Boat envy, thinking about a new Marlin 300, have questions.

[luckydude]

While I absolutely adore my 228, I have been going out chasing tuna in a 271 Canyon, hate the center console in our snotty Pacific but love that 9000 pound hull that wants to stay planted. 232 Gulfstream is too small, I wish they still made the 28? Sailfish but they don't, so Marlin is the choice for me, I'm completely sold on the walk around design for our cold rough ocean. The 228 is great but it is a fair weather friend, you have to pick your days. What that 271 taught me is you can go out in conditions that the 228 would hate, have to slow down on every swell, the 271 came 53 miles home in 7'@10s with wind chop on top of that at 24 knots. My guy got on the throttle twice in 53 miles, both times to piss. 2.5 hour ride in his boat that would be a 5+ hour ride in the 228.

That opened my eyes to the fact that bigger opens up the ocean, you can go fish on days that I'd stay home in the 228. I *love* to fish so....

I'm pretty sure I've mumbled about this before, what has changed is my wife is supportive. As is my business partner (DM me if you need to know why that is important). I'm at the point where I have the green light to buy a new Marlin.

Which brings me to the logistics, and they give me pause because there is a lot I don't know. I can trailer the 228 home, I can not trailer even a 236 fisherman home, my road is tiny and twisty. So the Marlin would have to live in a slip. All of my questions are about that.

Can Marlin live in a salt water slip year around? My 271 friend says no, he pulls his boat out in October and it doesn't go back in until April.
How often do you have to pull the boat out to have it cleaned? He pulls his at least monthly and has work done on it, is that normal?

I'm just trying to wrap my head around what it is like to have boat in a slip, what work you have to do, etc.

 

[magicalbill]

As per our phone talk:

Overall it is not a good idea to leave it wet-slipped year 'round. if you have no dry storage option, or if your marina won't allow a lift in your slip, the following are maintenance steps I would absolutely take if it were my Marlin.

1.) Have it pulled every 2 weeks, no longer than 3 to have the bottom powerwashed and the tabs cleaned.

2.) Have the best bottom paint you can afford if it's a hassle to pull it every couple weeks.

3.)Even with bottom paint, hire a diver to clean the bottom monthly.

4.) Keep a close eye on zincs, thru hulls and any submerged piece of gear.

To be objective, several on here keep their Gradys in the water for extended periods, and I guess they're fine with it. I am too Obsessive and OCD. It would never work for me. Get a consensus from everyone on here and make the call.

The one thing I can say for certain is that it's worse to keep them wet-slipped than to have them on dry land.

 

[glacierbaze]

You have enough truck to launch and retrieve a Marlin, so it seems your best option would be a marina, or any boat storage with a ramp, where you could store on the trailer.

 

[Paul_A]

If you can find a slip keep it in the water. So much easier to just go down to the boat and go. Or just spend the night on it in the marina. Just prep the boat well before you slip it.

Tons of info out there on what to do to prep a boat that will live in water.

 

[TortugaBob]

My Marlin lives in the water all year, went 2 seasons before redoing the bottom paint, and it was not bad considering gulf coast is very warm and has much stuff growing fast. I am going push 3 seasons this time. You definitely need someone to keep an eye on the Lines and run it or do scrape maintenance as was suggested. Good bottom paint is a must. Funny, I actually purchased a new trailer to Haulout in a pinch for maintenance or Hurricane. As suggested, you could trailer and keep close on a storage lot close to the water. Very happy with Marlin and thanks to several on here that convinced me to move up from Sailfish. As one said, just a little bigger in all the right places.

 

[PointedRose]

My sailboat lives in a slip (going on 3 years since last haul out when I bought it). Diver comes quarterly for $100 each trip (22’ boat with an outboard that is not in the water - the more you have below the waterline to clean, like an inboard prop shaft, the more expensive the diver).

Growth tends to be near the surface / boot stripe where the water is warmer, and is worse seasonally with sunnier weather.

The best paint recommended to me for the Bay Area was Pettit Trinidad Pro aka liquid gold at $350 per gallon. You’ll probably want two coats. Other option as mentioned is the lift, or continuous hauling and power washing.

Definitely need to monitor your sacrificial anodes/zincs.

I’ve been in contact with a guy named Paul, who has a Bay Area Boat Delivery company - former coast guard and very helpful guy to know with a lot of great advice. His link is below too.

Pettit Trinidad Pro, Gallon, Extremely High Copper Content, Slime Resistant, Hard Antifouling Bottom Paint

www.bottompaintstore.com

Boat Deliveries and Captain Services | Bay Vessel Services

Bay Vessel Services provides premier professional yacht deliveries, basic through advanced boating education, sea trials, and captain services.

www.bayvessel.com

 

[Mustang65fbk]

