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I am about to purchase my (can't wait) and wanted to ask folks on the board about places to keep it. I live about 40 miles west of DC and until i am used to trailering it i want to keep it on the trailer at a marina with mast up.

I was thinking of either on the Potomac near DC or near Annapolis. I thought if near DC i would likely use it more as it would be closer to home. I have a few questions ....

(1) Is keeping it near DC on Potomac a good idea - if not - why - was not sure if sailing on potomac was decent, wide open enough not to run out of room, extremely variable winds, etc.

(2) if keeping on Potomac near DC is an option - any suggestions on where to keep it -- not in slip but on trailer at a place with a decent ramp.

(3) if keeping on Potomac is not a great option and near annapolis is better (like Mayo/edgewater), any suggestions for marinas in that area - again on trailer - mast up.

Thanks to all for your suggestions - can't wait to bring her home and start having fun!

If you keep the boat in the water, you may want to consider bottom paint - after a week in the water, the hull starts gathering a layer of crud.

We kept our Mac at Casa Rio in Mayo. It's a quick trip out Cadle Creek to the Rhode & West Rivers and into the bay. The best part of being at Casa Rio is you'll become a part of a pretty good Mac family. And Greg who owns the brokerage out there knows the Macs inside and out.

Sea Dreamer wrote:We kept our Mac at Casa Rio in Mayo. It's a quick trip out Cadle Creek to the Rhode & West Rivers and into the bay. The best part of being at Casa Rio is you'll become a part of a pretty good Mac family. And Greg who owns the brokerage out there knows the Macs inside and out.

It is where I bought mine. I am currently keeping my on the Potomac only because there is a marina right by the house 1.9 miles away to be exact and I just started a new career that I am concentrating on learning everything I can to position myself to becoming the best in my field again. If you are 40 miles away don't do the Potomac it is nothing compared to the Chesapeake Bay and is more expensive too. Also unless you are a veteran or active duty military I don't think there is anywhere around here for you to keep it on the trailer with mast up or even down for that matter. Along with the prices for anything around here is not cheap.

Now if you want to gain experience first which I suggest if you have no sailing experience is to use a lake near you during your first year. Practice getting your sailing skills down in progressively higher winds before doing it on the Chesapeake with big wave and currents to. You will find once you get used to healing at high angles the wind is nothing to be scared of, now waves and freak currents are another matter. What ever size sail used on lake with high wind cut in half on the Chesapeake with high winds.

Sea Dreamer wrote:We kept our Mac at Casa Rio in Mayo. It's a quick trip out Cadle Creek to the Rhode & West Rivers and into the bay. The best part of being at Casa Rio is you'll become a part of a pretty good Mac family. And Greg who owns the brokerage out there knows the Macs inside and out.

that is where i was thinking of keeping it. i looked at an x there and saw that there were a ton of macs there and i met a mac owner while i was there. if i dont find somewhere else that is likely where i will go. thanks for suggestion.

We currently have two Macs, 26X in a slip at Quantico Marina and M19 on the trailer, mast-up at Leesylvania State Park in Woodbridge. We started out with a 24' Seafarer over at Edgewater across from Casa Rio... the drive from NoVA to Edgewater, load up, motor out Cadle Creek into the Rhode into the West into the Bay only to find no wind and back home again shot an entire day with unhappy kids. Bought our first Mac, the M19, used from Grab Bag at Casa Rio but moved it back close to home. Moved up to a 26X for more room (M19 will be for sale soon). We use our boats much more as they are close by, 10-15 minute drive and on the water without having to go on to I95 or the Beltway to get to them. Plenty of good open sailing in the Potomac. There are a lot of power boaters as well but have not had any real issues. There are also several Macs Xs and Ms at Quantico (must be Active Duty or Retiree to get a slip there). We can always trailer them to the Bay if we wanted to, took our M19 to SML (Smith Mountain Lake) last summer for a week.

I keep mine at Aquia Bay Marina, I really
Iike the place. Only an hour of motoring to the bay, and they take care of me. I was working on my roller fullering today and the manager stopped to show me how to replace it.