Becoming demoralised...

[ylop]

An astonishingly impressive display of faffing!

Fit permanent mooring warps to the pontoon (a bow, a stern and a spring line),

Certainly that might save a bit of effort - but (you’ll want two springs and) to tension them properly.

fit permanent fenders to the pontoon

If your marina will allow it, obviously is a chunk of cash and from what I’ve seen (many) people still put out their own fenders if leaving the boat permanently.

(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).

I fitted a solar panel but the OP is intending to have a generator. Generally considered antisocial to run that in a marina.

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

I don’t understand how you’ve got three lines with no tension/adjustment required and no second spring - certainly not how I’d be leaving a boat for a long time. If you want to leave your mooring lines permanently on the pontoon, assuming your marina permit it, then you need to leave the lines neat - not just so it’s safe for others but easy for you to pick up. A big job? No - that’s my point you have several small jobs which do add up.

Car handbrake to actually sailing VASTLY quicker and easier than faffing with launching a tender,

Surely depends on the storage and launch arrangements of your dinghy!

dragging the outboard down to it,

You bought the wrong o/b!

loading it up with gear, puttering out, tying it on, hoisting your gear and yourselves aboard,

Which my point is depending on the location of the mooring and distance down the pontoon, may actually not be the time difference you think - clearly if you are the closest pontoon berth in a tiny marina v a 15 minute dinghy trip then you will be - but if you are 300m pushing a trolley to get to the boat, and 300m to put the trolley back, and then walk back to the boat but your mooring is close to shore and your dinghy storage convenient you might be surprised if you actually time yourself.

wondering how you're going to clean the seagull poo off

Do seagulls not poo in your marina? Do you not have a bucket and a brush?

or deal with the flat battery without shore power,

Any sensible boat would have multiple batteries and the means to deal with that easily. Any sensible skipper would have left it so this was unlikely to happen anyway. If shore power is the answer you aren’t going anywhere quickly.

oh dear, forgotten the milk, back in the dinghy again... etc etc.

I’ve never forgotten the milk, but when in a marina I did have crew who would be, “oh I’m just going to get this from the car”, same when going home “people” seem to be more careful that they have everything when you are leaving the boat on a mooring than when you are just 5 minute walk away.

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.

I’ve done both too (on the same boat) - I expected swing mooring to be a PITA and was pleasantly surprised that it could be slicker than expected.

It’s OK to have different views and experiences but I think it’s important that people understand that just because your are paying a premium for a marina berth it doesn’t mean it will be super convenient.

 

[ylop]

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.

How much do you think you are saving? I don’t recall my insurance changing price from switching marina to swing mooring. I’ve seen enough boats damaged on pontoons in really bad weather to suspect that the insurance cost would be similar. Obviously the “drunk” captain issue might be more of an issue in very busy areas, but I’ve seen boats pranged in marinas too! My insurer gives a few pounds off if there is 24 staff on site, and I think for CCTV. Even if my swing mooring insurance was free it wouldn’t offset the cost difference for a pontoon.

 

[dunedin]

….
If your marina will allow it, obviously is a chunk of cash and from what I’ve seen (many) people still put out their own fenders if leaving the boat permanently.
…….

The fenders screwed onto a pontoon are certainly not sufficient on their own in a severe storm, even in a well sheltered marina, in my experience.
When the boats start seriously moving around in the wind (even with no waves coming in) the pontoon fenders can get detached - either screws pulling through the fender holes or simply pulling out of thin pontoon decking. Regular occurrence in serious storms.
Best with a mix of both fixed and boat fenders.

 

[Elessar]

In the UK I only used 2 fenders in marinas most of the time.
Stern one has a loop and goes over a cleat. A half second job.
Only the forward one needs a knot. Hardly a lot of faff. If you’re putting loads of fenders out - why?