Becoming demoralised...

Once you get your mind around being on the South Island I doubt you can get much cheaper moorings than a pontoon between the trots on the medina -you might have the pain of Red funnel prices and delays but a red jet and a taxi are going to be a lot less than Poole prices I suspect .
 
Tranona said:
Don't recall ever seeing a 44' MOBO permanently on a swinging mooring in Poole harbour, although RMYC have some moorings that could take one. Very exposed though. Problem with Poole is that 3 out of the 6 best marinas are owned by clubs and 2 of those are essentially sail only. Cobbs Quay is the most popular with MOBOs but not the best for access because of the bridge and Salterns is I think the most expensive in the country.

As the OP has found out there is a shortage of 12m+ berths everywhere around the Solent. All very well to talk about cheaper berths elsewhere - but they are cheaper for a reason mainly to do with demand.
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There used to be a few 40'+ motor boats by us in the Wych Channel towards the old chain ferry/oyster barge. Definitely more the exception though, with mostly sailing yachts there.
 
volvopaul said:
The upper Hamble is your answer , 3 yards that accommodate the likes of me and you that don't want to pay corporate prices to moor a boat .
Cabin
Foulkes and son
Eastlands Boatyard
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When I bought my Hardy Navigator a few years back it was in Cabin Boatyard and I kept it there for few months before moving it up to London. Really liked the Cabin, Teresa and her husband had a lovely setup there, fairly small but has everything you need and all very nicely maintained. I drove out of London several times to use the boat for a weekend and had lovely peaceful nights onboard. Only minor downside to all those options is the ~30 min journey down and then back up the river every time, but that's not unpleasant.
 
Ian h said:
that's just for a months stay, 6 months is cheaper or the 12 even cheaper per month. shorter. stays are always going to work out more
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So that is close to £12k per year, after tax money.

I wonder how much per hour of fun that is for most boats. I don't think here is representative of the use most boats get.
 
Bembridge is quite tidal -having had a Family Centaur there back in the 1970s you got used to it but after a year or so moved to the delights of the Folly inn and the Medina under the auspices of the Newport harbourmaster Alan I recall.
 
ashtead said:
Bembridge is quite tidal -having had a Family Centaur there back in the 1970s you got used to it but after a year or so moved to the delights of the Folly inn and the Medina under the auspices of the Newport harbourmaster Alan I recall.
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And whilst Bembridge is a good place, its crap for ferry access. Wooton, Cowes or Yarmouth are the only sensible Island options. And yes, Yarmouth is possible. I won’t vouch for it being the cheapest, but anyone can get a 6 month mooring there. Followed by another.
 
paulbrown22 said:
When I bought my Hardy Navigator a few years back it was in Cabin Boatyard and I kept it there for few months before moving it up to London. Really liked the Cabin, Teresa and her husband had a lovely setup there, fairly small but has everything you need and all very nicely maintained. I drove out of London several times to use the boat for a weekend and had lovely peaceful nights onboard. Only minor downside to all those options is the ~30 min journey down and then back up the river every time, but that's not unpleasant.
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I have a similar set up in N. Ireland. My berth costs £700 a year for 10M but have a 2hr trip to sea that incorporates a lock gate and low tidal bridge. These south coast prices are making my eyes pop out... Wouldn't be possible on my lowly teachers salary!
 
ylop said:
You do and it might not be as big a convenience as people think! We used to be in a marina and I thought that way. But I don’t miss faffing with fenders and lines to make sure the boat was ok to leave, nor having to disconnect shore power, prepare lines to slip, take the springs off, etc before we can actually jump on board and head off! On the mooring - untie one knot, lift chain off cleat and go. Opposite on return. Car handbrake to actually sailing is probably the same time,
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An astonishingly impressive display of faffing! :D

Fit permanent mooring warps to the pontoon (a bow, a stern and a spring line), fit permanent fenders to the pontoon (obviously have mooring lines and fenders stored aboard for mooring elsewhere), and don't plug your shore power in if it's such a 'faff' (you don't have in on your swing mooring so you can obviously manage without it).

