Living on the Hook - HELP!

[rangerscott275]

Looking for peoples opinions / experiences here....

So, currently my boat is in a slip at a marina (Newport Marina in Jersey City). There is a sea wall at the marina which is supposed to reduce the waves. The marina is located on the Hudson River where from 6am to 10pm there is ALOT of Ferry traffic. I am new to this marina and have only been there a week or so. THe location is terrific for me (able to commute back and forth to work very easily) and the people that work there are very nice. Due to size of my boat and my tenure at marina, this is ONLY slip available to me so moving to another is not an option. Now for the bad...this marina has an unbelievable amount of movement....the waves coming into the marina from the ferry traffic are killing me. I have lived on boats and been a boater for awhile, but have never been so rocked that I can't sleep at night.. or be in my engine room while tied up at a pier and had to come up for air due to queeziness! The waves hit me broadside so it is constant bucking bull feeling. As an example of the force on my boat...thus far my boat has pulled 2 cletes out of the dock I'm tied to and bent another...that is the kind of motion we're speaking about here.

I'm one of the first boats in the marina for the season so perhaps as other boats come into the marina they will diffuse some of the waves before they hit me...but there are maybe only 8 to 10 slips between me and the opening to the river so I don't think this is going to make too big of a difference regardless.

I can either stay in this marina, in this slip....or move to another marina but live on a mooring ball. THe marina with the mooring ball would let me come into dock occassionally when no transients are present, but other than that, i would literally be living on the hook. The mooring is securing by a 1000 lb mushroom.

So...what do you think? Is living on the hook for a whole season in a hatteras worth not getting beat to death? I have no inverters...just a stardard set up with a generator and alot of batteries. Thus I'd need to fire up my boat's gennie to cook, charge batteries, etc...and I guess maybe I'd be forced to figure out a way to power my fridge or just not keep perishable food on board. I work in NYC so eat most meals out anyway...

If I stay at the marina, I fear that eventually the cleats on my boat will get ripped right out. Also, it just isn't enjoyable getting tossed around when the whole idea of the boat is relaxation. If I stay I will get those rubber line shock absorbers but that's not going to do much.

There is NO serenity when everything is clanking and you are getting tossed around continually...yet there is NO convenience living on the hook unless I figure out a better way to set up my boat. What do you all think? Any suggestions on ways to combat the beating....or any suggestions on living on a mooring ball? thanks in advance for your commentary...I know this is ultra long email, but I have a very limited time to figure this out and neither option is all that easy.

[for those of you that know this area, I spent winter at liberty landing marina but they have no summer slips for 53, hoboken doesn't accomodate my size, chelsea piers says absolutely not since their focus is selling boats and unless you buy from them you get no slip, I don't want to live up in the bronx and I'm number 464 on the waiting list for W 79th St boat basin...but they will give me a mooring ball if I want it]

 

[Bertramp]

You could move the boat to "the 'burbs" and commute from Port Washington or Huntington on the LIRR.

 

[rangerscott275]

not really an option for me given work hours & location....

 

[MicroKap]

Atlantic Highlands Municipal Marina in New Jersey is just a short 35 minute ferry to Pier 11 (Wall Street) and 50 minutes to East 34th Street and the East River. The Seastreak ferry runs from 5:30 AM to 11:30 PM regularly.

It seems that with the price of fuel going up, running even the most efficient genny for all of your needs will cost you more than a slip for the season. Liberty Landing would have been the best location, but it's full for that reason. Is there anything available in Lincoln Harbor, as that marina has all the slips facing perpendicular to the Hudson's boat traffic and wave action. It's also in a good location in Weehawkin. There's also a small marina across the way from Liberty Landing that I can't think of the name, but I'm sure that it would be worth investigating.

Sailboats belong on moorings because they don't have anything on them except bilge pumps. A 53' Hatteras is a little more power hungry and it's probably better to run off of dockside electric.

Just my 2 cents.

Larry K.
1980 60' Sportfish
Monmouth Beach, NJ

 

[rangerscott275]

Yeah, I guess it is a foolish notion to entertain (life on the hook)...I guess I was wondering if it was doable and if anyone had ever taken a run at it. It would be interesting to try to think about a way to make Hatt more self sufficient and effecient at the same time where being on hook was more palatable over a longer time period.

I'll keep looking at other suggested marinas as well...prob is commuting. Most likely I'll stay where I'm at and try to combat the beating with mooring snubbers & extra lines. If I could just move the boat to a slip further inward it would be the perfect location. Everything in life is a trade off.

 

[CapetaniosG]

Hi Scott!

