Open vs. Covered Moorage

[Mark Laurnen]

Happy New Year to all! I am contemplating going from dry storage to in water moorage. I expect to stay aboard infrequently, for short stays, while traveling for work. My moorage location will be Port of Everett. For those of you who have lived aboard, what are your preferences, covered or uncovered moorage. Obviously, there is a cost difference and potentially maintenance difference, but aside from that I’m wondering about the aesthetic. Would living under cover result in claustrophobia? Are the infrequent beautiful days justification for tolerating the more prominent foul weather? Would it be better to switch seasonally, covered for winter and uncovered for summer? Of course the initial decision is not necessarily irrevocable like buying a boat in the first place, but making a switch could prove difficult depending upon availability. I appreciate your experience based recommendations.

 

[Comodave]

Look at the covered moorage very carefully. There have been quite a few fires in covered slips the last few years. Are there blowout sections in the roof so that heat and flames can go up and out rather than sideways. What is the condition of the water system? Can you successfully fight a fire under the covered slips? Probably not. Look carefully and if you do get a covered slip have a plan as how to get out in case of a fire. There was a fire in Alabama recently that a lot of people dies because they were stuck on the end of a dock. I don’t remember the details but it was bad. It may not be your boat that catches fire but the neighbors boat. How do you get away if the fire is between you and land? Maybe keep a dinghy in the water or easily launched, in a minute or so. I would have never given this a thought but there has been a string of fires recently.

 

[Ken E.]

Given a choice in the PNW, I'd be under cover because of the rain. But, I've always been in open slips and never lived aboard through the winter, so others will be better qualified to answer your question.

 

[Jay N]

While I don't live aboard in Everett, this is where WESTERLY berths these days.

Over the years, I have made friends with a few live-aboards, and I always ask about their mooring preferences.

Like all boating things, there is a great number of possibilities and preferences. Like always wanting to moor at the end of the dock of open floats where they usually have a view not blocked by other boats and boat houses/covered berths. But when it's storming like today, they want to be sheltered by those same obstacles. When there are provisions to be moved to the boat, or just getting to the car in the parking lot, they want to be next to the ramp. It would be nice to be on a dock that had a portable holding tank pumpout. Etc.

Personally, I don't think I would like to live-aboard under cover or in a boathouse - too confining. I would probably be an end-of-the-dock live-aboard.

As you point out, it's all subject to availability and you may not have any choice in the matter.

Whatever choices you do get to make will be personal ones. Good Luck.

 

[DDW]

I would like to live in an open slip. My boat would like much better to live in a covered slip or even a boathouse. I would like to work on the boat in a boathouse, or second choice a covered slip.

 

[Nomad Willy]

We have covered.
I think It’s less than $50 mo extra.
A great buy.

The only downside is the lack of light (especially in winter). Whenever I go to the boat I turn on most all the cabin lights. And that’s not enough.

 

[Portage_Bay]

I've lived aboard open and covered. Covered is like living your garage.

 

[Mark Laurnen]

Thank you all very much for your thoughts, comments and advice. I had not considered the fire egress question. I certainly appreciate all opinions!

 

[jungpeter]

Hi Mark Lauren,

Presumably, you've already checked availability of moorage at the Port of Everett. Otherwise, due to a paucity of slips in the PNW, this topic may be moot.

Can't speak to covered moorage for your size boat, but for 50' covered in Everett-they're like hens teeth. And while private boathouses come available occasionally, ditto. Switching moorage locations depending on seasons is (IMHO) a thing of the past. YMMV, but that's my take after trying to do so for many years in Everett.

Regards,

Pete

 

[Larry M]

Since you say you’re not a live aboard, I’d go for the covered. We had covered in Des Moines, south of you for our our Chris Craft and Mainship. We loved it. Boat projects weren’t weather dependent and no green decks. The boat got dusty between visits but that was it. We parked bow in and could sit in the back deck while it was raining.

