things that make you go hmm and I aint asking

youstolemybeer

So today I paid the only bill I like to pay, my slip rent for the year.  I paid exactly what the marina owner wrote/typed in the contract, a whopping $1524 for the year. As wife and i were enjoying beers on the dock, a neighbor came over to complain about the !@%^$#%#@#$% marina owner RAISING the prices. Quick math in my head said he raised the price something like 15bucks from last year. WOW Im thinking, Chuck (neighbor) must be a tight wad to complain about 15bucks. Well come to find out, his rate jumped to 2100 for the year,. for the same size slip.
The sober voice in my head SCREAMED at the drunk voice in my head to SHUT UP BE QUIET IF YOU TALK ITS GONNA COST $600. STHU
I dont know why my marina is not charging me that much or why they are charging him that much and I dont care
Be as nice as you can to the marina owners, it might just come back to ya

raybo3

YSMB how long you been at that marina? How long has Chuck been there? Maybe Chuck is a problem and or does not pay on time. Could be a lot of reasons.... Just say'n........

jme097

very true @raybo3 I've been at my marina for 4 or 5 years and they have always held the price for me. This year I inquired about rack storage for the summer and the owner ended up offering rack storage to me for the price of a 20 footer. 

Michael T

A chronic complainer at my marina was told at the end of last summer that there would not be a slip for him this summer. At the beginning of last summer at another marina the owner told a dozen or more boaters that his repeated requests for payment and respect for fellow slip mates and their chronic late payments had cost them their slips. I asked him how that had worked out. He said he should have done it sooner, as all the B.S. was ruining his boating enjoyment - which was the reason he bought the marina in the first place. He turned the slips into overnight rentals until he had new seasonal renters that he determined were decent guys. He said the guys he kicked out who he had to chase for payments, who blasted music at 1 a.m. and who sped into the marina rocking everyones' boats had become too much work. His life was now far simpler. Makes sense to me! I pay $2,300.00 for which I get a super wide boat slip - there is about 8 feet between my boat and a 40 foot Avanti on a new dock area with unlimited 30 amp and water usage, free WiFi, free use of showers and a numbered parking space. I'm not about to get myself kicked out of there by being an idiot! LOL

youstolemybeer

I have only been at the marina for 3 years whereas neighbor has been there for 13. He is the guy that plays the music at 1am and he is a bit of a redneck. Im not going to miss him, He decided to move.
My marina is totally no frills, for the money, you get a slip with electric and well nothing else. No water except whats under your boat, no wifi,  no showers, and a gravel parking lot. BUTTTTT its the cheapest in the Alton pool so why not

raybo3

The no water part could be a problem. How do you wash your boat?????

Dream_Inn

It's funny, my rate went up this year, but then I found out others on our dock that hadn't.  After talking a bit more, it seems lots of us on the same dock have different rates.  Not sure what is the deal with it, but weird that they wouldn't think we don't talk?  I'm thinking the owner is just raising rates each year in kind of a rotating fashion, instead of everybody at once.  I'll definitely be checking into it a bit more.

I couldn't imagine not having water at my marina. 

212rowboat

slips at a particular marina around here are on a waiting list, and those are the ones still let by the marina.. they outright sold many of them.. .

a buddy of mine bought a 31' Cabo some years back, and was standing at the counter trying to get information about leasing a slip... the guy explained there were none available, but that he could put him on the list, for a fee... the guy standing behind him said "i'll sublet mine to you", and my buddy took him up on it... 

this didn't go over too well with the marina culture, as everyone on the list knew the other guy was leaving and everyone was waiting for the official word and awaiting the lottery drawing.  It could have been that the guy was standing in line to tell the marina that he was officially leaving... 

I think my buddy stayed there for something like six months before finding another marina (but none as nice as that one), because of the treatment he received from everyone there. 

I trailer... that makes me happy... you marina types are a clannish bunch...  

raybo3

Maybe they are "selling" slip size instead of boat size. In other words if a slip can hold a 40' boat but you have a 35' boat your paying for the 40'.

Michael T

Ray, that's exactly what is happening in my area at the marinas. In my c ase I wanted the up-grade! Me and another Rinker 360 got the 40 foot slips because Rinker lists our LOAs at 37' 10". It costs a bit more for me to rent a 40 foot slip BUT those slips are 8 feet wider which is really good if the other captain's docking skills are cr*ppy. That way he's got more room to scr*w-up and not hit me! LOL.... cheaper than gel coat repairs!!!

youstolemybeer

raybo3 said:

The no water part could be a problem. How do you wash your boat????


the slips have a washdown pump that pumps river water, not drinkable but does wash the boat

Michael T

River water is often better for washing a boat than city water as it's softer with a lot less mineral content ant no chlorine. 

youstolemybeer

Michael T said:

River water is often better for washing a boat than city water as it's softer with a lot less mineral content ant no chlorine. 

Funny you say that, thats the same lie I tell myself everytime i wash the boat.

Dream_Inn

hmmmm....not sure how well it would taste making my ice cubes.   or to shower in either.  LOL.  In other words, it'd be a pain to have to go to a fuel dock to put water in the boat.  I run water thru mine every weekend.  But, I do understand the simplicity and less cost.  I was in a very simple slip and marina with my first boat, a 24'.  It worked very well for us.  My current marina is far from anything fancy either, but it works for what we need & want.

