As someone whose boat lives in a garage, I was wondering about the costs of mooring vs dry storage

Frankly its a pain constantly towing the boat but it makes venue choice a lot more variable

Can any one tell me the costs associated with maintenance as a result of mooring
Anti fouling-what is it - How often
Hows it done
Expensive?

What do you guys do with your engines? Im assuming they dont live on your boats- theft etc

How do you clean your engines if they arent attached to your boats - Im referring to salt water flushing

Any one got an example of mooring rates I can compare to
Sorry for the rambling nature of the questions but Im new to all this
Cheers
Kev

Personally speaking I would recomend mooring over dry storage. The main problem with mooring is actually securing one in the area you plan to fish. Rates vary on the location ex If you happen to get a mooring in the Coal Harbour in Dun Laoighre it might cost you 2-300 euro per season but a year round mooring in the marina in DL could cost you upwards of 2k depending on the size of your boat.

Something else I think worth considering is your boats speed. If you are moored a distance from your preferred fishing grounds will the speed of your boat enable you to get to these fishing grounds comfortably and in time to get your rod in the water!!

I have never experienced a problem with engines being tampered with while on a mooring. What I do at the end of a season (October) is to take the boat out of the water for dry storage and remove the engine at this stage. I then leave it in for servicing and get the engine flushed etc and keep it in my shed.

Anti fouling only needs to be done at the start of each season. Basically it is a particular type of 'soft' paint for want of a better description. You paint it onto the underside of your boat up to the waterline (when fully loaded) and it prevents the build up of seaweed, mussels etc from attaching to the underside of your boat. Because it is soft the weed etc can't get a grip. Its WELL worth it because we didn't put it on our boat this year and the thing is carrying a heap of weed now!! A lesson learnt!!

Hope this helps. Where do you use your boat?

Thanks Colm , quite enlightening

As for where Ive been fishing, Im based in Co Tipp so I have a drive to get to any coast. I particularly like fishing out of dingle though, shore and boat

I have a 14 ft norwegian skiff, semi planing and quite fast with a 20 horse mercury. However, this was my first summer of sea fishing(boat) and Ive learnt that my boat engine combo is not really up to it. Normally I fish lough Derg in winter(Pike) and the boat is fine. Not good enough for the sea fishing however.

So, now Im upgrading . Not sure whether to get a displacement hull(Orkney longliner) or semi planing (Orkney coastliner/seahog shorty). Does everyone buy the wrong boat first time round?
Kev

Kevin

One of the main factors when purchasing a boat is what will it be used for, where and how many will use it. The first two you covered but the last point, "how many" might have a bearing on the type of boat you should look for. When we purchased "Kingfisher" we needed a boat with enough deck space to let 3 to 4 anglers fish in comfort (it's amazing how much gear 3 anglers carry). I had a look at as many different types of boat as I could (both on the net and in harbours), to get a feel for the type that would suite us. I'm lucky in so far as I am a member of a sea angling club and was able to enter boat competitions which in turn allowed me to "try out" as a third man some of the boats I fancied. There are a lot of Seahog/Warrior/Orkney boats owned by club members and this has to reflect on the strengths of these boats, but thats not saying that there are a lot of other very good boats on the market, it all depends on your needs and you pocket. All I say is dont jump in too fast, stop, stand back and make sure the boat you are looking at fits your needs. If I can be of any more help mail me at [email protected] (I know a few good internet sites that sell boats and it might be worth checking out if only to get an idea of the range of boats available).
Damien