Beginning Of Season Near

[pepmyster]

Going to our boat this Saturday, open a hole in the shrink, open the doors and then open a bottle of wine. Gotta see our baby, can't be much longer. My parts for my winch are stuck in Odgensburg, No winch on the boat for now, will have to make due. Getting anxious to go on, Let's all get this done!!!!!!!!!!

[Midnightsun]

At least you have access, I do not. Not even allowed on the property!

Regarding the winch. Call your Kinek pickup point and see if they can forward it to you at home. I do know the one in Champlain is offering this service so worth a shot.

[pepmyster]

My US Address wishes for me to sign a waver for a broker to take over and call all the shots. Did that once before and got nailed on duties.....For now we can operate the winch in manual mode.....

[Cooler]

Hooray, hooray! The first of May!!!!!!!! er

[Viper]

Yeah, Ontario Premier announced marinas are allowed to prepare and launch boats May 4th but are to remain closed to the public. It's a start!

[Midnightsun]

Source of the post Yeah, Ontario Premier announced marinas are allowed to prepare and launch boats May 4th but are to remain closed to the public. It's a start!

This is what Doug said.

Marinas may also begin preparations for the recreational boating season by servicing boats and other watercraft and placing boats in the water, but not open to the public. Boats and watercraft must be secured to a dock in the marina until public access is allowed.

https://www.cp24.com/news/province-allo ... -1.4920810

This cannot work. How can one get a boat out if the person is not staying in that same marina which is the case for the majority of the boats where I store mine. This has got to be the silliest thing I have ever heard of. Imagine the marina launching your boat but you are not allowed to be there or go see your boat after launch. Why too many things that could go wrong or sink the boat without the owners intervention at launch. Shore power, water supply, winterization leaks and the list goes on and on.

Once they realize the plan needs adjustment it is a step in the right direction.

[Tireless]

I don't let anyone touch my boat, as I summarize myself. You are right, too much can go wrong, unless the mechanic did the work in the fall and knows how he left it.

The marina where I am, most boat owners shore to slip their own boats. The marina will take this time to allow their mechanics to work on customers boats that request it. They need to get water up and running and clean washrooms in ready for boats and the public.

I assume a public access order is coming soon. I was hoping to be allowed to go up and work on mine, just have to stay away from others until the risk goes down, when ever that is.

This is a great step for us in Ontario. Here's to it getting better and soon.

Greg

[bud37]

" Marinas may also begin preparations for the recreational boating season by servicing boats and other watercraft and placing boats in the water, but not open to the public. Boats and watercraft must be secured to a dock in the marina until public access is allowed."

Not sure what is new about this......the marinas had this plan in place a few weeks ago......perhaps this is from the push from the boating Ontario/ Marina association. Maybe there will be a tweak on the way.

I agree Greg....we have used that type of program before where your boat is summerized and at your slip when you come up......each and every time there was damage and stuff I had to rectify much the same as I had done it myself....never again !!! Now there is a fitted tarp and framework, plus half the boat is at the house.

This just came as I was writing, out of context as the entire message is not here..

Only those customers that claim their boat as their permanent residence will be allowed on the property, and on their boats. Otherwise, you cannot come on site and work on your boat.

Launch Procedure
1. Customers will not be allowed on, or near their boat during launch.

Marina staff will look after the following:
Remove shrink wrap, cover, or tarp
Install canvas – if your canvas is not on the boat, please deliver 4 days prior to launch
Hook up batteries - boost if necessary
Check that the boat is water tight
Fuel boat, if requested.
Move boat to slip and secure
Check one hour later that the boat is still water tight
Fog or wipe down interior contact points with disinfectant
The fee for this launch service will be $ 120 plus HST. We will be subsidizing fuel prices if purchased as part of the launch service - Gasoline and Diesel both at 87 cents per litre.

If your boat needs mechanical work to start, or to move, you will be notified and billed for that service.

2. The Travel Lift Bay will be off limits to Customers during launch.

3. Customers will not be allowed on their boat for 4 days prior to their launch date.

4. Reception, parts and service desks will be open, but we will limit the number of customers who can be in the office at any given time.

5. Parts and Service can also be ordered via phone or email – we will deliver parts to your boat if requested

[Midnightsun]

Not sure what is new about this......the marinas had this plan in place a few weeks ago

Unfortunately in these times, the province decides what we are to do, the marinas have no say whatsoever. Doug has taken over everyones liberties in Ontario and you will do what he says. Sounds rather harsh but this is the new way of life as long as Covid-19 is present. Hopefully some reasonable people will persuade him to change things to our favour but only time will tell. Personally I think things will work out in the near future. I have a really good feeling I will be at my dock no later than June 1st.

[Viper]

Been talking to some of the guys since the announcement today. Some marinas won't launch boats if they're not commissioning the engines so they can then move the boat to the slip. Those that want to commission their own engines then move their boat will have to wait until visiting restrictions are lifted. Honestly I think that's fair. If you don't want to pay for them to commission your engines so they can move your boat, then you'll have to wait to be launched when you're allowed to be there, we can't expect them to do that for free.

I realize that it does you no good to have your boat in the water if you can't go to it but if they don't start launching, I see a lot of frustrated boaters waiting to be launched when marinas finally open to the public. For those that want to commission themselves, they'll suddenly expect to be in before the weekend and of course everyone is more important than the other guy. The reality is there are only so many hours in a day. I suspect there are going to be a lot of requests for marinas to commission engines and move boats for from guys that usually do it themselves so they don't have to wait on a schedule to be launched when things finally open up completely.

For those of you that winter in covered slips and will be launched regardless of whether they are commissioning or not, I hope you left your boat "launch ready" last Fall. I always preach this for several reasons...when you complete your winterizing, your boat should be launch ready except perhaps for needing to hook up batteries.

This is a good start for boaters, marinas, and all the other businesses that rely on recreational boating. Is it a good thing for preventing the spread of the virus? Only time will tell. We can only hope that people continue to maintain their current practices in hopes that we get rid of this thing for good. I do think that it's going to be around for years though. I don't know of any virus that had just up and disappeared in a matter of months or a year, it can take a long time. Even after we finally come up with a vaccine, it'll still take years IMO. Maintaining this new norm until then will help reduce that time.