Trailerability or transportability can also be important in terms of
winter storage fees.
My local boatyard, which is moderately priced relative to the
competition, charges $5.50 per square foot for storage, which include
hauling the boat in the fall and launching it in the spring. For a 40'
harryproa with a 22' beam, that would be roughly $4,800 if the boat
were left assembled. Collapsing it down to half that beam would cut
the total cost in half to a more reasonable $2,400. Trailering the
boat home and storing it on one's property would be free.
The cost for a 60' proa with a 28' beam would be $9,000 for winter
storage. Gulp. But it's less than $3,000 at trailering width, and
free if stored elsewhere.
After 20 years, those winter storage fees add up to... the cost of a
boat.
I'm not sure if I'd trailer the boat from place to place in order to
sail different waters, but I'd definitely like to transport the boat to
and from the water each spring and fall. The cost of winter storage
for cruising multihulls is significant.
- Mike
On 7/31/2010 1:32 PM, Dennis Cox wrote:
I live in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. I'm about 400 miles from the Atlantic or Gulf coasts. I'm not sure if I could just anchor it off somewhere... without it getting impounded, stolen or vandalized. Yes, it would be a lot cheaper to tie it up in a designated mooring field, but then that wouldn't eliminate the need to pull it out and clean the hull once a year or weathering a hurricane. I guess its the way I hope to live beyond my means. People at my income level, just can't afford such a large boat... unless they live in it year round. Unfortunately, my job isn't that portable. So, we have a trailerable boat and visit the coast when we can and park it the rest of the time. I wouldn't classify what I have now as even comfortable for coastal cruising... yet, if I can pull this 60' Proa off, I not only could do costal cruising and island hopping, I could cross oceans... and eventually retire to and live. But mainly, I can keep it cheap till I get there.