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Buying a Sailboat for the Chesapeake Bay and where to keep it?

9K views 17 replies 11 participants last post by  Chris Snyder 
#1 ·
I’m looking for some thoughts on a couple things.

We plan on retiring in a couple years and hope to move to a waterfront home on the middle Peninsula of Virginia. We’re visiting there in August to do some house hunting and I’d like to kick the keel on a boat or two while there. First, I’m looking for input what boats to look for or rule out. We like to keep the all in boat budget to around 100K. Mostly day sailing for with just the 2 of us, would like room 7 or 8 on an afternoon sail. Also, plan to sail all around the bay, maybe a week or two a time. So the main berth is important to the admiral (maybe a center cockpit?) Most nights at a marina. While we plan to watch and wait for good weather windows. But, It needs be enough boat to handle the bay in a storm…I’m thinking it needs to be 35’ or so.

Also, we’re thinking we need to find home on deep enough water to keep the boat at there. We’re seeing that can up price a lot. So, I wonder is really worth the extra cost? What are slips fees for 36’ boat. Are there another advantages to having it at marina? Or other thing to consider about having at home? How deep does the need to be? Is 3 or 4’ more than the draft at low tide enough?

TIA
Lew
 
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#2 ·
Quite an upcoming adventure! You can get quite a lot of boat for $100k, depending upon how much work you are willing to invest yourself. I would look in the 36-40' range. Look for the older, venerable classics for a boat that is heavy and more stable. What you give up in speed you gain a lot in security and stability. Whether or not you get a center cockpit is really a matter of personal choice but they can give you a lot of room downstairs with good access to the engine as major pluses. I would not get a boat for the Chesapeake with a draft deeper than 5' as you would start to limit where you can go. As for where, Deltaville, Va has a very active sailing community. There are lots of marinas and boating is very active there. Urbana is a charming little town near there and you can lose yourself sailing around the Rappahanock for years.

Whether you buy a house with a dock or one close to the water is a matter of finances. Waterfront homes with enough water for a sailboat can be pricey. Tidal range in the Chesapeake is not great, about 1-2' at the most. Therefore you can suffice with 8' at the dock. There is alot to be said for keeping your boat at your dock. On the otherhand, being at a marina provides a large source of advice and help as you work to maintain your boat. You didn't mention whether you are new to sailing or not but if you are, being at a marina can be a great asset in helping problemsolve issues and gain knowledge.

Lists with positives and negatives help you focus on whatever values you find important. Look at your budget and it to will help focus your search. Good luck and have fun with it!

Tod
 
#3 · (Edited)
I have been Sailing the Chesapeake for the past 35 years. It is a wonderful cruising ground. That part of the Bay is pretty rural and quiet with marinas spread pretty far apart. I am not sure that it is reasonable to expect to spend most nights at a marina while cruising that portion of the Bay.

The Bay tends to have very light winds from May through late September, punctuated by occasional
squalls. Because of that, it favors boats that sail well in light winds but which will do well in a breeze. This means comparatively light boats with low drag, and comparatively large sail plans that can be depowered or reefed easily. The price of owning a heavier boat with higher drag is that you will spend a whole lot more time motoring.

Much is said about the Bay's preference for shallower draft boats. Having cruised the Bay with 6'-4" draft for the past 15 years I have not found that particularly restrictive. But I would say that 5' of draft opens up places that I can't get into.

$100,000 is a generous budget. There's a lot of good boats in that price range. The good news is that almost any decent coastal cruiser can work.

It is hard to make a recommendation that meet your combination of personal preferences. A 35 foot center cockpit Boat will have a cramped after cabin, and certainly will not have a cockpit that holds 6-8 people. Even at 40 feet it's hard to find a boat with a decent main cabin that has a cockpit that holds more than 6 comfortably.

In terms of owning a deep water dock, in winter the Northers can blow the water out of the Bay so Tha tides that are 2-3 feet below a normal low tide can occur with some frequency. Because of that I suggest that you will want 3-4 feet of depth more than the draft of whatever boat you​ buy.

Good hunting,
Jeff
 
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#5 ·
I have fished that part of Chesapeake Bay for more than 50 years, and in contrast to Jeff's experience, I have encountered an afternoon wind, usually beginning at about 3 p.m., that is frequently a bit brisk, often 15 or more MPH that fires up and lasts till about sunset or later. It's a fantastic place for sailing, but as stated, marinas are a bit scattered, but those that I've encountered have usually had good, deep water and reasonable prices.

Good luck,

Gary :cool:
 
#6 ·
We lived aboard a Beneteau 36CC and found it quite nice, stepping over to a Hunter Passage 42 was even nicer, but a bit more boat for the two of us to handle in wind and such. I would go with another 36CC in a heart beat. They quit making them??? some time ago, but also made a 40CC and a 44CC, IIRC..

We lived in Callao on the northern neck, and still have a waterfront lot and 80' pier with 8' for sale there, if you can do the Northern Neck. Waterfront there is about 30% less than on the middle penninsula for the most part.

Great place to retire or live.
 
