Northeast - Docking vs. Mooring in Newport area questions

Hi guys,

I've been posting a bit here..new boat owner, not a new boater. Grew up docking, but I have come across a good deal on a mooring in Newport, RI. Under 1,000 dollars for a season with free dinghy storage (have a raft and outboard).

I'm curious about how safe moorings are, generally speaking, in New England? I'm going to be buying a Grady Sailfish (25) or Gulfstream (23). My gut tells me to dock it, but this just seems like a stellar deal.

Thanks in advance!

-Justin

That is a significant saving compared to dockage. I am sure there are horror stories but I have not heard any locally. If the inconvenience of the mooring doesn't bother you, go for it

Do you have a map of the mooring field or do you have an idea where EXACTLY the mooring is located?

Sometimes, as mooring demand increases, new moorings are added. Sometimes they are added to areas, that given certain weather/sea conditions, can knock the heck out of a vessel.

I remember a guy telling me this very story, about a mooring he had at Winter Island in Salem, MA.

Not saying this is what's "up" with your mooring. Just saying, there are some finer points to moorings vs. a slip. It's not that black and white. You'll need to do more homework to get a good answer (as to if it's a good deal). Talk to some locals and see what they say......ask someone that spends time in those waters.

Even slips have good and bad locations, depending on tide & wind.

Just my .02

The location is about 4-500 yards North of the Newport bridge (on the Newport side). I should have mentioned that the reason for the good price is that the moorings are military-affiliated. I'm a reservist, so I can use the facilities.

I'm not sure what size ball the mooring needs to keep my boat? I assume they're of the necessary size, but even if they told me the weight I wouldn't know what I needed.

Thanks guys. PG, you live in a nice area. My girlfriend lives in Saugus.

it looks like it's fairly sheltered (from looking at a map). I would think someone would have a rating on those moorings....but, it is the gov't. :)

My boat is just south of Newburyport, in the Parker River. Between Hampton, NH and Gloucester, it's a nice sandy stretch of coastline, great for all kinds of on-the-water activity.

I grew up in Melrose, one town over from her. The old stretch of Route 1 is cool (read stinks at rush hour), but full of some old attractions from a bygone era in automobiling.....

Is your mooring in the cove by the Naval War College, just ne of the bridge?

Is your mooring in the cove by the Naval War College, just ne of the bridge?

That is correct.

I've been thinking more about it, and I'm not sure that a mooring seems efficient. No shore power, I'd have to figure out something to do about pumpouts/gas/water/etc. Not to mention that the exposure would wreak havoc on the boat as it isn't all that protected vice a cove/jetty setup.

I keep my boat on a mooring. If you're worried about shore power you can add a small Solar Panel for under $100 to keep your batteries topped off. The pump out boat is always around Newport and could very easily come to you, or you could go into the harbor. There's a gas dock in Newport and I'm sure you could get water while filling up.

I feel more secure with my boat on a mooring than in a slip in the event a storm kicks up. It looks well protected in that area.

I keep my boat on a mooring. If you're worried about shore power you can add a small Solar Panel for under $100 to keep your batteries topped off. The pump out boat is always around Newport and could very easily come to you, or you could go into the harbor. There's a gas dock in Newport and I'm sure you could get water while filling up.

I feel more secure with my boat on a mooring than in a slip in the event a storm kicks up. It looks well protected in that area.

Roswell,

Do you know much about these solar panel setups? I'm not familiar with them. I'll have to start researching as that seems like a good option regardless. Any info you can provide?

On a mooring the boat takes no damage unless it breaks free and washes up somewhere.

At the dock it is constantly rubbing and pounding on something.

I do alot of boating in that area. Inside the cove you are well protected. Anywhere outside the cove will be very bouncy. If you don't plan on staying on the boat shorepower doesn't matter.

Just to be clear, the mooring field isn't actually inside of the cove. It is outside of it (more toward the bridge). If you zoom in enough on google maps, you can see the moorings.

Here it is:
http://maps.google.com/?ll=41.501836,-71.323494&spn=0.002141,0.004817&t=h&z=18

Does this still constitute well-protected? Thanks all.

I could be wrong, but thats very active water there. At night it will be calm, during the day, not so much.

I know your mooring field well. It is a fairly protected area from almost all wind directions. There will be a fair amount of boats speeding through there that don't throttle down until right at the bridge so you will have some wake action. The other thing to consider are Seagulls and Commorants, both thick in that area and both love to trash moorng boats bad. It sucks to be cleaning your new boat of bird crap and only having limited FW to do it.

Roswell,

Do you know much about these solar panel setups? I'm not familiar with them. I'll have to start researching as that seems like a good option regardless. Any info you can provide?

Unless your boat sits for a couple weeks at a time they're probably not really necessary unless you have a boat where the bilge must run frequently (a wood boat).

go to Amazon.com and search solar panels. Tons of them there. I'd be worried about how well the inverters hold up on a boat, though. I bought a Sunforce 15 watt and I'm considering putting it on my boat, but undecided. In fact, I bought two. I think they were around $85/Each..

As others have said -- For storing your boat on a mooring: Birds are brutal.. Add a couple Gullsweep bird deterrents, or pick up an audible bird deterrent. Also, anytime you have a breeze coming up the bay your boat will be in some chop. Not large, but probably enough to make pulling up in a dinghy a little annoying. If others keep boats similar to yours there I wouldn't worry.

http://www.aglmooring.com/Sales.html

NoClue, here is a page on my buddies web site. He services moorings on Cape Cod. It list size requirements for boats up to 40'.