Thoughts on exchanging use of my boat for free moorage?
 

In the process of looking for moorage space for rent, I've seen a few options where dock owners are willing to give use of their dock in exchange for use of my boat. Has anyone had experience with this? Aside from meeting with the person and feeling them out to understand their experience with boats and if they seem trustworthy or not, did you get anything in writing? What did that cover (e.g. usage schedule, clean up, gas refills, if something breaks down?)

One of the options I am considering is minutes from my house and the dock is owned by a former boat owner who seems to be responsible and knowledgeable about boats. I'm still hesitant, but I could see this working in certain situations and avoiding a $250/month boat dock rental charge would be nice! What do you think?

Not a chance. I don't even let friends use my boat, let alone strangers. Couldn't you just dry store it close to the lake?

Never! Esp a complete stranger.

Quite frankly no. No one will ever take care of your boat as well as you will and likelyhood of hurt feelings if something does happen to the boat is pretty high. Things break on boats all of the time on boats through no fault of the operator but you will be very uncertain of what really caused it unless you were there. I would also worry about insurance coverage and liability in the case that someone was hurt on your boat when you weren't there.

I can and do currently dry store the boat at my house which is about 5 mins from the public ramp. However, on weekends and even weekdays this ramp is filled with the worst of the worst of boat owners and it often takes 1 1/2 hours plus to drop my boat in and the parking lot is full more often than not. I would also like to have a dock spot to get more use out of my boat. I would have no excuse not to go after work more often if all I had to do was take the cover off and push away from the dock.

I'm definitely cautious about doing this, but I just wanted to see what peoples experiences are before even talking to the dock owner.

Who knows - maybe the guy is anal, knows boats, understands the costs and maintenence and cleaning required and would simply use it for an evening cruise with his wife.

For $3k a year - it's definitely worth looking into. For a guy that doesn't have a boat at all right now - it's not as though he's going to have 10 guys out wakeboarding behind your boat. He'll most likely take it out for a cruise or a cocktail and put it back right. It's worth meeting him and feeling out what he has in mind.

Paying for the slip is the BEST money I spend every year. All it takes is 2 trips to a busy launch to remind me.

Depends on the boat & the guy. Take a look at his garage & any vehicles he has.

Keeping the boat on the lake is the best. It takes all the work out of it. We are way more likely to take the boat out for just an hour or so if we keep the boat on the lake rather than launching it everytime.

no way - never

took it one step further. I rented my boat out last year to a complete stranger. Worked out great. It was returned in better condition than I gave it to him. Long story short I set up a LLP for any potential liability issues. I ran a background check and credit check on the guy.

You say you it would be easy to get out after work. But if you use it after work, and the weekends, when does he get to use it? I guess what I'm saying is, it would depend on the usage schedule. And what he intends to use it for.

If your talking about Lake Washington then odds are that person has to be pretty well off and not some random immature person. Its of course a risk and you should definitly scrutinize the person as best as you can. If its a family and they are going to let their kids use the boat that would be a different situation. The people I know who live on the lake are good boaters and very respectful though. My worst experience on the lake are with people who dock or launch their boat. They just seem to have less respect for others on the lake in general.

I don't even let other people tie my boat up. If something goes wrong, I want it to be my fault, without a doubt, no one else to blame.