#7 ·
Thanks to all that replied! Exactly the kind of information I was looking for...They remind me that like most things in life that boat buying it's about compromise. Since the times we'd have 6-8 on the boat would be very few I'll drop that off the list.

I should have mention our boating expertise. We currently live in Kansas. So all our boating been on lakes and all on power boats. Until 3 years ago when we took a sailing charter on the bay. We both fell in love with sailing over power boating. We came home took lessons on sunfish. I bought a Buccaneer 18, which I race. I've also taken ASA 101 and hope to take both 103 & 104 this summer. Given this I can see the pros of having the boat at a marina.

Two more questions. How much in the of way of electronic to have on board? Thoughts on the need of a dinghy?
 
#8 ·
Dinghy are great to have with the many anchorages on all the creeks and rivers if you want to go to shore. Most sailboaters do not take slips in marinas but prefer to anchor out instead so it's a mode of transportation to the neat little towns. Also marinas can get expensive. We prefer the quiet peacefulness at anchor vs the load docks. Also my wife and I love to take a dinghy ride after anchored to areas to shallow for our keelboat. We have a nice tender on davits with a Lehr propane engine. The davits allow us to easily drop and go with the dinghy as well as recovery. We used to tow ours or put it on the foredeck. We found we didn't use it as much that way.

Electronics are personal preference. I would for sure have a good VHF and handhelds. A good depthfinder also. Personally I think a Chartplotter is very helpful especially getting into small creeks with narrow entrances. Many also have current features, tides, etc. we have a fairly sophisticated electronics package with 10 inch multi function Chartplotter , digital radar, dedicated AIS transponder/ receiver, wind/ depth , autopilot, instruments/ VHF. Of course we know how to use charts also. We also travel offshore in the Atlantic to New England . Dedicated EPIRB and PlLB devices also. Our I pad and phones also can link to the chartplotter as well and carry the chart programsthe Chartplotter does along with additional sailing apps.

I would ease into purchasing electronics over years after you determine your sailing uses. But the core for the electronics is usually a decent Chartplotter. Become knowledgeable of the different brands and functions as it's a big expenditure. Not something you learn in 1 season.

Your electric system is also something very few boaters think about. It also is a large expense. Battery banks, room for them, types of batteries, shore charging systems as well as alternators. All need to be matched to avoid overspending for useless capabilities.

Welcome to sailing the Chessie. Feel free to Contact me privately if you have any specific questions,.
 
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#13 ·
I got to thinking about the last part of your question pertaining to the electronics. Get a quality GPS/Plotter that has a depth finder built in as well. Most of the charts of the upper peninsula are very out of date when it comes to depths, though, so that depth finder will be a very valuable tool to have onboard. Lowrance had a big sale on the HDS-5 a few months back, so that would be a good one to look for. The display is supertwist, which actually gets brighter in direct sunlight. I would purchase the puck transducer that actually shoots through the fiberglass hull with a great deal of accuracy an minimal interference.

Good luck,

Gary
 
#14 ·
My Mom is trying to sell her place in Mathews, Va. Right on the water, beautiful house my father and her built for retirement then Dad decided to have an accident and passed, on the East River. You'd have to build a dock fairly long to reach the deep water of the channel, and I'm not sure its going to be deep enough with low tides. But you are only a 5 min. drive to Gweyns Island, which would meet your requirements for marina etc. Good luck!
 
#16 ·
Reviving this thread...
So we just spent three days looking for a home on the water in VA. I'm convinced now we want to be on the Northern Neck. We found a house on Dividing Creek that I think from a location stand point is near perfect. My only question is the the fact that it's that the creek is right on the bay. I wondering if could that limit our "day sailing" days? That is will there be days that the wind is a little too heavy on the Bay for "non-sailing" guest to be comfortable. Where as if we were off the Rapp we could sail on it with freaking out guest...thoughts?

Lew
 
#17 ·
I wouldn't let a guest determine where I bought. We traveled many of those Creeks including Dividing and they are beautiful and there good pricing on houses. The beauty of being retired is not being held to a schedule like many of us weekend sailors are. Northern Neck is a nice place to live it appears and the price is right. The Rappahanock has lots of nice coves and anchorages.

That being said we keep Haleakula next to a good sized River (Severn) and there are days we prefer to sail the protected river when the Bays kicking over 30.
 
#18 ·
I'm still a decade or so away, but thinking the same thing you are. I'm looking hard at 2000'ish Catalina 38's or 40's. They have a nice looking aft cabin and shoal wing keel (that you do NOT want to run aground). Another option to consider would be adding a mooring if you can't buy the depth at the dock.

Also, don't think that you have to have water under the keel at MLW. My family's San Juan 34' with 6' draft was routinely aground at our dock on Nabbs Creek (Baltimore area) with an extreme low. We are spoiled in the states. Watch KeepTurningLeft on YouTube and you'll see how they do it in the UK. Sometimes fin keels are DRIED OUT at low tide.

On the Middle Peninsula, I do love Mobjack Bay or Stutts Creek (behind Gwynn).
 
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