Choosing a MarinaMay 26, 2009

Choosing a marina can be almost as challenging as choosing your boat. Slip fees and amenities vary, so you’ll have to decide what is important to you. Some marinas have a waiting list, so you may want to look around ahead of the purchase, especially if you will be living aboard full-time. Here are a few things to consider when choosing a marina:

1. First and foremost, carefully check out several marinas before you decide. Ask your broker, and your boating friends and acquaintances for referrals. If you plan to live aboard, be sure to ask if it is allowed. Walk around, look at the facilities (especially the bath house), and talk to people who keep their boats there.
2. If you will be living aboard, try to meet other liveaboards at the marina. Are there washers and dryers on site or will you have to drive to the laundromat? Location matters: are there groceries, banks, gas stations, and restaurants available nearby? How far away is the gym or library? In other words, check the conveniences that are important to you..
3. Can you haul your boat at the marina you’re considering, or will you need to take it somewhere else? Can you do work on your boat, or must you use yard personnel or contractors? While it is convenient to have your boat hauled where you live, a working boatyard is a noisy boatyard during the weekdays.
4. Is the marina more of a resort type marina? This is great if you like lots of activities going on, especially in the summer months. If the marina has a pool, will it be full of children on the weekends? Where will your slip be in relation to the activity?
5. What sort of security does the marina offer? Is it gated? Is there a security officer on patrol? This is especially important in the winter when fewer people are around.
6. What is included in your slip fee? Usually, you’ll be billed for the electricity you use, but many marinas also charge a live aboard fee. If there is a pool and/or clubhouse, will you have to pay extra to use them? Be sure you know what the all the expenses will be before you sign a lease.
7. Speaking of leases, be sure to read the lease carefully before you sign anything. Also, get a copy of the marinas rules and policies.
8. Don’t forget, moving a boat is far easier than moving your house. If you make a mistake, you can always move to a different marina next year. Check your lease for guidelines as to how much notice is required before you move.

Still cruisin’February 26, 2009

Doug & Shanna Moler bought their Lyman Morse Seguin 44′ through Martin Bird & Associates late in 2005. They brought her down from New Hampshire to Annapolis, added a bit of equipment, provisioned, and off they went. Here is an excerpt of their latest update:     “  Last year’s cruising was still in the Med.  We departed Tarragona, Spain, our winter home, on March 1st.  

Sacrificed to the Wind Gods:  1 blanket, hung out to dry;  2 hats, both brand new;  3 French flags;  4 old dock lines, chafed through at the Marseille dock; many nights’ sleep.  In the Calanques de Marseille we tried to sacrifice both the dinghy (capsized with outboard attached) and the Hobnob herself.  The last 2 items were refused.  Still the Mistral blew, right into May.  

In the tentative late spring weather, we anchored with the rich boys on the French Riviera—St. Tropez, Antibes, Nice, Villefrance sur Mer, Monaco—leaving the boat for only a few hours at a time, afraid to venture too far inland with the boat in tenuous anchorages.  No room in the French marinas in April and May; no one (sane) has departed on their summer cruises yet and you couldn’t squeeze another boat in with a shoehorn.  Still, what a magnificent area!  We finally understand its long popularity.  

Then came Island Hopping. Corsica in June-one of the highlights of our travels: hiking, biking and sailing; dramatic landscapes and skies to match. Sardinia in July-daily swims in that Mediterranean blue to work off those daily gelati; admiring that Italian style and avoiding those Italian charter boats. Sicily in August-Volcanoes, Italian cooking (How do they do it!?), unbelievable markets, the world’s best ice cream in Noto. Too little exercise, too much great food-a dangerous stop. We tore ourselves away from Italy the first week in September, and started listening to our Greek language lessons on our windless crossing of the Ionian Sea. 

Some hilarity the first time we heard  “Tha thelete na fate kati?”  Yeah, right.  We were glad everyone spoke English as we worked our way down the Ionian islands, through the Corinth Canal, and into Athens.  We had almost no one to talk to, in English or Greek, on the islands we visited in October (Early and late in the same year?), as we made our way to Aghios Nikolaos on Crete, our home this winter. 

 We’re up to Lesson 20 now,  though we had to start over at Lesson 10 when we returned to Crete after spending 6 weeks in the US during December and January.  We hadn’t been back for 2 ½ years and decided we’d better remind everyone we were still alive. We enjoyed real winter and snow for the first time in many years, though downhill skiing with the nephews after a 10-year hiatus was just a bit scary.  It didn’t help that we were skiing on a sheet of ice in Washington state.  We both said little prayers for our knees at the beginning of each run.

 Back in Greece now, planning on staying in Aghios Nikolaos at least until the END of March.   Maybe we’ll even be reading some Greek by then.  Yeah, right.

Greg earns CPYBFebruary 19, 2009

We’re pleased and proud to announce that Greg Kaufman has fulfilled all the requirements, passed the test, and is now a Certified Professional Yacht Broker.

Welcome to our new website!February 3, 2009

We’re happy to announce the debut of our new and improved website. Please take a few moments to look around and feel free to send us your comments or suggestions.

Buying a Boat from AmericaJanuary 29, 2009

Greg Kaufman sold a 38′ Lyman Morse to an English couple who shipped the boat home to Great Britain. They wrote an article about the process which was published in the December 2008 issue of Practical Boat Owner. Read the article…