What about looking at used? Are new boats even available at the moment? When I bought my 228 Seafarer a couple of weeks ago, the GW dealer that I went through had next to no GW's on the showroom floor and said that it's been near impossible to get any for the time being. Between that and motors being in very short supply, if you put a deposit, or even bought one outright today, when would you be looking at getting the boat? Tri State said they normally have dozens and dozens of boats in their showroom and all they had was maybe 10 boats at the most? Most of them were Parker's that had already been sold and were just waiting for their owners to come and pick them up. I sold my previous boat, a 21' Arima last September, was without a boat for just over and hated the feeling of being boat-less the whole time. It looks like they stopped making the 282 Sailfish after the 2008 model year but there are quite a few of them available on BT for under $100k. They also made a 290 Chesapeake as well that might also serve your needs quite well. I constantly think about how great it would be to have a bigger boat but for the location I live in and the fishing that I do, I simply can't justify it as the Puget Sound is very well protected and I generally fish right in front of our beach cabin. If I look outside in the morning before fishing and it looks miserable then I'm likely not going to go fishing that morning anyway, or might wait a couple of hours to see if the conditions get better. I've only done 40-50 mile fishing trips a couple of times and the last one was probably over 10 years ago. The previous Arima that I had also had bottom paint on it and I'd generally bring her in every month or two and clean her up as the hull would be lined with seaweed and barnacles and the seagulls would crap all over the boat or they'd eat a fish and leave the head inside the boat for you as a nice surprise the next time you went out.

 

[HMBJack]

No problem to wet slip any boat. It's simply about maintenance and up keep. Good paint will last a minimum of two seasons, often three. Having a Diver scrub 3-4X per year is normal. The Diver can inspect and change Zincs as need be. After wet slipping - you'll learn to hate and never ever go back to a boat ramp!

I know totally what you mean about the 228 Vs. a 9,000 plus pound boat on our ocean. I'm in Half Moon Bay. Had a 228 (new) then I moved up to a 265 Express (used). Loved the 265 but I wanted more after fishing with a friend on his 330 Express. So... Eleven years ago I bought a 330 Express of my own (used). Couldn't be happier...

Good luck and I recommend to not buy new. Let someone else eat the depreciation (like you shall when you sell your 228 : )
Your biggest issue is finding a 30' or 35' slip in Santa Cruz (near impossible) or Half Moon Bay (less bad than SC). If wet slipping a boat was unpopular, I guess you could get one easily. This is not the case...

 

[mmiela]

When I had my 226 I had it in a slip for six months of the year. I though about trailering it to and from the ramp but it is so much easier to go to the marina get on your boat, start the engines and go. If I ever get another boat it will be in a slip.

 

[nuclear]

Pulling it every 2-3 weeks seems awfully excessive (and expensive). My boat lives on a mooring for 6 months per year and I usually pull it once in the middle of the summer. That also coincides with when we go on a longer vacation so it gives me peace of mind should there be a storm while I was gone.

 

[teaklejr]

No question keeping in the water is the way to go if you plan to use the boat. Going on 16 years of having a boat in the water and have had zero problems. Have boat pulled mid season and cleaned then at the end clean again. We have ours stored on land from December 1 to end of March. Last year we got a 2007 305 Express and love the boat, so nice to have the comforts of home on the boat. This year we will have spent close to 120 nights on the boat.

 

[magicalbill]

Pulling it every 2-3 weeks seems awfully excessive (and expensive). My boat lives on a mooring for 6 months per year and I usually pull it once in the middle of the summer. That also coincides with when we go on a longer vacation so it gives me peace of mind should there be a storm while I was gone.

It is indeed both expensive & excessive, but it keeps the bottom clean.

There would be no other option for me and that's why I don't do it. The bottom stays growth-free, I save some money and I don't have to worry about it. The convenience of having it in the water means nothing to me if the boat has slime and algae on the hull.

It works for others, as I mentioned above. LuckyDude is a smart guy. he'll make the right call for his needs.

 

[drbatts]

My boat is wet slipped from mid April to late November. Boats are meant to be kept in the water. I will get in the water 1-2x per season to scrub the water line, engine bracket and lights as they all get some growth. There is always a little bottom paint touch up to do in the spring but nothing terrible. The new water based multi season bottom paints work very well. My boat also gets used multiple times per week which helps keeps the growth down. As far as zincs go these are not inboard boats with running gear. I change the engine bracket zinc every couple of seasons as well as the one behind the props.

As far as boat size goes bigger is better. I went from a 265 express to a 305 express. When I had to slow down with 265, I now don't have to. I can also cruise at a higher rate of speed through bigger seas. The A/C and heat are wonderful on hot summer days or cold fall mornings.

 

[Uncle Joe]

I hear ya! If I could afford it I would be in a Marlin in a second. I fished in my friends Marlin and fell in serious lust.

 

[PNW_Drifter]

Buy a used Marlin that already has a slip in your area. 2 problems solved for the right boat. There's a smaller market for used 30' boats vs trailable 22' boats. You're going to get a great deal over what they cost new! Assuming you can find one. Now the fun part, looking!

I envy you, keep us posted on the search!

Is dry stacking an option in your area? That's the best of both worlds. A magical forklift will take your 30' out of it's heated shed and place in the water for you.

 

[Andrew93]

Pulling it every 2-3 weeks seems awfully excessive (and expensive). My boat lives on a mooring for 6 months per year and I usually pull it once in the middle of the summer. That also coincides with when we go on a longer vacation so it gives me peace of mind should there be a storm while I was gone.

I have about the same routine as this, boat is in the water 6 months and pulled once or twice for maintenance/fuel/cleaning. If the boat is used regularly I find there is minimal buildup on the bottom. We get out once a week typically and that keeps the growth off, but I guess it is area dependent as well. I am on a river and I think the current is to my favor in preventing some buildup.