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I may be moving again!

Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2018 7:13 pm
by lustyslogger
Well, I may be moving the Lusty Slogger that is. I currently have the boat in Tavares Florida on Lake Harris. It's a nice lake and for me its large enough (about 8 miles end to end). The problem is its 55 miles from my house and that translate to about a 90 minute drive. I am the only sailboat at the marina and the only full time boat at all there. Its not really a marina as much as its a trailer park with a lot of dry storage. The channel the boat is in is about 200 yards long by 10 or 15 yards wide and subject to clogging by hydrilla that isn't cleared for most of the summer. Its one saving grace is its price, $80.00 a month compared to the several hundred at other marinas in the area.

I was not aware that Ocala was as close to the Gulf as it is. The city sells itself on its association with horse racing and the fact its "Central Florida" I found that we are only 26 miles from Crystal River and its outlet to to the Bay. I checked out a marina today that is almost 100 percent power boats but there was one spot at the end of the marina that could not be sold or wanted to be used. I make a deal with the Dock Master to rent that space for the same $80.00 per month. I have not moved yet nor have I officially said I would take the spot. I have a few issues with it. First, the depth runs about 5 feet. Now, the Lusty Slogger draws about 4.5 feet with the board down so that may not be a huge issue, depending on just how far that 5 ft depth extends. However, with a large fetch and only 5 feet of water I am familiar with short steep waves resulting from these conditions and they are no fun to sail in. Today when I was inspecting the marina the water was fairly flat and the winds were about 5 to 6 knots. The other issue I have is with the slip itself. Its just a slip, no electricity, no water. That's not a big issue since I wouldn't need to hook up to shore power although access to water to clean the boat would be nice. The other potential problem is it appeared I would have to tie the boat about 15 feet from the shore line. This would mean I would have to slog through mud and a few inches of water to get in and out of the boat, unless I misread where the boat would actually sit.

But again on the plus side, it opens to Kings Bay, its a fresh water marina (no barnacles to scrape) and its only 26 miles from my house.
If you check out the facebook page I have linked the area where you can see the smaller white boat is where I would be docked.

https://www.facebook.com/pg/petespier/p ... e_internal

Re: I may be moving again!

Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2018 6:27 am
by Friends with SCAMPS
Interesting parameters! Closer is generally better, and freshwater is a big bonus. Could you get a little kayak or stand up paddleboard to make the slog across the muck less sloggy? My advice is do what ever gets you sailing more.

Re: I may be moving again!

Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2018 8:01 am
by lustyslogger
Good idea about the kayak. I could get a serviceable one from Walmart for under $200.00

Update. I should have taken a better look at the Facebook page I linked. If you go to the send photo taken from the same spot there is a rather large sailboat tied up in front of the shed. So obviously I would not need to go far before I was in deep enough water to sail.

OK, one issue laid to rest!

Re: I may be moving again!

Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2018 9:29 am
by Michel
Glad that you found a better place to tie your boat and sail. :) The closer it is from home, the more often you will sail.

Re: I may be moving again!

Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2018 12:57 pm
by lustyslogger
Yeah, its funny but in Tennessee I was about 49 miles from my house to the boat and that was about an hours drive. But it was all back roads with little or no traffic through some lovely scenery. Here, the boat is about 55 miles from the house and about a half hour longer. If I take the Interstate half way its a hectic 80 mph drive (to keep from being punted out of the way by 18 wheelers, I've had that happen and it hurts!) and then another 25 miles down 30 mph bland roads. If I take the old surface road its bumper to bumper through "The Villages", Leesburg and then Tavares. By the time I got to the boat I was frazzled from the traffic!. The run out to Crystal River is through a somewhat bucolic route and hits only the thriving metropolis of Beverly Hills with its one Dollar General and one Winn Dixie and little else. Its about about a 30 minute drive if you don't get caught at the 5 traffic lights between my house and the town. Furthermore there is a plethora of Old Florida style clam and scallop houses in the vicinity. I am sorry in a way to make the move since I like the people who run the marina in Tavares but I own a boat to sail, not to collect hydrilla samples!

Re: I may be moving again!

Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2018 8:48 pm
by Art Haberland
I am just envious of the water the gulf has. You can't see the bottom beyond three feet around here.

Re: I may be moving again!

Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2019 9:52 am
by GregWads
Just saw this on YouTube. Sorry about dredging up old posts but this reminded me of your marina's weed issues. The machines at about 2 minutes into the video would be very useful, in your old marina and several more that I know of in Wisconsin, were the harbor is nearly overgrown with weed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMBnmYvlKbg