Boat storage near water

In another thread folks have bemoaned the large amount of time it takes to trailer a boat to a local lake or beach, rig, sail, then de-rig, and drive home, which discourages day sailing. Some of the lucky ones are able to store their boat mast up on a local beach (Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara are well known in California for this), which makes getting on the water much easier and faster, thus more time is devoted to the sport and more people can be attracted to it.

I contacted the local authority who handles a popular beach in Alameda, CA (site of the 2007 16 & 20 Hobie North Americans) and the woman was interested in exploring the idea of mast up storage in the park, but she had a caveat - vandalism - which made me think twice about the idea.

It would be helpful to the Hobie community, as well as other forms of water recreation, to learn from those who have been successful (or not) in establishing beach or lake boat storage, so that perhaps others could learn how to do it.

Let's hear some ideas.

I've left my boat(s) on the beach for ten years. Vandalism is definitely a concern. Some yahoo poked some holes in my tramp with a knife a few years ago. Nothing since though. Some other boneheads built a campfire between the bows of a friend's boat, presumably to block the wind. Most of the time nobody screws with it though, although some screw on it. The convenience is worth it though. I might feel differently if I had a newer, more expensive boat. Mine is an '82.

It's going to be a very difficult problem in the bay area. I finally got my boat stored with it's mast up at the Port of Redwood City. I was on a waiting list for almost a year. Area around water is prime real estate, or they try to make it protected open space. Your boat would be brutalized if left in the open with public access to it. Can you imagine what Oakland's police reaction would be to such a complaint? If you are going to store your boat mast up in almost any major metropolitan area, it's got to be behind a gate. Mast up is the way to go, I'm out the door to sail on my forth consecutive Saturday.
Good luck!
Paul

I keep my boat on a public beach with 12 other cats for about $200 a summer. I never had a problem with vandalism yet, 3 years. Park rangers watch and the boats are off to one side so it's easy to see who and who shouldn't be over in that area. Parks dept has a post buried to lock the boats too. I add earth anchors to both front & back. Not sure I would put a brand new boat on any beach.

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1989 Hobie 18 Worlds Boat, Magnum Wings & Spinnaker
1987 Hobie Holder 20 #273

dale.vanlopik"at"att"dot"net

Thanks for the responses concerning vandalism, but I'm also looking for ways to approach local authorities with the beach storage idea. What approaches worked and what didn't.

One very important thing to remember, get all of your fleet members,and beachcat owners on the same page when you get together with the parks dept. Have a spot that will work for EVERYBODY, then pitch it to the guy with the highest pay grade.

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Bodhisatfa

If you're shooting for a lee shore location, take the windsurfers and kite boarders with you. The less it looks like a finite group/club the easier the "sell" for the local authorities to their higher ups. One major thing they want to thwart is someone else coming in and wanting a piece of their action with your group as the excuse. "You gave the cat sailors their own special place, so why cant we have ours!?!" Trust me, you're not the first group that's proposed something to them. Be prepared with some sketches, a plan (short and long term if necessary) be concise and to the point.

I don't know, maybe you want kayakers with you as well. The more close it seems to be "open to anyone", and non-discriminitory, the better.

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Sheet In...Max Out
www.fleet297.org
sailflatlands at gmail dot com

San Diego has "beach bars" at several places on Mission Bay. The boats are near the water and locked to the bar to keep the boats from being moved or being blown around in a storm. Unfortunately, most of the boats stored on these bars are in really poor shape and seldom if ever used.

To avoid this problem, make the storage seasonal only. For Northern California this just makes sense. It also forces the boat owners to own a trailer, but don't allow the trailers to be stored on site with the boats. Flat tires and rusting trailers will make it look like dead boat storage even if the boat is used. If any boat is not used once a month, then the boat should be removed from beach storage. Charge the going rate for storage. In San Diego it is almost free to keep the boats on the bar so there is no incentive to get rid of dead stored boats. Limit the boats to 21' as any shorter length and you eliminate many boats, longer and you can not move them. Keep some area for "regatta or vacation" storage by the weekend (with a purchases permit). This allows for weekend sailing and mast up storage, and generates some revenue for the state or city park. Consider storage for sails and gear. If you allow cat boxes under the boats, make them uniform to make the storage area eye appealing. One last note, require all halyards to be tied off the mast or tightly wrapped to eliminate halyard noise. One noise complaint could shut the whole thing down. Since your area can have strong sustained winds, all the boats need to be tied down to anchor points, preferably into the prevailing wind direction.

Thanks, John and Hammond. Those are good suggestions and I'll take them to heart.

I've been trying to get a beach bar permit on Mission Bay in San Diego for a 16' or 17', but there is a 70 year waiting period! I put my name on the waiting list 6 yrs ago and today, I just visited the parks dept in Balboa Park to get my status, and am currently #328 on the list. Clerk told me there are about 5 new permits issued each year. Soo frustrated! There are currently 16 vacant spots for '17 and under cats along Mission Bay. I have been keeping an eye on the area in hopes of meeting someone while they rig and try to partner in with someone. However, I have never seen one person sailing or rigging off these beach bars in the last 9 months! Many of the boats are damaged and not sea worthy (ie no trampoline) but apparently the owners pay the annal fees to keep the beach moorings, even though they don't sail the boat. I did look into the MB Yacht Club but am not able to afford their rates. Wonder if anyone has any suggestions? Thanks

Campland has storage near a ramp. Nice beach and facilities.

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Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

If you are looking at Campland, look to Mission Bay Yacht Club. Cat friendly, and about the same price as camp land with yacht club benefits.