feet. The Island marina is about the same as Bluffers but then you have the inconvenience of parking and shuttle ferry across the inner harbour. The most difficult part of sailing should not be getting to your boat.


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## zedboy (Jul 14, 2010)

boatpoker said:


> FYI Tommy Thompson Park = same bay as Aquatic Sailing club.


Yeah just put that together 

I never figured out where all the different "downtown" places were located, since none of them were ever reasonable options for us (from Thornhill, going north to Lake Simcoe was easier anyhow).

Duchess, couldn't you also put a GPS hooked to wireless internet (or even a SPOT tracker) on the boat when you're not there, so you can keep tabs on where it's swinging, especially when the weather is iffy?


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## duchess of montrose (Nov 26, 2011)

what kind of ground is it in tommy thomson park and whats the depth like. I have about 30 feet of 5/8 chain and 450 ft of 5/8 rode. What anchor works best, i could buy a new one if the investment pays off in the long run. right now i have a 45 pound cqr and a collection of danforths. The cqr seems to work the best but I'm open to others.


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