Best south coast harbour

[ashtead]

Having lived when young on island if you can put up with ferry then a pontoon mid channel at the Folly has advantage of being cheap and all states tide access . Alternatively Bembridge (tidal) or east cowes marina plus island habour(lock)
Some questions to consider -do you want marina with shore power wher you stay all year round with showers etc and Wi-fi etc or are you happy with pontoon mid river or will live on a buoy and move in come winter.
If you want marina do you want all states tide entry or will you live with sill or lock?
Will you be bothered about being in a marina with lock and not being able to exit or enter due to queing(port Solent);
Do you want short journey to sea eg from Gosport or are you happy at end of long day to sail down Portsmouth harbour to Wicor marine,up Chi harbour to Birdham or down hamble to deacons? What looks good on lovely summers evening can lose Appeal in darkening winter months;
How many crew will you to transport if on river mooring and how much time will that take?
How far do you want to drive to marina/mooring -Lymington is lovely but car journey slow; Lym has great marinas in yacht haven and berthon and certainly worth a visit for the showers .
We started at Wicormarine in our Bavaria first boat and tried it for a year but then fell for Haslar for convenience.
If you want a marina and don’t mind lock then port Solent house owners sub lease berths more cheaply -look for other posts on forum .
A lot turns on your sailing times (eg weekdays or weekends) and how often you will visit and available times.
There are some moorings rented out by Gosport boatyard which would be cheaper in Gosport. You might look at Beaulieu for a peaceful marina if you don’t mind the drive, in a new boat you might find some marina cramped (Sparkes etc) or facilities tired.
What sort of eating facilities do you want around boat location -plenty at say Gosport or ocean village Soton but others less so;
Do you want stores nearby to stock up on or a marina office to take in your Ocado order;
How important are services on site/nearby ?
Enjoy you Bav and the sail to Solent.

 

[thejonesey]

Foulkes Riverside Boatyard at the top of the Hamble ticks all your boxes. I pay £328 / month for a permanently wet walk ashore mooring, 32', with electricity and water. Parking can get a bit full but there's always somewhere to park.

The liveaboards provide an excellent form of free 24/7 security, but some of them do have too many cars !

I can get under the A27 road bridge between Bursledon and Swanwick on top of a 5m tide, drawing 3.5m air draft with the radar mast pole down. There are two Fairline 52 just infront of me, and they get inand out without too much fuss. Spare pontoon gaps presently.

I think that berth has my name on it Trevor -is is SC35 shaped?!! We are coming back to Foulkes after a brief sojourn upriver. The new owners at Eastlands have hiked up the prices (15%+) and now want payment upfront -they gave me less than a month's notice of the changes... Anthony and Claire have kindly squeezed us in from 1st May. I look forward to coming back but not the grovelling for leaving in the first place!

 

[Groova]

Hi guys

just had an offer accepted in a Bavaria 37 ht and it’s my first boat

it’s currently on the Norfolk broads which s a tad far from where I live.

my plan is to drive the boat to the south coast so I can tour the Solent and also make longer trips in Devon / Cornwall during holidays . I have been looking at various ports and looking for people’s recommendations

gosport, south sea , Chichester, Weymouth , gamble, nods, Falmouth ? Brighton looks too Far East ?
I want it to have free parking , not cost the earth and have access during low tide . It will be a family boat so facilities in the area would be good. As a family we spend a bit of time in the Isle of Wight which we love I have a few quotes back but never experiencing any if the ports , looking for guidance. . Thoughts and experiences of south coast ports please , what would you recommend and why? Also need recommendations for a descent insurer

We bought our boat on the Norfolk Broads and have had it in Ramsgate for 3 years. Trip south from Lowestoft was broken at Shotley but your skipper will know where he's going. I wasn't brave enough to do the outside route so we zigzagged down the coast and came out near Whitstable and then went along the north Kent coast to Ramsgate.

We're about to move our boat to Premier Gosport - more expensive but on the doorstep of the Solent plus Portsmouth is a short hop on the passenger ferry for the teenagers when the weather's not so bright. Ours will be a floating weekend apartment so that was an important consideration.

Don't forget Premier do fuel at cost and 42 nights at their other marinas for no charge. We had decided on Brighton initially but then ruled it out, as someone else has said already, weekend trips are a bit limited.

Good luck.

 

[superheat6k]

I think that berth has my name on it Trevor -is is SC35 shaped?!! We are coming back to Foulkes after a brief sojourn upriver. The new owners at Eastlands have hiked up the prices (15%+) and now want payment upfront -they gave me less than a month's notice of the changes... Anthony and Claire have kindly squeezed us in from 1st May. I look forward to coming back but not the grovelling for leaving in the first place!

Look forward to seeing you back Rob. Where are they putting you ?

 

[thejonesey]

Look forward to seeing you back Rob. Where are they putting you ?

Not sure yet Trevor.. I will speak to Ant next week.

 

[Hurricane]

We also used Mercury on the Hamble when we started our motorboat cruising.
And from there, over a few seasons, we managed to cruise the whole of the English Channel - from Holland to the Isles of Scilly.

Maybe give Curtis Marine Insurance a call - see my post on the Y Insurance thread.
A family run marine insurance broker so he can pick the correct insurance underwriter for you.
He is offering a discount for YBW Forumites.
He might not be competitive but I think it is worth a try.
I've just agreed to his offer of insurance for my Princess 67.

 

[ashtead]

The other way to reduce costs is to book into a cheaper premier marina and used the free nights in Solent at the pricey marinas - I guess Eastbourne for example is cheaper ?