Are UK marinas too small?

[Nostrodamus]

It seems that the average length of boat is going up. At one time not too long ago a 34ft boat seemed to be about average. This now seems to have gone up and people seem to be buying bigger boats, probably because the larger mass produced boat is cheaper. This may be not fact but it just seems that way.

Are marinas in the UK built around smaller boats and are they now struggling with the influx of bigger boats and decent pontoons to tie them too?

I just wondered about the experiences others were having.

Would some marinas benefit from the med stern too mooring with lazy lines?

 

[Twister_Ken]

Would some marinas benefit from the med stern too mooring with lazy lines?

I suspect that lazy lines would need to be set a great deal further from the quay/pontoon than they are in the Med, if they have to cope with, say, a 4 meter rise of tide.

 

[neil1967]

I can't see how med mooring would work anywhere where there is an appreciable tide - you'd have to constantly be adjusting the length of the lazy line.

 

[Seven Spades]

There is a shortage of marinas in the right place. The North Cornwall coast could be one of our finest cruising grounds but no investment an marinas has been made. It is quite clear that it would be possible to build marinas in several locations either with a sill or lock. I don't understand why the local councils have not tapped into EU money for such projects, the French seem to be able to gain access to funds to undertake these sorts of projects.

 

[Serin]

It seems that the average length of boat is going up. At one time not too long ago a 34ft boat seemed to be about average. This now seems to have gone up and people seem to be buying bigger boats, probably because the larger mass produced boat is cheaper. This may be not fact but it just seems that way.

Are marinas in the UK built around smaller boats and are they now struggling with the influx of bigger boats and decent pontoons to tie them too?

I think this is true of many of the older marinas. They were built at a time when "average" might have been around 26 feet, let alone 34. Our 32 footer was a "big" boat when we first started to sail her. That was on the east coast and maybe south coast marinas accommodated larger boats, but I think some marinas over here are certainly starting to struggle a bit. I suspect Med mooring would need a lot more space between pontoons so I'm not sure the loss of the fingers would be compensated.

 

[dylanwinter]

I live in a world of ever growing giants - and as a traveller I often get charged the same as anything under 12m

D

 

[dunedin]

Or is it that UK people seem fixated by buying bigger boats - just because they Bav/Ben/Jen/Hanse ones are so relatively cheap.

The natural anchorages and harbours aren't getting any bigger or deeper. And moorings are typically not spaced for bigger boats.

To my mind a smaller thing of higher quality can often give more pleasure per pound than supersizing (cf a 3 series BMW vs a large yank tank in cars).
And moderate sized boats fit into interesting locations better

 

[johnalison]

It isn't so much marinas being too small as boats being too big. Here in the Baltic they have a much healthier mix of boat size. As well as some whoppers, there are also many cruisers from 20-30ft where newcomers and young families cut their sailing teeth. In many harbours it can be hard to find a box large enough to take our 3.5' beam. The market in Britain seems distorted, and if nothing else, this affects second hand sales and the natural progression of boat-owners from small to large boats.

 

[Seajet]

There is the point that at places like the Folly I can happily nip to the west side of the pontoons, avoiding the overcrowded east side, same goes for many places.

Emsworth Marina, lovely place that it is, was certainly built with smaller boats in mind.

When one considers the fun and enjoyment of sailing a well designed 22', it beats me why people have huge boats, especially beginners, seems to be a one-upmanship thing; I've had larger boats and thought ' why am I paying to cart all this furniture around on a thing which isn't so responsive and enjoyable to sail ?

Depends if one is in it for the sailing I suppose.

At my club there used to be a lovely wooden yawl, ' Hunters Moon '.

She was by far the biggest boat in the club when founded in 1947 and retained that status for quite a few years; she's 20' long and one look would have any real sailor clamouring to sail her...

 

[Wansworth]

ITS WIMMEN.....what wig showers and hot running water and double berths with ensuite and fridges.....

 

[JumbleDuck]

Perhaps there would be more smaller boats in marinas if berthing charges were lower? Space out the pontoons and fingers more for the big stuff and prices will go up so much that even 35-footers will be driven away, then people will gripe that arinas aren't designed for the 40-footers which are all that use them.

I've only seen one boat smaller than my 26-footer in Ardfern - a Hunter Europa.

 

[Seajet]

It would be truly remarkable to see a Europa in a marina around here !

Northney marina, which I think goes by the metre, would be around £4,000 a year for my 22', 6.7 metre job.

That being said, there are some smaller Ribs and recreational fishing boats in there, dunno if they are on a special deal of some kind or just hooting mad !

 

[Tranona]

Perhaps there would be more smaller boats in marinas if berthing charges were lower? Space out the pontoons and fingers more for the big stuff and prices will go up so much that even 35-footers will be driven away, then people will gripe that arinas aren't designed for the 40-footers which are all that use them.

I've only seen one boat smaller than my 26-footer in Ardfern - a Hunter Europa.

You should make the trip south and se our club marina. 400+ berths and the majority of boats are less than 8m. Maximum normal size 38' for which there are about 60 berths plus 4 for above 40'. Most are, however, very tight because the lanes are too narrow. One of main reasons for downsizing although new boat justs gets into the 33-38 category to keep the same berth.

 

[JumbleDuck]

It would be truly remarkable to see a Europa in a marina around here !

Most marinas up here have "small boat" sections, often next to the shore, for things up to - typically - 6m or so. Normally used for day boats, but a few of the titchier yachts can fit in - Port Bannatyne has a Fantasie 19, a Skipper 17 and a Leisure 17 in that section, for example.

You should make the trip south and se our club marina. 400+ berths and the majority of boats are less than 8m.

Hmm. Interesting. Is that perhaps because your club marina is cheaper than a commercial one and hasn't priced out the small fry? As a matter of interest, what are the smaller boats - do you have a fleet of Sonatas, for example?

 

[Birdseye]

It seems that the average length of boat is going up. At one time not too long ago a 34ft boat seemed to be about average. This now seems to have gone up and people seem to be buying bigger boats, probably because the larger mass produced boat is cheaper. This may be not fact but it just seems that way.

Undoubtedly true. Just as with cars, people go for big and cheap rather than small and good. Hence all the huge 4x4s and all the 45 ft BenJenBavs.

 

[the-drifter]

I am not sure people go for bigger because they are cheap, i think we go for bigger to go further and for longer, it being said i certainly have a lot more restriction, so there is some argument here, but it is about have more space and making the trip comfortable, the only think i dislike on any size of boat is a TV.
so to answer the OP question i don't think UK marina have modernised like they have in europe, becasue they know we will have to use them as Anchorages are limited.

 

[Nostrodamus]

I am not sure people go for bigger because they are cheap, i think we go for bigger to go further and for longer, it being said i certainly have a lot more restriction, so there is some argument here, but it is about have more space and making the trip comfortable, the only think i dislike on any size of boat is a TV.
so to answer the OP question i don't think UK marina have modernised like they have in europe, becasue they know we will have to use them as Anchorages are limited.

The trouble seems to be that the pontoons for bigger boats are limited. You end up tying your boat up Houdini style to a pontoon that is far to small and paying 4 times more than the smaller boat on the pontoon next to you who takes up the same space.

 

[dunedin]

i don't think UK marina have modernised like they have in Europe.

Where are you thinking of re "Europe" in this context? Certainly from our recent experience Atlantic France and Brittany marinas tend to be very much tighter and shorter pontoon than UK South coast or East Ireland.
And at 38 feet we were often one of the bigger boats.
Also, not been there but quite a few reports that Baltic box berths don't fit big/ wide boats

And at risk of more dangerous generalisations, the French seem to be able to make long trips under sail in smallish boats. But if we saw a 45+ foot boat motoring it was generally a dead cert. to be flying a UK ensign

 

[Daydream believer]

I think that apart from length another problem is width
I am told that the latest Hanse 31 ft is 300mm wider than the earlier ones.
In Bradwell marina I was only able to have a berth when one wide enough came available.
Now with even wider boats that must be even more of a problem

Marinas often renew the fingers of pontoons & can make them longer, but dislike all the work involved in making the gaps wider as for one thing it reduces the number of boats. Plus the locating piles make this difficult

 

[Nostrodamus]

I think that apart from length another problem is width
I am told that the latest Hanse 31 ft is 300mm wider than the earlier ones.
In Bradwell marina I was only able to have a berth when one wide enough came available.
Now with even wider boats that must be even more of a problem

Marinas often renew the fingers of pontoons & can make them longer, but dislike all the work involved in making the gaps wider as for one thing it reduces the number of boats. Plus the locating piles make this difficult

It was interesting in Portugal when we moored our mono hull alongside a small cat. He was paying one and a half times yet we were wider than his cat and paying the normal rate.