Have you considered adding stabilizers to your Hatt 53? It is an expensive system but I think there are such systems which can reduce the rolling by up to 70-80% whether your boat is at rest or underway. Look into it. Plus, it would make your sailing much more relaxing and enjoyable and increase the selling value of your Hatt.. Just an idea.

CapetaniosG

1975 Hatteras 53 MY

 

[jim rosenthal]

Aren't there devices you can deploy which damp out passive motion like you're talking about? They look like stacked mushrooms anchors on lines. Look in Passagemaker; I think I've seen them in there. You could also call one of the trawler manufacturers, they would know. Good luck with this; I've been there, it's a huge pain in the butt.

 

[Genesis]

You could fit a Hatt like that with a LOT of solar panels, charge controller, inverter, etc - and manage your loads like nobody's business.

This would, assuming you don't need A/C, likely get you into the one-or-two-hour a day need for the genset. Doing that way, it can indeed be done.

Trawlers and sailboats make this work. You can too, if you really want to..... but do you?

 

[SeaEric]

I will tomorrow tender an offer on a 46' boat that is tied in (I think) Lincoln Harbor. That slip will be coming available if the boat sells. Perhaps I can get you in the back door. PM me your info. Sellers tell me its the one marina there with seawalls.

 

[Angela]

Has anyone ever tried those small three-bladed windmills? I know they are typically used on sailboats, but I've seen them on the top of a 41' President trawler in the Virgin Islands and was wondering how well they work, how much they produce, and what I could run off of them and for how long. Geez, how many would I need to run all the stuff on my 58MY?

Ang

 

[Genesis]

Air turbines work VERY well if there is wind. They produce 12V which you charge your banks with, and then run an inverter.

You CAN'T run AC, but with care and proper management, you can produce quite a bit of power between that and solar....

 

[ADaily3224]

I guess before I gave up my slip I would ask if I could occupy another slip that was more protected until the marina fills up. I think things will change as boats start occupying their slips. The marina where I live is almost empty now, and the few boats that are in really rock and roll when the weather kicks up. As soon as the marina fills, it calms down.
Is Terry Town an option? Good luck, I wouldn't be comfortable putting a 53 on a hook and having to take a bump boat to shore whenever I had to leave. But that's just me.

Tony D

 

[rangerscott275]

I've heard Lincoln Harbor is really not much better...same situation with a seawall but maybe not quite as much ferry traffic. Yesterday I installed 3 mooring snubbers on the main lines. I think this will offer some protection from a wave oscillating the boat too much and ripping a cleat right out. That is one of my biggest fears.

yeah, it blows....I like a gentle rock but this moves so much that it is quasi - miserable. I can handle it but it is really more about enjoyment of time spent on boat.

I would love to get boat stabilized...just too much money currently. I will def stabilize at some point in future however.

I'm going to see how things go for the next couple of weeks with other boats coming in (hopefully)...in 6 days of being there, 2 of my dock lines have literally been worn halfway through and are no longer servicable. I have also burned through 2 chaffing guards....it is unreal. All I keep thinking is that certainly other people summer here with their boats...how do they do it?...I guess I'll see once the place gets more boats in.

 

[Pascal]

snubbers are a must in your situation, try to add a couple of lines to spread the load too.

Stabilizers won't do anything when the boat is stopped, unless you're talking about the new gyro stabilizers, which are VERY expensive and i dont' even think there is room for them on a 53...

flopper stoppers are probably a good option. i don't know if the the cheap Mexican hat styled type really work, but the april isue of passagemaker describe flopper stopped made by a company called Roll Control. (p 70) article says they are very effective. I can't find a site for those described in the article but here is another brand :
http://www.latsandatts.net/shopping/Equipment/Floppers.htm
of course, for best effectiveness, they have to be deployed away from the hull sides so you need a slip that's wide enough...

as to living on the hook, why not. I think your main problem will be going to and from the boat in the tender, finding a safe place to leave the tender during the day, etc... and that's assuming the mooring is protected from waves and wake...

if you dont' need air conditioning, it's possible. When i spend time away from the dock, I only run the genset 3 to 4 hours everynight, running on inverter the rest of the time. that's 4 gallons... $10 to $12 a day... not bad. The household sized fridge is the biggest load so if you go that route replacing it with something smaller and more efficient woudl be best. Inverter is a freedom 30 powered by 8 golf cart batteries.

Solar Panels and wind generator can help, i don't think they will be able to cover all your power needs but could help reduce genset running time. one down side of wind generator is the noise... funny the way many sailboters frown upon the splashing noise of a marine genset, yet don't mind their mindmill screaming in the wind. some are quiet but others can be heard 500' away... there are 2 of them in the mooring field next to my pier that woudl drive me nuts if i was closer to them...