Ardrossan V Fairlie

[dylanwinter]

I am after a place to put the boat this winter - somewhere I can do a week of fettling while sleeping aboard and then sell her

any up to date advice on the relative merits of these two gratefully received

http://www.clydemarina.com/prices.shtml

http://www.fairliequay.co.uk/prices

D

 

[paulrae]

Either would serve your purposes well. I spent a long and weary winter in Ardrossan manually stripping the antifoul off our boat the year we bought her.

Ardrossan handier if you're travelling by train - station right next to the marina. Maybe also marginally better by car. Great staff, decent chandlery and cradles for all boats. Not much fun leaving in a westerly due to the big swell that can build up. Ardrossan not exactly an attractive 'destination', although there's a decent reastuarant right next to the marina.

Fairlie not really a marina, as no alongside berths, but good on the 'hard'. Nice pub and decent chinese less than 10 minutes walk away, but not much else in sleepy hollow. The bright lights of Largs a short taxi ride way (bright due to the light refelecting on the silver hair of the residents).

If you choose either let me know and we can have a day out on my boat from Largs.

 

[Spyro]

How do the prices compare for your boat? I'm not going to work out all lifting, washing, hard standing charges for you...... Cradle hire is free at Ardrossan. No requirement for mast to be taken down. How does that complare with Fairlie? I know at Largs if you don't have your own cradle you have to have the mast taken down (more cost). There are toilets, showers, and washing machines at Ardrossan does Fairlie have that? There are usually hundreds of boats on the hard over winter at Ardrossan, good if you get lonely or need any help, advice, tools etc.

 

[Bodach na mara]

As already stated, Ardrossan is near a rail station BUT not all trains to Ardrossan travel the last 300 metres to the harbour, where the station is near the laying-up area of the marina. Prestwick airport also has a station, but you need to take a train to Kilwinning (about 15 minutes away) and change there to the once-an-hour Ardrossan train for the last 10 minute journey. Ardrossan is a marina however, so you can come in to a berth and get lifted out later when you want.

Fairlie is not a marina, even though they are part of the Holt empire which includes Kip. You book a lift-out and arrive at the jetty, which is not recommended for overnight stays. You get lifted out the day you arrive in practise. Same going in; lift in and go, but as you are intent on selling Harmony, I assume you hope that will be a problem for someone else. I have been in both yards and prefer Fairlie, but that has as much to do with my location as anything else. These days I grit my teeth and pay up at Largs. Oh by the way, for a Centaur you don't need a cradle and at Largs, mast handling is free if you are on a winter ashore package.

Thinking laterally, what about James Watt Marina at Greenock? There are stations within walking distance and a Premier Inn nearby.

 

[dylanwinter]

How do the prices compare for your boat? I'm not going to work out all lifting, washing, hard standing charges for you...... Cradle hire is free at Ardrossan. No requirement for mast to be taken down. How does that complare with Fairlie? I know at Largs if you don't have your own cradle you have to have the mast taken down (more cost). There are toilets, showers, and washing machines at Ardrossan does Fairlie have that? There are usually hundreds of boats on the hard over winter at Ardrossan, good if you get lonely or need any help, advice, tools etc.

sound advice.... thanks

I do like boat yards with lots of interesting vessels in them

which is better would you say?

D

 

[JumbleDuck]

Do you have to be on the mainland?

Port Bannatyne is just a 30 minute ferry ride and then 2 miles by road (buses, taxis, bring your bike, walk) from Wemyss Bay station and the yard is (a) friendly (b) cheap - just over £20/foot for the whole winter (c) relaxed about sleeping aboard and (d) stuffed full of interesting boats, including mine.

 

[Homer Simpson's Lovechild]

I do like boat yards with lots of interesting vessels in them



D

Might be worth a look at the wee boatyard on Cumbrae (Millport ) , Bowling Basin ( up river a bit ) and Clyde River Boatyard for a quirkier location.
Not sure if anyone from Renfrew Boatyard ( private club/ yard) is around this Parish but that's another slightly off piste solution to consider.

 

[Billjratt]

Ardrossan can be absolutely baltic when the wind whistles through the yard in the Winter, take a woolly vest if you choose to go there...

 

[pagoda]

Ardrossan can be absolutely baltic when the wind whistles through the yard in the Winter, take a woolly vest if you choose to go there...

I spent a fair bit of time in the yard, on board over several winters. Quite a few bodies did. There is a large ASDA within 100 yards, and a few restaurants within a modest walk. Trains are easy. The hard is solid tarmac/ concrete- not rubble and puddles like Largs. Yes is can be windy/cold. But anywhere can be windy and cold over the winter. The yard boys are friendly and helpful, the chandlery is not too bad - an offshoot of Largs Chandlers, so they can source stuff they don't have in stock quite easily. There is also a good motor factor's business nearby - for non chandlery prices for numerous useful items. There is also a good sail repair / upholstery outfit nearby.

 

[BlackPig]

I use Clyde boatyard in Clydebank. Loads of workboats, projects, very much a Bodger type yard.

