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I am planning to retire later this year to the Grand Haven, Michigan area and buy a boat, probably 34 Catalina, Benneteau 345 etc. I am basically cheap, and am looking for a mooring or inexpensive dock. Any ideas where to start the search?
Not familiar with the area specifically. However, it might be useful to walk the docks a bit for the next few weeks and talk to folks who have slips or moorings. There will probably be a lot of activity as people put their boats in towards the middle of May.
I don't recall any areas south of Grand Haven that have an area that offers mooring due to the width of the river and local development of all shoreline, resulting in lots of docks encroaching on the navigable waterway. You may find something in Grand Haven because they have a lake area but I think opportunities there are limited.
You will still need to develop a relationship with a marina to haul your boat in the winter for storage on the hard. A slip and winter storage on the hard was around $6K a year in 2011.
I believe you will have to go north to Muskegon Lake to find room for a mooring. I know there is a mooring field in the SW end of the lake near the Muskegon Lake Yacht Club.
Check with the local harbor master, some fields are closed. There may be an organization that attempts to regualte the fields also, find the person who does most of the periodic inspections of mooring anchors and chains, he likely knows what is available and where.
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