Stodge

Couple years ago I moved from one side of the canal to the other side of the canal.  So I was parking on a different street but my boat was on the same fairway.  My well rental went down $500/year by making that move.  The reason was that I was moving further from the bath house and party store.  

sixpacksummer

At our marina you would not have been able to sublet a slip as the contract we sign prohibits that. We pay by the length of the boat, not size of the slip but most slips are the same size 20 x 60. We pay $5.10 per foot per month on a 12 month lease. Water and 50 amp at the slip.

raybo3

Wow sixpack that is a little less than $2100 per year for a 34' boat. That is cheap for 12 months.......

rasbury

I love not dealing with a marina for many reasons- I thought when I first got our boat, we would find new friends at the mariana- I never see anyone come out of their boats! In the morning they might be sitting out a bit, but, by 7, everyone is in bed! I love being on a trailer and being able to go where ever I want. Keep in mind I'm in Fl and not locked into the only lake in the area no matter how nice or the reservoir- beats nothing I understand but the trailer gives me a lot of freedom to see different places which we enjoy....planning a trip to St. Augustine out of Daytona next....and I want to hit SE Fl as well as get back over to the west coast. I need the lottery numbers bad!

212rowboat

if I lived in south florida, there is no way i could resist a jaunt across the straight at least once...  

Handymans342

Gas jumped 32 cents wholesale overnight. Just sayin

rasbury

I for sure want to try to make it to Bimini,not sure about cuba

rasbury

There are just tons of places without going out of the country!

Michael T

Cuba is beautiful, you'd love it. been there b15 times over the years.

sixpacksummer

Raybo, just a handful of boats like that in our marina. Most are houseboats 40' to 80' so the total slip fee is a little higher but the per foot remains the same. I have a houseboat in my slip, my Rinker 212 is kept in inside storage year round and trailered 2 miles to the lake.

youstolemybeer

Dream_Inn said:

hmmmm....not sure how well it would taste making my ice cubes.   or to shower in either.  LOL.  In other words, it'd be a pain to have to go to a fuel dock to put water in the boat.  I run water thru mine every weekend.  But, I do understand the simplicity and less cost.  I was in a very simple slip and marina with my first boat, a 24'.  It worked very well for us.  My current marina is far from anything fancy either, but it works for what we need & want.

 Actually its not that bad to get water. Most of the gas docks have fresh water  so whenever we are going to be out for the night we just fill both water and gas. 
As for trailering, around here the best way to get pulled over by the police is to be towing a boat at 1030pm on a saturday night.  I dont miss the trailer. yes Im locked in where I boat but there is 40 miles of river we can explore so its no big deal. BUTTTT when I want to work on the boat it is a 1/2 hour away and there are no parts stores remotely close to the marina

Dream_Inn

I think we all found our own little gold mine just because we know how to really enjoy our boat.  I've had the boat on trailer deal, had the boat in wet slip (still a trailer to pull if wanted), and then the boat on lift.  Each definitely had their pros/cons & I'm sure we all agree we know what works best for ourselves. 

Me, I love being able to go down to boat anytime (yes, even in winter) and drop the boat in the water in less than 2 minutes, have a stocked fridge with cold drinks and food, all ready to go.  & for me, with the boat on the lift, no worries about high tides or winds or lines or bottom paint or corrosion.  I really love the marina and have 6 other boats on my dock that are very close friends.  I have all their phone numbers, we even 'raft-up' one time each month thru the winter at someone's house.  & most importantly, we check on each other's boats every time we are there.  As far as location, I feel privileged to be in the upper central part of one of the best boating places in the world.  I only wish I had the blue water of the Caribbean.  

06Rinker270

Being at the marina is a huge part of the experience for us.  Grilling, parties, working on the boat, hanging in the cockpit, customizing your slip(shower, fan, lights, fenders, dockbox), music going, cold drinks, admiral laying out, cigar...thats a piece of heaven right there for me.  Over the past three years we have made friends and enjoy going to the sand bar during the evening.  I personally have been on a lift, wet slip and covered wet slip.  With the 270, a covered wet slip is our favorite.  On top of it being substantially cooler under the cover, the protection from rain is a huge advantage.  Spent many nights during large rain storms out of the galley having fun.  If I had a larger boat that had a larger galley, I might change.  Also with a colored hull, the shade definitely helps.     

Stodge

If the mortgage gods smile on us we'll be moving out of our marina and docking in the back yard.  We rarely stayed in the marina.  Normally we'd get to the boat Friday night, sleep on her, then head out Saturday morning and come back Sunday night.  So I'll be doing all the things you listed 270, just in the back yard.

Handymans342

Just like me

06Rinker270

ah, back yard docking...that is my next step.  Do I want that as my permanent residence or just a weekend house?  Im thinking if boat is in back yard all the time it wont be used as much.  I like the weekend getaway from the city.  I want to keep increasing the size of our boat until I can do some serious cruises, might need a large back yard dock...

sixpacksummer

I think most marinas are all about your neighbors and friends. You can be in the nicest of marinas but if you don't care for the people I think you will be dissatisfied. We have been in the same marina and slip for over 15 years and it all about the people we have met over the years. Not the nicest of marinas but would not think of going anywhere else.