 

[Beamishken]

We had our boat in Fairlie while we re engined & it's far better than largs & the attitude is more relaxed too,reasonable showers & toilets.there is a train station in Fairlie about 5 - 10 walk from the yard
Never worked in Ardrossan but if your selling the boat I think the water & location around Fairlie looks much more inviting which just might help your sale
personnally I'd go for Fairlie.

 

[tyce]

I would imagine the cost of a winter in these marinas would equal a large chunk of the value of the boat. Why not just stick it on ebay for a penny and see what you get.

 

[JumbleDuck]

I would imagine the cost of a winter in these marinas would equal a large chunk of the value of the boat. Why not just stick it on ebay for a penny and see what you get.

A full winter - and Dylan wants less than that - in the yard I suggested would cost about £550. The mainland yards would charge around a thousand. Centaurs may be cheap, but they are not that cheap, and since anyone buying now would have to pay winter storage I doubt that he'd gain much by selling now.

 

[Gordonmc]

I have used both Clyde and Fairlie over the years and both have their advantages... and downsides.
Fairlie's main USP is the covered storage, although there is open hard standing as well.
My experience of the shed was not good. My newly refurbed (canvas) decks were trashed twice, once with part of the roof coming down and the second time when the neighbouring steel work boat had work started on chipping rust.
Condensation was also a problem.
The plus side is its walking distance along a public footpath to the bright lights of Largs Marina or to the Mudhook pub, now rebranded the Village in Fairlie itself.
Clyde is cheap, cradles are part of the package and, like Fairlie, the hard standing is surfaced. Better public transport with the Arran ferry train terminal next door, good bus links - the 585 will take you past Prestwick airport to Ayr or the other way to Greenock - but apart from the Italian restaurant in the marina complex its a bit on the rough side for evening pursuits.
The nearest real ale is 20 minutes walk away.
Pays yer money... take yer chance.

 

[JumbleDuck]

The ideal place would have been McKellar's Slipway in Kilcreggan when Ronnie and Ian McGrouther ran it, but alas it's now just a soulless expanse of hardcore. Anyone know if Ronnie's still around? I know Ian died in 2008.

 

[Steve_N]

Spent the best part of 2 winters living onboard in Ardrossan refitting our boat.

As already said the wind really does whistle through.
I've seen blue 'tarpaulin' covers reduced to tatters in 24 hours.
Once I awoke to see an MG Spring waddling backwards through the boatyard on its keels and rudder. I went out and moored it to a nearby cradle until the yard lads could sort it.

As mentioned the hardstanding is tarmac but you do still get puddles. After a downpour my boat and cradle used to sit in a small lake and you had to wade out to it.
Plus of course tarmac isn't as good as gravel if you're living on board and wanting to let your washing-up water go..

All that said I'd go there again.
Friendly and helpful staff, interesting yard with lots going on, great chandlery.

 

[James_Calvert]

Stayed a week in a "quarter-villa" in Ardrossan a couple of years ago. Some parts still very run-down, particularly near the harbour as previously mentioned, apart from the harbour site itself and there's a modern Asda + petrol station nearby that no-one's yet mentioned, near the Cal Mac terminal.

Had a day trip to Arran whilst we were up there and loved the look of the Clyde as a cruising area.

 

[Pitterpatter]

I had the last boat in Ardrossan for a year. I think it is a good yard, with friendly, helpful staff and decent facilities. Asda close by is handy if you are staying on the boat.

Myself and a friend went to work on the boat one weekend and had a bizarre night out. Starting in the nice italian at the marina, I asked the waitress where was good to go for a pint in Ardrossan. 'Saltcoats' was the answer. Ended up at Charlie's Bar round the corner (I had said driving in 'If we end up there tonight, it's all gone horribly wrong'!). It is the only pub I've ever been into that truly stopped when we walked in. Once things returned to normal, it turned into one of the funniest nights of my life, with great craic. Also the only time in my life I've walked into a strange pub at 10pm to immediately get a lock in and still be there at 2am! The following morning, speaking to the chap working on the boat next door, we said we had been at Charlie's.He said 'You're brave! I've lived in Ardrossan for 20 years and I've never been out for a pint here!'

But Ardrossan would get my vote again.

PP

 

[Morven]

Troon might fit your requirements. They do a package deal for the winter months iirc. On the Glasgow to Ayr railway line so it cuts out the one train per hour dead end that is the Largs / Ardrossan line. About ten mins from Prestwick airport. Used to be a very nice friendly real ale pub and the Ayrshire real ale festival is held in the town. Tons of nice restaurants as well.

 

[dylanwinter]

thanks for this chaps - undercover is not needed, nor a cradle, nor even the tarmac. When I get some bandwidth I will have a look a the others suggested above. It has to be on the mainland I think to catch as many potential buyers.

I will start contacting the yards once I get down to the Clyde. Currently still in Dunstaffanage - wind still howling from the south so we are heading for our third night here