Wet Slip in Salt Water for a week - Long Beach CA

[Nightmare]

We have an upcoming trip to the CA coast. We have reserved a wet slip in the marina for a week. I would like to have the bypass valves installed, but I don't know if I can make that happen before the trip. I'm not even 100% sure if we will have fresh water on the dock. I assume as long as I flush the system real good when I get home a week won't hurt anything. I do need to order the Salt Away, dispenser bottle, and the short flush hose.

Green is my spot ( I think) and Red are the other available spots:


For some reason, they tell me that they only rent the "End Ties" at this marina. I'm not super happy with that, but I think I have the best possible spot. There is a short wall between my spot and the main channel. I have 4 dock lines (15') and 2 Spring Lines (25'). I want to make sure the boat is correctly tied up. Here is my diagram. I could throw an extra line on the Bow Eye and/or one off of the Stern Trailer D ring.


We are going to travel from Long Beach to Newport Beach. It is about 16 miles. I plan to stick pretty close to shore. But if we get brave we might try a trip over to Catalina (22 miles across the channel). I have heard that I should only go in good weather and EARLY in the morning. I'd like to hear if any other 24' and under boats have made that trip.

Shopping List Includes:

Handheld VHF Radio ( Probably the Standard Horizon HX890)
Night Time Signal Device (probably an LED Flare) - I don't plan to be out on the water after dark
Salt Away, dispenser bottle, and the short flush hose

 

[Babin Farms]

You will be fine without flushing for the week, just flush good with salt away or a like product when you get home. Each dock is different for where the position of cleats are and how to tie off so I wouldn't get too caught up on what your going to do until you get to put eyes on the situation. Most importantly, HAVE FUN!!!!

 

[jocolo21]

you will be alright in the water, done it plenty of time, cant help with Catalina but done Bahamas a couple of time 55 to 63 miles, not solo. Bungee docking rope works good when the tides go up or down

 

[fatboyroy]

If you decide to go to Catalina: Since you only have radio and no ePirb, you probably should follow the ferry, it departs daily 9am to catalina /4pm back to newport beach, this way you can always reach them with your radio if any emergency, they are required to give you assistance if you need it. BUT i googled and it says its speed is 35 knots though so I'm not sure if you can keep up lol, maybe in perfect condition you can.

The Catalina Flyer - Catalina Island Ferry Service (catalinainfo.com)

 

[Elliott]

If you decide to go to Catalina: Since you only have radio and no ePirb, you probably should follow the ferry, it departs daily 9am to catalina /4pm back to newport beach, this way you can always reach them with your radio if any emergency, they are required to give you assistance if you need it. BUT i googled and it says its speed is 35 knots though so I'm not sure if you can keep up lol, maybe in perfect condition you can.

The Catalina Flyer - Catalina Island Ferry Service (catalinainfo.com)

OP could launch enough before the ferry (both ways) to be past the half-way point when it comes by on the route.

Another option would be to buy a Garmin InReach product. They start at about $300, and you have global range to any cellphone or Garmin's monitoring center. Monthly service plan is ~$12, and depending on the device you have a secondary GPS.

 

[Nightmare]

you will be alright in the water, done it plenty of time, cant help with Catalina but done Bahamas a couple of time 55 to 63 miles, not solo. Bungee docking rope works good when the tides go up or down

I was looking at a rubber snubber, some of those cost more than a set of Bungie lines.

 

[Ronnie]

@Inlikeflinn may have some insight on docking in long beach.

as for doing a day trip to catalina, I would follow these guys. They can’t stop you and may even welcome the company of a boat. They leave at 7:30 and are back by 3:30.

http://www.jetski2catalina.com/

 

[Nightmare]

I saw that Jetski tour. That looks like fun too.

 

[Ronnie]

I’d rather be on a boat but would not swim either way. Too many shark week and news stories of close calls in my head.

