What about Docking and Launching

[ImASonOfaSailor]

Where do you launch at or Dock at how is the pricing? What would I be looking at for a dock fee, for a 24 foot or a 31 foot. I am looking at all my options, it is nice that the corsair can be trailered but it would suck to go out for a day sail and have to take it out of the water ever time your done for the day?

I would probably but it in Lake Erie right now, The Chesapeake would be nice, My sister in-law is getting married next March and it would be cool to get one and bring with us so I could do some sailing in the Bay? If I got it in time.....

[danjarch]

Docking a trimaran can be expensive. You need to call around the local area and find out if they have slips wide enough for your boat. Try to see if they have an out side slip, so you don't have to pay for two slips. Also check into renting space in a mooring field or rent space for your dingy, then ancoring out.

[tommyt]

Most tri's that I see in the Great Lakes (Huron and Michigan) are on moorings. Some moorings are in approved marinas or fields and there is usually a waiting list for those (less expensive then the slips in the same place). There is usually a waiting list for both the slips and the moorings, with the slips coming available first. Example: I signed up for slips in northern Lake Michigan 5 years ago, one year prior to purchasing my boat. 36' boat overall. First choice marina I have moved from 89 to 86 on the list.Unless the marina expands, no chance. This one has people that use their boat as their second home and they don't leave. Second place restricted to 34' LOA so off list. Just got into a local marina on the 5 year anniversary of signing up. First call.....no turn downs keeping me on the list. 38' slip, $2900 a season includes electric. Mooring field is less than a $1000, but the list is very long because of the price.

Erie may be a better situation, but up north things are tight.

[tommyt]

There are some L. Erie people that are active on the forum and may answer you. You might also join the Lake Erie email list here on sailnet and ask your question to a broad audience that may actually know the answer for your area.

Something like: I am thinking about buying a Trimaran X lenght to X lenght, and before doing so want to look at associated costs of moorings or slips in X area of Lake Erie (it is a big lake!) and see what you get. They will certainly be closer to having an answer for you than most of us.

[sailingdog]

Although, technically, my boat is also a trailerable trimaran, I prefer to keep it at a slip. However, because of the design of my boat, a Telstar 28, which can sit folded for long periods of time without a problem, I can use a standard marina slip. The Telstar 28 doesn't change length with its swing-arm system, since it is designed to tuck the amas under the main hull—which means you can get a 30' standard slip for the boat,

The Corsairs have a problem with sitting folded for any extended period of time, as the folding system puts the side of the amas into the water. To prevent growth from occurring on the amas, you would have to paint most of the amas outboard topsides and deck with anti-fouling paint, which make the boat pretty ugly. I think this is a major reason most of the Corsair tris I know of are kept on moorings, rather than slips.

This is not a problem with the Telstar 28 or the Quorning Dragonflys—which use swing amas that either fold aft. However, the swinging system the Quorning Dragonflies use causes the boat to lengthen by 6'+ or more, which makes storing them in a marina slip more expensive than you would normally guess.

[PersevereF28R]

SonoSailor

SailingDog is right, in that you do not want to have a Corsair floating in a slip folded. You will have growth on the sides of the folded amas. Also, it is less stable folded up. You are probably looking at an end tie, or mooring, or a double slip.

That said, I owned Corsair tris for eleven years, and dry sailed them the entire time. Mast stays up, mainsail stays on the boom, jib furled on the forestay. Folding in and out takes five minutes with one person. I launched the boat myself, folded it out, etc, all of the time by myself.

You view launching as a PITA probably because of experience launching sailboats with a keel sticking out below. Remember the Corsairs float in 12 inches of water. It is no harder to launch than the typical ski boat. Folding out entails pulling one pin, pulling on the beam to extend the hull, and then tightening two bolts. My 28R sold to a 70 yr old man who weighed about 140 lbs and he could do it all himself.

That said, I prefered to go through this maneuver each time, rather than deal with bottom paint and marine growth. And sitting on a trailer, you can also toss a cover on top, and protect it from the sun. Which is why the gel coat on my seven year old boat still looked shiney and bright. And dry sail fee of $60/mo beat $300/mo marina fee hands down!

Mike

[ImASonOfaSailor]

Originally Posted by PersevereF28R

SonoSailor

SailingDog is right, in that you do not want to have a Corsair floating in a slip folded. You will have growth on the sides of the folded amas. Also, it is less stable folded up. You are probably looking at an end tie, or mooring, or a double slip.

That said, I owned Corsair tris for eleven years, and dry sailed them the entire time. Mast stays up, mainsail stays on the boom, jib furled on the forestay. Folding in and out takes five minutes with one person. I launched the boat myself, folded it out, etc, all of the time by myself.

You view launching as a PITA probably because of experience launching sailboats with a keel sticking out below. Remember the Corsairs float in 12 inches of water. It is no harder to launch than the typical ski boat. Folding out entails pulling one pin, pulling on the beam to extend the hull, and then tightening two bolts. My 28R sold to a 70 yr old man who weighed about 140 lbs and he could do it all himself.

That said, I prefered to go through this maneuver each time, rather than deal with bottom paint and marine growth. And sitting on a trailer, you can also toss a cover on top, and protect it from the sun. Which is why the gel coat on my seven year old boat still looked shiney and bright. And dry sail fee of $60/mo beat $300/mo marina fee hands down!

Mike

Let me make sure I understand, So you left it in a slip, and covered the whole boat with a sail? Do you still own one and where do you sail it?

[ImASonOfaSailor]

Originally Posted by sailingdog

Although, technically, my boat is also a trailerable trimaran, I prefer to keep it at a slip. However, because of the design of my boat, a Telstar 28, which can sit folded for long periods of time without a problem, I can use a standard marina slip. The Telstar 28 doesn't change length with its swing-arm system, since it is designed to tuck the amas under the main hull—which means you can get a 30' standard slip for the boat,

The Corsairs have a problem with sitting folded for any extended period of time, as the folding system puts the side of the amas into the water. To prevent growth from occurring on the amas, you would have to paint most of the amas outboard topsides and deck with anti-fouling paint, which make the boat pretty ugly. I think this is a major reason most of the Corsair tris I know of are kept on moorings, rather than slips.

This is not a problem with the Telstar 28 or the Quorning Dragonflys—which use swing amas that either fold aft. However, the swinging system the Quorning Dragonflies use causes the boat to lengthen by 6'+ or more, which makes storing them in a marina slip more expensive than you would normally guess.

Saildog, I was looking at those DragonFly 35 again, that is a very nice boat, but I cant find any used ones? I am going to look into those to know. There is a lot of room on that boat it seems just as fast as a corsair?

[sailingdog]

One advantage that the Dragonfly and Telstar have over the Corsairs is they have kickup centerboards, rather than the racer preferred daggerboards. In a grounding or in the case of hitting a submerged object, a centerboard is far less likely to take damage, since it will tend to kick up and out of the way of the object. A daggerboard trunk can get cracked in a serious impact.

Persevere left his Corsair on a trailer with a boat cover, not in a slip.

[sailortjk1]

Originally Posted by tommyt

First call.....no turn downs keeping me on the list. 38' slip, $2900 a season includes electric.

How far North are you again?
Nothing in that price range South of about Muskegon. (That I know of)