Boat Yard / park exemplary service?

[Egret]

OP needs to ask his customers what they would like and how much they would be prepared to pay for those services. We have everything from self help clubs with boat storage, bar, cafe, changing rooms and a chance to have a wizz around in a rescue boat at about £350 per year all in - to say £2000 for storage and tractor launch and maybe £5,000+ for the full professional service that RunHardAground describes.

East Coast though have seen several traditional marina yacht club rooms, and more than one big club, close over the past few years presumably as being unviable. Gone are the days that if you weren't on the boat by 10am on Saturday, people wanted to know where you were. Club boats to hire by the day as a group activity seems to be a way of clubs adapting to change to keep going - identifying a cheap to buy boat to promote and encouraging others to buy the same for fun racing - 17 Sonatas at last count, competitive for less than £5,000 - and accommodating paddleboards.

Are the OP's core customers now in this low budget range or are they people who have top of the range new boats of their size, such as in the past when the fleet now old Sonatas were new SB3's and there was a big fleet of fully crewed 3/4 tonners?

 

[Daydream believer]

I am more than satisfied with the facilities at our marina, except that I would like more electricity sockets both on dry land & certainly on the pontoons where the shortage is a real pain.
Nearby water supply
A good clean level base.
Secure storage
Decent bespoke stands for the boats
A clean toilet facility
A food stall - we have a restuaurant as well, with a bar
Car parking near boat when on the hard
A friendly, helpful staff
An annual fee that I can afford
What more do I need. I certainly do not need facilities that cost more money on my fees when I do not want them

 

[RunAgroundHard]

To be honest, I misinterpreted the OPs post and focused on the yard bit, assumed typical marina type facilities, and missed the crucial fact that it is a dinghy park that is being discussed.

I think @Egret and @Daydream believer make good points regarding costs. At the dinghy clubs I have been associated with, low cost was the primary driver to be a member and use the facilities and hence quality of facilities and quantity of services was less important. Hot showers were probably the most important thing after the slipway.

I think if costs were high, my early interest in boating would have stopped as it would likely have been unaffordable.

 

[Cornish Puffin]

Thank you to all that have replied thus far - legitimately really helpful.

The facility here has a lovely wide slipway that's cleaned monthly, pontoon down the full length and more. Space for hand launch tenders and dinghies up to trailer launch 7.5m ribs etc. An independent large café on site, Various water sports clubs facilitated too. Couple of things are lacking, like fresh water for washdowns etc and toilets that aren't associated with the Café or clubs. We have staff around 8am - 6pm in summer, so that's an aspect which could be leveraged - I'm also acutely aware that facilitating easier ways of keeping people afloat is vital to maintain current levels of use.
I'm assure shared ownership and rental are the models of boat ownership that we should provide for.

 

[KevinV]

To be honest, the main thing I value at any facility, whether high rent or low, is that the staff/volunteers are genuinely interested and helpful.
Just an extra hand to haul the dinghy up the ramp when you come in knackered, a friendly word when you've had a rough time, that sort of thing.
The fact that the OP is on here asking suggests that that part of the equation is in order

As for actual facilities - a clean toilet/changing room, fresh water wash down, emptied bins and a safe car/trailer park are top of my list.

 

[Sandy]

I was very impressed with the "crew room" at Arbroath. A room set aside with basic facilities, kettle and microwave if I recall correctly, attached to some decent showers and loos. A table and chairs and a book swap library.

As @KevinV states above a clean toilet and showers are really important.

 

[mattonthesea]

To be honest, the main thing I value at any facility, whether high rent or low, is that the staff/volunteers are genuinely interested and helpful.
Just an extra hand to haul the dinghy up the ramp when you come in knackered, a friendly word when you've had a rough time, that sort of thing.
The fact that the OP is on here asking suggests that that part of the equation is in order

As for actual facilities - a clean toilet/changing room, fresh water wash down, emptied bins and a safe car/trailer park are top of my list.

I second that. Though not a dinghy park but more of an end-of-life boat park I found a dusty, windy, muddy, tidal access, winter storage at one place was lovely despite the toilets/shower. (TBF they were being renovated.) The whole community feel, the help, the 'nothing is a problem' approach, and the chandlers made me wish we had something like it in the west country. It isn't for gleaming boat polishers though.

 

[mikefleetwood]

I'm not quite sure what the OP is asking/saying.
I live in a small cove - there are about 8 registered fishing boats and, at peak, about 20 angling "punts" (mostly 10-14 foot). There is no real control over activities or overall management. The registered boats operate a committee with a winch (capacity about 10t), whilst the anglers operate a motley collection of small winches, either individually or in small "partnerships". I'm pretty sure the fishing committee hold insurance, although there is little in the way of precautions to protect the public from hazards associated with the winch - other than a few "beware of winched and blocks" signs. The anglers' almost certainly have no insurance, and even fewer protections for the public. There are a few of us who have remarked about an "accident waiting to happen", indeed, a few years ago a husband and wife were hauling their punt up the slipway when her hand got trapped in their winch resulting in significant injury to her fingers.
I think that what I'm saying is that it's not simple running this kind of facility. To do it safely (and legally!) takes organisation, staff and significant expenditure.

 

[Mister E]

A tractor for paid launch recovery driven by a competent member of staff.