 

[bigwaves]

In my very conservative, safety first opinion you need an e-pirb. Yes, an e-pirb is one of the more pricey “accessories” to have but I’m sure you can find $400 to $500 in the Long Beach/Newport Beach/Catalina vacation budget. You’ll sure wish you had one if something goes terribly wrong during your excursion to Catalina regardless if you have the VHF or not. Just some friendly advice. Have fun on your trip.

 

[Nightmare]

The HX890 has the Distress button that transmits GPS location along with the distress signal.
Does a true EPIRB just have an unlimited range as it connects to the satellites?

 

[fatboyroy]

The HX890 has the Distress button that transmits GPS location along with the distress signal.
Does a true EPIRB just have an unlimited range as it connects to the satellites?

yes its worldwide (at least mine ResQlink). Remember radio have limited range, handheld is probably effective for 2 miles (not sure exactly) but its not far reaching. So when there is no boat within range, no one can receive it.

 

[Elliott]

The down side to an EPIRB is that it just an emergency message - first responders (USCG, Police, EMS) are coming without any additional information about your status. They obviously presume the worst.

The Garmin InReach allows you to communicate 2-way with any cellphone and the Garmin (formerly GEOS) monitoring center. If you push the InReach SOS button and do not respond to the monitoring center, then they presume a catastrophic event and send first responders. They track and relay your position, and they provide whatever information you have on file with them to the first responders.

On the other hand, if you merely need assistance (a tow, fuel and etc.), you can request that type of help through a friend/family's cellphone or the monitoring center.

Additionally, you can use the InReach while hiking, driving in remote areas, other countries and etc. with the same flexibility of response. The InReach does cost about the same as 3-4 gallons of fuel for service each month.

I carry a handheld VHF and an InReach. They both are fully independent of the boat.

 

[RobbieO]

I’d rather be on a boat but would not swim either way. Too many shark week and news stories of close calls in my head.

LOL...I've been watching that too. They're coming on the beach now too..lol

 

[Klydeman]

LOL...I've been watching that too. They're coming on the beach now too..lol

They‘re just puppies….

 

[feziwig]

For leaving the boat in salt water for 1 week, I’d encourage you to replace the hybrid stock pump anodes with true zinc anodes. Try to make sure to run the at at least once per day to prevent any of the salt water from completely evaporating and allowing to solidify in the cooling passages and flush and wash liberally with salt away when you you pull it

 

[Ronnie]

Unrelated: a guy a graduated high school with, Anthony Ferrante was the high school’s film critic and the biggest nerd I’ve ever met. He ended up writing and producing all of the sharknado movies, among many others to my surprise. The last time I saw him was in a picture, he was standing on the red carpet at the Mann theater in Hollywood before the premier of one of the sharknado films with a gorgeous woman on each arm. Life is funny like that.

back to the thread: I’d consider buying an epirb for the trip to Catalina if I was going alone, that is with no other watercraft, or no one else I was with had made the trip before. Don’t mean to be cheap but practical, as I otherwise never boat in the open ocean.

 

[dzeppos]

You should be fine leaving the boat one salt water for one week. I haven’t done the Catalina trip from Newport Beach (although planning to soon). From my coast guard class i took recently, i learned there are signal radio/relay buoys out on the coast so that you should have coverage at all times with your handheld vhs on your trip to Catalina.

 

[2kwik4u]

@Inlikeflinn may have some insight on docking in long beach.

as for doing a day trip to catalina, I would follow these guys. They can’t stop you and may even welcome the company of a boat. They leave at 7:30 and are back by 3:30.

Jetski2Catalina.com - tour operator, jetski from long beach to catalina tour dolphins snorkeling, outdoor adventure ocean tours whale watching

Dude that Jet Ski Trip looks amazing. If the water is always like it shows in that video I can't imagine it being a hard crossing........says the really over confident, obviously naive gentlemen from the inland lakes

 

[Nightmare]

I've been looking for a site/app with a good weather forecast for the channel. I ran across Windy.app yesterday.

This looks to be pretty calm for the next couple of days. With the long intervals today, that seems about perfect.