Lift three mooring warp eyes off three cleats and go. Opposite on return.

Car handbrake to actually sailing VASTLY quicker and easier than faffing with launching a tender, dragging the outboard down to it, loading it up with gear, puttering out, tying it on, hoisting your gear and yourselves aboard, wondering how you're going to clean the seagull poo off or deal with the flat battery without shore power, oh dear, forgotten the milk, back in the dinghy again... etc etc.

And yes, I've done both. Swinging moorings have their place - mostly cost plus quite nice to be on once you're actually there, but hugely more faffing about. :)
 
ari said:
…….
Lift three mooring warp eyes off three cleats and go. Opposite on return.
……
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You are obviously an optimist if only have three mooring ropes when leaving a boat unattended. We have 7 when leaving the boat, including doubled up ropes for bow, stern and spring - bow ropes, which take the brunt of SW storms, are to separate cleats on pontoon and boat.

Been through at least ten F10+ storms over the years, a few F11. One 16mm mooring rope was found cut right through where it found (or created) a sharp edge on the pontoon.

But the general point is good. Creating tailored ropes which are mostly just us looped and left on the pontoon saves a lot of phaff. Ability to simply loop in fenders also helps for a short sail.
Doesn’t solve the pontoon prices though!
 
dunedin said:
Creating tailored ropes which are mostly just us looped and left on the pontoon saves a lot of phaff.
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As a boat that often visits marinas this practice actually causes all sorts of issues that the bertholder never sees. Quite often last year we were directed to a pontoon where the cleats were unusable due to quantity of rope already in place. They often fall (or are kicked) into the water, potentially fouling props, and are very often piled up on pontoons making a tripping hazard.
I used to have permanent lines but we took them with us and connected the shore end when we returned, not the boat end. Now we have no home berth so just have a bunch of ropes :)
 
The flexible poles which allows the permanent lines to be picked up by the permanent berth holder are another unwelcome obstacle if visiting, for this reason my club marina had banned them.

Occasionally I have been allocated berths with substantial wooden steps on them (Sutton Harbour and Lymington) which are also are ‘fun’ to navigate
 
We usually refuse berths with steps, but did accept one in Howth as it was the only berth available and a F9 was imminent :D
 
Lucky Duck said:
The flexible poles which allows the permanent lines to be picked up by the permanent berth holder are another unwelcome obstacle if visiting, for this reason my club marina had banned them.

Occasionally I have been allocated berths with substantial wooden steps on them (Sutton Harbour and Lymington) which are also are ‘fun’ to navigate
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The flexible pole holding the ropes on a home berth is hugely beneficial, almost essential in some winds, for safe single handed arrival. So very odd to ban them.
And neither this nor permanently attached ropes are any problem for home berths which are in use.
Different if away for a lengthy period in summer.
 
Lets not forget the lower insurance rates we get because we are in private, well maintained marines, rather than sloshing around on swing moorings open to the elements being battered by every storm coming our way and being hit by every boat who's captain is having a beer while steering.
 
dunedin said:
The flexible pole holding the ropes on a home berth is hugely beneficial, almost essential in some winds, for safe single handed arrival. So very odd to ban them.
And neither this nor permanently attached ropes are any problem for home berths which are in use.
Different if away for a lengthy period in summer.
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What about if the owner is away for the weekend and the marina allocates his berth to a visitor ?
 
PaulRainbow said:
What about if the owner is away for the weekend and the marina allocates his berth to a visitor ?
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I am using a berth for the winter. The owner left their pole on which is fine by me. A weekend in winter is unlikely to result in a berth being reused.
As I said, in summer when away for longer perhaps remove ropes (though I have borrowed berths with permanent ropes and not worried).
I am in and out from the home berth for short day sails countless more times than the berth is ever reused.
 
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