San Francisco area

[rw58ph]

My wife and I are planning to fly down to San Francisco and scout out marinas in the area. Prefer to be close to the Sacramento River as the water would be fresh to brackish. I do not want to put the Eagle in the salt year around. Maybe go back and forth between fresh and salt like we use to do. 6 to 9 months fresh, and 6 to 3 months salt which seem to keep the hull clean of growth. We would probable not be full time live a boards as my wife wants to travel, 3 months on the boat, 3 months traveling.

The Puget Sound is to rainy and cloudy, we did/do like being a live aboard on Lake Union down town Seattle, and like the big city live style. Lots of restaurants, plays, theaters, events and SHOPPING. Living on the boat has giving us a viriety of live styles. If we did not like the marina/area we pick up and move to another. Also living on a boat even in the middle of a city is sort of a peaceful space away from the busy city.

Are there many marinas in that area? How are the vacancy rates as we might want to move around a bit. I would think at first we will have to take what we can get and then fine tune like when we first became a live aboard.

[sailorchic34]

There are many marines in the delta, though most are mainly for powerboats and are covered. Though sailboat slips are available here and there and most marinas have some (which might be filled). Owl harbor might have space. Also check out Glen Cove marina, sort of pre-delta. Midway between delta and the central bay.

Martinez, Antioch, and Pittsburg are adjacent to very active am-trak train lines. Plus the last too are in heavy industrial areas. Vellejo has a silting problem. Rio vista has no sailboat slips, but a nice guest dock. Might try hidden harbor marina which is sailboat only.

Marinas in the California Delta

[rw58ph]

Originally Posted by sailorchic34

There are many marines in the delta, though most are mainly for powerboats and are covered. Though sailboat slips are available here and there and most marinas have some (which might be filled). Owl harbor might have space. Also check out Glen Cove marina, sort of pre-delta. Midway between delta and the central bay.

Martinez, Antioch, and Pittsburg are adjacent to very active am-trak train lines. Plus the last too are in heavy industrial areas. Vellejo has a silting problem. Rio vista has no sailboat slips, but a nice guest dock. Might try hidden harbor marina which is sailboat only.

Marinas in the California Delta

We are a 58 ft trawler, that stand about 35 ft with the mast so we proable would not fit in a covered morrage. You can see the Eagle in tha avtar. The hull is full displacement, and sort shaped like a sail boat.

I forgot to mention we are cheap. We pay 750.00/month for an open in Seattle.

[nimblemotors]

No shortage of marinas in the sfbay/sacdelta. Sac delta has inexpensive options, but you are far away from the 'action'. So should be a good area if you like difference places to stay.

[Heart of Gold]

Would the bay be more brackish than salty? With the big river spilling in and the only entrance being the Golden Gate, I was just wondering

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by Heart of Gold

Would the bay be more brackish than salty? With the big river spilling in and the only entrance being the Golden Gate, I was just wondering

The San Francisco Bay is, for all intents and purposes, seawater.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by rw58ph

Maybe go back and forth between fresh and salt like we use to do. 6 to 9 months fresh, and 6 to 3 months salt which seem to keep the hull clean of growth.

Around here you would probably spend more in fuel than a hull cleaning would cost.

Originally Posted by rw58ph

Are there many marinas in that area? How are the vacancy rates?

Be aware that live aboard slips are limited to 10% of marina's total here and therefore may not be available in any given marina.

[sailorchic34]

Ah a power boat, I was wondering where the mast was... Blonde happens.

At one time clipper ships use to fill the fresh water tanks over by paradise cove, back side of Tiburon. Alas most / all of the fresh river water is pumped to socal. Fresh water starts just west of Pittsburg and points east.

It should be possible to get an end tie somewhere. Marina Bay in Richmond would be $750-$800 with liveaboard fee. Should be a few marines in the delta with end ties available.

[rw58ph]

Originally Posted by sailorchic34

Ah a power boat, I was wondering where the mast was... Blonde happens.

At one time clipper ships use to fill the fresh water tanks over by paradise cove, back side of Tiburon. Alas most / all of the fresh river water is pumped to socal. Fresh water starts just west of Pittsburg and points east.

It should be possible to get an end tie somewhere. Marina Bay in Richmond would be $750-$800 with liveaboard fee. Should be a few marines in the delta with end ties available.

We pay 750.00/month now! Seattle it would be over $1,000.00/month. Do most marinas have 60 ft slips? Do most of the marinas have vacancy as we might want to move around. Main slip, 6 to 9 months, in the Delta when we are not on the boat and more populated area, 3 to 6 months, when we are on the boat. However, something in between would be nice, like Everett.

In Everett, the top 2 to 3 feet is usually fresh so the majority of the hull is in fresh and the keel and prop is in salt. I have a diver check the zincs, and clean the thru hulls and prop twice a year. So brackish would be fine.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by sailorchic34

At one time clipper ships use to fill the fresh water tanks over by paradise cove, back side of Tiburon. Alas most / all of the fresh river water is pumped to socal. Fresh water starts just west of Pittsburg and points east.

Absolutely true! In Two Years Before the Mast, Dana writes about filling water barrels just upstream of Angel Island. Nowdays, you'll have to go as high as Antioch to find the freshwater line.

Back to the OP: take a look at Benicia. A nice community not far (by powerboat standards) from the Bay or the Delta. Gets warm this time of year, but doesn't have the bad winter tule fog you'll get further upstream. Nice marina with fuel dock. Wonderful yacht club.

[David M]

Originally Posted by Heart of Gold

Would the bay be more brackish than salty? With the big river spilling in and the only entrance being the Golden Gate, I was just wondering

The central SF Bay is roughly around 30 PSU in the summer months down to 2 PSU or so at the confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers near Pittsburg. Large storm events will decrease the estuaries overall salinity. Above Rio Vista the river is considered fresh, below 0.5 PSU. PSU is Practical Salinity Units. The ocean west of the Farallon Islands is around 35 PSU.

Salinity between the ocean and Rio Vista varies with where we are on the current cycle, river flow and with depth, where more often than not it is saltier deeper in the water column. Salinity at any given geographic location is always changing.

Fresh water does not eliminate growth completely. Look at any dock float in fresh water and you will see what grows there.

I agree with Bash that the Benicia Marina is a good bet for what you are looking for.

[sailorchic34]

Benicia is a lovely marina and downtown, but they always seem pretty full. 60 foot end tie's are going to be tough to find there. But I've not been there in years. Go past it a lot though.

[Celestialsailor]

I was in Antioch for 6 months...It's a hole. The train runs right beside the marina. Just try to sleep unless you're totally deaf. The so called harbor master, allows trolls living in shanty-towns on the "Islands", to come in by beat-up skiffs with brand new Honda outboards (hmmm), to use the facilities and parking lot. Both Antioch and Pittsburg have a big drug population. Benicia on the other hand is up scale and close enough to culture that it makes it worth while. Get on the list now. It is privately owned.