 

[ghost]

I’ve had 50 foot covered moorage at POE and open moorage and the “new” marina when it opened some years ago. The open moorage is a lot more scenic, covered gives the boat massively better protection from the elements, but not scenic and much darker. Your boat will last longer and look better in covered.

Of course, if you don’t already have it, you won’t likely get it anytime soon. Moorage is back to being very scarce.

I just bought covered moorage in Anacortes this year. I’m on the end, So I now have both an unbeatable scenic view and light on three sides. I get a lot more weather though, so at this very moment I’m sewing additional rail covers...

In a fire, covered is worse, but either way you are likely to lose multiple boats, rarely just one.

 

[kthoennes]

We're on the Missouri in South Dakota so keep that in mind, but we like our open slip. We watch the fireworks and sunsets from the upper deck. Less bugs in an open slip. Coffee at the upper helm at sunrise. Better light. Yes, the UV exposure does take more of a toll on the canvas and fiberglass. The boat does get hotter in the summer, we probably run the AC more. We've got boats on either side of of us so covered and uncovered doesn't seem to make much difference with stiff SoDak winds, we rock and creak either way. We don't have satellite TV or radio but our slip neighbors undercover have to mount remote antennas off the boat and run connections, looks messy and one more thing to connect and reconnect every trip.

Our covered slip neighbors do say covered slips are louder. Our roofs are corrugated metal, they say it amplifies noise like being in a tin box, you can hear conversations and the next boat's loud radio really well.

 

[Woodland Hills]

In a covered slip you won’t get satellite TV. If you are buying a boat from a covered slip you won’t know where the leaks are until you get out from under the roof and it rains.

 

[Comodave]

We have covered.
I think It’s less than $50 mo extra.
A great buy.

The only downside is the lack of light (especially in winter). Whenever I go to the boat I turn on most all the cabin lights. And that’s not enough.

With the energy saving of LED lights, would it be possible to mount some on the inside of the roof to simulate sunlight and brighten up the area around the boat? Or is that prohibited?

 

[Portage_Bay]

In a covered slip you won’t get satellite TV. If you are buying a boat from a covered slip you won’t know where the leaks are until you get out from under the roof and it rains.

What he said about the rain.

 

[Nomad Willy]

Como,
Had’t thought of that but would work well in the moorage slip plugged into shorepower.
May not want to spring$ for the lights themselves ??? I’ll browse ...

PB,
We have no leaks except the teak skylight. And it’s always covered except when showing off.

 

[Comodave]

Como,
Had’t thought of that but would work well in the moorage slip plugged into shorepower.
May not want to spring$ for the lights themselves ??? I’ll browse ...

I have some 4’ LED lights that I mount temporarily in my boat during the winter each year. They are really bright and give pretty even lighting. I don’t remember what they cost but they weren’t too expensive. I would guess that 4 of them would light up your slip fairly well, 2 on each side. The electric usage wouldn’t be much either. I got mine at HD. I don’t see them at HD.com though. Amazon has 6 40 watt LED shop lights for $90 to $107. With 6 lights I think your slip would be pretty bright.

 

[Nomad Willy]

Slip?
Inside light only I’d be thinking.
Got too much on my plate to even go looking .. even w covid.
1st is to see in my overhead would be conducive to mounting.
All my boat time (not much) is going into the ground tackle and maint. in a rears.

 

[Mark Laurnen]

Wow! I think I’m immune, having grown up in the area ... but the lighting scheme might ward off SAD when my wife accompanies me! Thanks for the ideas!

 

[BandB]

My second thoughts are that covered is nice protection, nice when raining, etc. But notice that's my second thought. My first is safety. I would only go with covered if it met what I consider current standards and that is concrete and metal instead of wood and it is open, vented roofs, and it is a marina that carefully manages work at the dock and the safety of the individual boats. I see a covered slip with wood decks and wood rafters and no openings and I panic just looking at the photo. Too many fires on lakes in the south and east and a few in the PNW.

