Lake Mead Marinas

[Kalifornyakid]

Hey evereybody,
I am moving to Las Vegas at the end of this month. I have an 18' boat that I have been trying to sell, but the days are flying by and no one is responding to my adds. I can't keep the boat at my house in Las Vegas, so I was thinking about renting a slip or dry storage at a Marina. Do any of you have any input for me? I have never rented a slip or dry storage, what are things to look for or watch out for?
Any recomendations for a good marina? Thanks in advance!
P.S. I have been pretty busy lately, but I'll try to check back every evening or so.

 

[QC]

Re: Lake Mead Marinas

Hey KK,

Yeah, I spend a lot of time at Mead . . . Here are the places to investigate:

Callville Bay

Nicest facilities . . .

Lake Mead Marina

Shortest drive from Las Vegas

Echo Bay

Furthest drive, nice Marina, my least favorite section of the Lake . . .

There is one more called Temple Bar, it is really far, awesome if your goal is to get away from everything . . .

I don't have any experience with dry storage or long term slip rentals. I think I'd want the shortest commitment possible, so that I could decide what I liked etc. We like Lake Mead Marina as it is close, if the wind is blowing you can just stay down at the West end of the lake, sand is far. Callville is similar except there is sand pretty close by. Very busy on big weekends (they all can be, but early is a non-issue and if you're in a lip, so what. Dry storage you may be in the same launch lines though ??? Not much to do around Echo although there are some great sand beaches directly across the lake.

Here's some more Mead Links to help out:

Lake Mead National Recreation Area

Weather Site

Big word of warning!!! Learn to read the local wind patterns. Lake Mead can seriously kick your butt . . . It also can give you 20 mile stretches of glass or more, but you need to know when to stay home or close to the Marina . . .

P.S. My avatar is just below Hoover which is accessible from yet another Marina called Willow Beach. Great alternative if the wind is howling.

 

[Kalifornyakid]

Re: Lake Mead Marinas

Thanks QC!
Thats what I was looking for. I checked out Temple Bar on the net before I decided to pose the question here. I want to know the things you won't find out from the web-site or the phone operater.
Maybe you, MRS and I could get together some time. We'll have a mini west-coast gettogether!
I'm moving at the end of this month. The days are crawling by!
By the way, I think I've taken the turn-off for Temple Bar before. (I lived in Vegas for 2 years before I came here) I was looking for a place for the kids to play on the beach. If I remember right, the road to Temple Bar was a dirt road. Is that still the case? We turned around after about a mile and went to Willow beach.

 

[QC]

Re: Lake Mead Marinas

The road to Temple Bar has been paved since at least '88; that was the first time I drove there. You might have been on the one to Bonelli Bay, but I think you have to take the one to Temple Bar to get to the Bonelli Bay road which is dirt. Anyway, we love the Temple Basin. It is always our goal to head that way if the wind is reasonable. We usually launch at Lake Mead Marina and head all of the way to the Narrows and take a peek out into the Virgin Basin. If things look good, we cross and play all day near Temple Bar.

Did you see this: Havasu iboats get together

 

[Kalifornyakid]

Re: Lake Mead Marinas

Thanks QC, I'd like to attend the get together, I'll have to pack the camping gear seperate when we make the move however, otherwise we'll never be able to get it together by the proposed date.
I'll have to figure out something to tell my wife, if I tell her we're going camping with a bunch of guys I just met on the internet, she'll have me commited!
How do you guys meet up? Do you have a campsite thats marked, or exchange cell #'s or something?
I checked out the links (marinas) provided earlier, I'll have to make some phone calls and come to a decision. I hope I'ts not too late already.

 

[QC]

Re: Lake Mead Marinas

I'll update the Havasu thread today. Pretty slow activity, but I think it is probably too early in the year. Last year we just agreed to meet up at a location I'll post on the Saturday, there are some courtesy slips at the Nautical Inn that work well. Good location for anyone that doesn't camp too. I also will post the spot where I will be camping as long as I get it. First come first served, but there is lots of room for others if it is available. The other camping spots are good too.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Lake Mead Marinas

don't know about Lake Mead, but know about wet and dry storage. i prefer covered dry, if the marina is well serviced. we would just call and say what time we would be there and the boat would be docked, gassed and ready to go. monthly bill. it keeps the crud off the bottom of your boat. usually racked up in dry storage so security is better.

 

[Kalifornyakid]

Re: Lake Mead Marinas

Here's what I found out so far,

Lake Mead Marina: 1 year wait for a slip, aprox 1 month wait for dry storage (currently full, but in the process of expanding), knowing Las Vegas, 1 month out is marketing code for at least 6 months or more.

Temple Bar: No wait, no reservations, about 1.5 hours away from Vegas.

Callville: 1 year wait for dry storage, 2.5 year wait for a slip.

Looks like its gonna be Temple Bar or Lake Mead Marina.

I've never trailored a boat this far before. Aside from having the bearings checked and packed before I leave, any advice? We're talking about a 700 mile road trip. I don't want ta have ta post something on the "stupid humans tricks" forum when I get to Vegas!!

I'm headed to Vegas this coming weekend to make sure my house is still liveable, drop of some boxes, and have the utilities turned on.

 

[Kalifornyakid]

Re: Lake Mead Marinas

Forgot to add,
Thanks TashasDaddy, I asked about the docking services, they charge $20 per service. Think I'll drop it off and load it myself!

 

[bucky7680]

Re: Lake Mead Marinas

Remember you need to go over the dam to get to Temple Bar. Lots of curves and tourists. They also have a check point set up going both ways. You will be stoped and your boat will be inspected. Not a big deal it just adds more time to the trip. I boat out of South Cove. I have a home in Meadview with a big garage so storage is not a problem. You need to have covered storage. The desert sun realy tears up boats.

QC i have not been to the other end of the lake. Is the water busy or is the lake large enough there so you don't notice all the boats?

 

[QC]

Re: Lake Mead Marinas

bucky,

Agree on Temple Bat dam thing. That's why I didn't list it.

Compared to South Cove everywhere on the planet is busy . . . Lake is big enough, but the west end is a zoo compared to the east. Funny, but we go there to get away from the crowd at Havasu. There are some great coves near Lake Mead Marina, Callville and Echo Bay. More spectacular than those immediately around South Cove. As you know though, nothing compares when the water is up . . . Have you been into the Canyon?