To Slip or Valet, that is the question

NightWing · 07-11-2006, 06:45 PM

Nothing can compare to having a slip where your boat is always ready to go and is supported 100% by the water rather than sitting in a rack with point contact. If you have a shore power hookup at the slip and on your boat, your batteries will always be charged. In a slip, you don't have to call anyone ahead of time to launch it and you don't have to worry when you come back in that it might sit at a temporary tie-up until the valet can get to it. Most importantly, each and every time a boat is racked, unloaded, trailered, launched, you run the risk of hull damage. A simple ding or a major gouge, but the odds are in favor of something getting broken or damaged. And I don't know what is worse............having your boat in the top rack or in the bottom with two or three boats above it.

On the flip side, racking is cheaper. Most good racks are in buildings so you don't have the sun bleaching your canvas or your gelcoat. However, you will have bird droppings and maybe even some spiders, although dock spiders are standard equipment with most slips. Racked boats don't leave their owners wondering if the bilge pump will still be working after a week of rainstorms. Racked boats tend to have cleaner hulls at the end of the season, since they don't live in the lake all summer long. Finally, racking can be easier to find available when all the slips are rented. And, to repeat, it is cheaper.

07-11-2006, 06:45 PM	#5
NightWing Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 410 Thanks: 4 Thanked 6 Times in 6 Posts	Nothing can compare to having a slip where your boat is always ready to go and is supported 100% by the water rather than sitting in a rack with point contact. If you have a shore power hookup at the slip and on your boat, your batteries will always be charged. In a slip, you don't have to call anyone ahead of time to launch it and you don't have to worry when you come back in that it might sit at a temporary tie-up until the valet can get to it. Most importantly, each and every time a boat is racked, unloaded, trailered, launched, you run the risk of hull damage. A simple ding or a major gouge, but the odds are in favor of something getting broken or damaged. And I don't know what is worse............having your boat in the top rack or in the bottom with two or three boats above it. On the flip side, racking is cheaper. Most good racks are in buildings so you don't have the sun bleaching your canvas or your gelcoat. However, you will have bird droppings and maybe even some spiders, although dock spiders are standard equipment with most slips. Racked boats don't leave their owners wondering if the bilge pump will still be working after a week of rainstorms. Racked boats tend to have cleaner hulls at the end of the season, since they don't live in the lake all summer long. Finally, racking can be easier to find available when all the slips are rented. And, to repeat, it is cheaper.