RobMcClain
Member
Mary and I are again planning to venture into the Pacific Northwest this summer. In this regard we are considering several options and would like to tap into the pool of local C-Brats expertise. We are considering several different possibilities so I hope my explanations don't get too confusing....
We are planning to tow Freedom north in May to attend the Friday Harbor C-Brats gathering and then store it someplace, drive home, and then return in July to begin ~2 months of exploring the northern area of Puget Sound, including the San Juan & Gulf Islands and Southern Canada. Ideally, we would like to find a place where we could store the boat (on it's trailer) and not need the car to launch it. Twin Bridges Marina in Mt. Vernon could do this but it is just too pricey for the few times we would use their full compliment of services, plus they could not keep the trailer so I would still need to store that separately which would increase the overall expense. I've found that Dagmar's Marina in Everett could meet our requirements at much less cost. Of course, their storage is outside but that might be acceptable. Are there any other places of this nature north of Seattle (preferably north of Everett, or on The Olympic Peninsula) - places that would also launch it? I should mention, we are also considering leaving the boat up that way over the winter, as opposed to towing it home.
Now to further complicate our plan, we are considering when we drive north again in early July we might bring along our 28' (LOA) travel trailer. By doing so we could not only explore the islands and coastline, but also some inland areas and Bluegrass festivals. Ideally we would like to find a joint RV park/marina where we could cruise several days and then return to the marina and trailer for some land-based puttering. Mary has found a possible site on Vancouver Island. We aren't opposed to storing and or staying in Canada, and do plan on venturing that way at least for some of our time anyway, but we're also aware that we would have some additional Customs requirements and paperwork to do so. No doubt a location in northern Washington would be easier logistically. I know we will have some registration requirements if we leave the boat in Washington so regardless we will have at least some paperwork to accomplish.
So in a nutshell, we are interested in considering places where we can: 1) safely store the boat, ideally (but not absolutely required) where they can also launch/retrieve it; and 2) locations where we can have the boat and trailer in some proximity so we can go between the 2 as desired. I've wondered if we use Dagmar's perhaps we could cruise while storing the trailer there, but upon returning we would then have to trade toys by storing the boat and taking the trailer on the road. We do want to take the trailer a few places while keeping the boat docked, but would also like to have the capability to use both toys somewhat simultaneously without having to completely give up access to the other. At the end of our time in September we will certainly tow the trailer home, but as I mentioned previously we might leave the boat up there for the next season.
Have I totally confused you? I know we are confused as we consider the options. It would certainly be easier to just have the boat up north, and we may defer to that in the long run, but since we have both toys we want to consider both plans. We don't mind driving so taking them both north isn't much of an issue. By the way, I've read that if we have the boat in Washington waters for over 60 days we will need to register it in that State, but what if it is in and out of the water and not accumulating 60 days in the water specifically? Does anyone understand the State requirements if we store it on land? I suspect we will need to re-register both the boat and trailer but I am not certain.
Any locations, facilities, general info & thoughts, etc., would be most appreciated!
Rob
We are planning to tow Freedom north in May to attend the Friday Harbor C-Brats gathering and then store it someplace, drive home, and then return in July to begin ~2 months of exploring the northern area of Puget Sound, including the San Juan & Gulf Islands and Southern Canada. Ideally, we would like to find a place where we could store the boat (on it's trailer) and not need the car to launch it. Twin Bridges Marina in Mt. Vernon could do this but it is just too pricey for the few times we would use their full compliment of services, plus they could not keep the trailer so I would still need to store that separately which would increase the overall expense. I've found that Dagmar's Marina in Everett could meet our requirements at much less cost. Of course, their storage is outside but that might be acceptable. Are there any other places of this nature north of Seattle (preferably north of Everett, or on The Olympic Peninsula) - places that would also launch it? I should mention, we are also considering leaving the boat up that way over the winter, as opposed to towing it home.
Now to further complicate our plan, we are considering when we drive north again in early July we might bring along our 28' (LOA) travel trailer. By doing so we could not only explore the islands and coastline, but also some inland areas and Bluegrass festivals. Ideally we would like to find a joint RV park/marina where we could cruise several days and then return to the marina and trailer for some land-based puttering. Mary has found a possible site on Vancouver Island. We aren't opposed to storing and or staying in Canada, and do plan on venturing that way at least for some of our time anyway, but we're also aware that we would have some additional Customs requirements and paperwork to do so. No doubt a location in northern Washington would be easier logistically. I know we will have some registration requirements if we leave the boat in Washington so regardless we will have at least some paperwork to accomplish.
So in a nutshell, we are interested in considering places where we can: 1) safely store the boat, ideally (but not absolutely required) where they can also launch/retrieve it; and 2) locations where we can have the boat and trailer in some proximity so we can go between the 2 as desired. I've wondered if we use Dagmar's perhaps we could cruise while storing the trailer there, but upon returning we would then have to trade toys by storing the boat and taking the trailer on the road. We do want to take the trailer a few places while keeping the boat docked, but would also like to have the capability to use both toys somewhat simultaneously without having to completely give up access to the other. At the end of our time in September we will certainly tow the trailer home, but as I mentioned previously we might leave the boat up there for the next season.
Have I totally confused you? I know we are confused as we consider the options. It would certainly be easier to just have the boat up north, and we may defer to that in the long run, but since we have both toys we want to consider both plans. We don't mind driving so taking them both north isn't much of an issue. By the way, I've read that if we have the boat in Washington waters for over 60 days we will need to register it in that State, but what if it is in and out of the water and not accumulating 60 days in the water specifically? Does anyone understand the State requirements if we store it on land? I suspect we will need to re-register both the boat and trailer but I am not certain.
Any locations, facilities, general info & thoughts, etc., would be most appreciated!
Rob