That said we own covered slips, but we don't spend time on the boat in them and they're in small buildings with no wood, good distance between boats, and....sprinklers. When we cruise even we're very careful about covered slips and often refuse them when offered. There are ways to safely build covered docks, but most older ones are not built those ways.

 

[ctjstr]

Not even a close call for me. I have friends that are full time in boathouses, several of them. They don't complain. For me the money and more importantly time saved on maintenance is way bigger of a deal to me. We spend quite a bit of time and overnights on the boat, even when its in the boathouse. We have tons of lighting in the boathouse so just don't mind being inside. On really nice days, we just pull out and run over to the guest dock or somewhere else sunny. All depends on how you want to spend your time and how much the scenery means to you.

 

[Art]

Covered slip protects exterior and somewhat the interior of a boat. Could save you many hours effort and many hundred dollars repairs per year, regarding all sorts of items occurring due to open slip weather effects.

I recommend covered slip.

 

[Choices]

I always prefer covered slips. Very few boat houses down here.

Much easier on the boat, keeping it clean etc. With just a roof no it is shaded, not dark, and fire not really an issue.

After growing up working on boats year round, covered is the way to go. I redid all my teak during a thunderstorm. If I want scenery we go to Florida.

 

[NowhereHome]

We had lights on all 4 sides for our last boat for night fishing/docking. They have flood lights now brighter than most "spot" lights with more throw. So I'd look at putting LEDs on the outside of the boat vs lining your slip with them so they work everywhere vs just at the slip. To keep the inside bright, I would look at indirect lighting setups as while you want it to be bright, you don't want glare.

Another consideration if you are planning to sleep aboard in the PNW is where your bed is. Some find the rhythmic tapping of constant drizzle calming, others annoying. If you have a v-birth with a hatch overhead or uncored fiberglass deck you may find that your sleep is better in the covered birth.

For me it would come down to the particular slips: ease of getting in and out with boat and from land, is the uncovered slip in the middle? at the end with amazing views? maybe it is the covered with a view? What does the "neighborhood" look like? Also not sure Everett is the place I would be unless your flights are leaving out of Everett's airport regularly.

 

[OldDan1943]

covered slip, bird roost, spider webs and nests

 

[Art]

covered slip, bird roost, spider webs and nests

Open Slip: Water leaks into interior from rain or snow or ice, sun damage to exterior and interior, wind damage... as well as... bird roost, spider webs, nests

And, during blistering hot sunny days - 110 + degree interior heat... all day long!

You make the call!!

 

[kthoennes]

covered slip, bird roost, spider webs and nests

Forgot that one, bird poop from nests in the roof rafters. Although we get a lot of droppings on our boat uncovered too. The birds like to hang out on the bow rails and radar arch. We did get a good canvas cover for our dingy too so the UV exposure wouldn't eat the PVC prematurely and so it wouldn't fill with rainwater (we usually keep it tethered to the swim step cleats when we're away from the marina).

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

I've lived aboard open and covered. Covered is like living your garage.

I agree. We are outside and there are challenges. Rain, snow, mold and green moss stuff that will not die!

You also have some extra maintance like cleaning and water proof your canvas.

I am a full time cruiser, but if your usage is low, then covered.

 

[Comodave]

I always prefer covered slips. Very few boat houses down here.

Much easier on the boat, keeping it clean etc. With just a roof no it is shaded, not dark, and fire not really an issue.

After growing up working on boats year round, covered is the way to go. I redid all my teak during a thunderstorm. If I want scenery we go to Florida.

Fire is not really an issue until it is. With all the fires in covered slips in the last couple of years it is an issue. And a lot of the fires were with just roofed slips and not fully enclosed slips. The fire moves sideways instead of up when the slip is roofed unless it has designed areas that melt to let the fire go upwards. Now whether it makes you choose a covered slip or uncovered would depend on the condition of the slips. But it has to be an issue that is thought out.

 

[Nomad Willy]

Covered costs more so it’s clearly better.