Clyde marinas

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tyce

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I fancy putting the boat on the clyde for a year to give a change of scenery.
Now the problem is i am a bit of a skinflint and my current mooring set up cosst me £0 a year so its gonna hurt a little having to shell out for a berth.

But i know its gonna cost and for a bit of a change i dont mind, so wheres the best value for money with the best sailing, i sail with my very young family so sheltered and not huge distances is the order of the day.
 
Very worthwhile - I am sure you will enjoy it.

IMHO Largs Marina is the ideal location for access to the best areas of the Clyde within a day sail - and great facilities plus easier access from the south now the M74 extension south of Glasgow has been completed.

So ideal except for one tiny wee detail - it is eye wateringly expensive (not more than Kip etc, but if you are coming from a free mooring previously). Perhaps if just a year it will be worth it to get a feel for the location.

Others will be along shortly to advise on more affordable alternatives (or to claim some other venue is better than Largs ;-)
 
Ardrossan, the whole way, if you want a pontoon. Largs and Kip are better locations, better facilities (although Largs showers a bit poor) and better for the 'weekend cottage' types, Ardrossan is very deep, well protected, and if you can stand the first 30 mins of passage time in the shore break, a good place to base, for less money. Rhu is the worst marina in the UK, although serviced moorings may be cheaper, if thats your thing, and Dunoon is popular, although a 30 min/£20 ferry trip away from civilisation. DRB marine in Gairloch, or Fairlie Quay both do swinging moorings too, DRB probably the cheapest of the bunch. You pays your money and takes your choice. Welcome to Ecosse, please leave some cash behind.

PS, almost forgot Portavadie (opposite West Loch Tarbert), one hour further drive from Dunoon, lots of outdoorsy family stuff to do, west coast proper experience, on the bonnie banks of Loch Fyne, best marina facilities and restaurant/accomodation in Scotland, quite reasonable prices, and hair straighteners in the restrooms, too.

Or the absolute cheapest, join Fairlie Yacht Club (£30 PA), provide and lay your own mooring for 10m water, pay the CE through FYC, (another £30), use avon, dump car in village for free while away, sail.
 
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You could put down a mooring and join a club for a lot less than the cost at the rediculiously expensive Largs and Kip. Try Fairlie YC which is good and has a mooring patch where we kept our boat when on the Clyde. Otherwise you could look at the less expensive but further travelling options of Tarbert, Tighnabruich or Ardrishaig.
 
Troon Yacht Haven

Cheaper than Largs, Kip, and Rhu. Easy travel from south - Prestwick Airport (sleasy jet flights) 10 mins away - 24hr access (all weather unlike Ardrossan)
 
I wouldn't put your yacht south of Little Cumbrae: Troon and Ardrossan fail your criteria "i sail with my very young family so sheltered and not huge distances is the order of the day".

This marina which is on Island of Bute http://www.portbannatynemarina.co.uk would be a good place to base your yacht as it satisfies your criteria. Instant access to the Kyles of Bute. However, you require a ferry to get to the Island, so that may be restrictive.

Largs gives you good coverage for sheltered sailing with not huge distances to all the nice wee bits, easy access to the Kyles of Bute which allows sheltered access to other areas as well.
 
ProMariner said:
Ardrossan, the whole way, if you want a pontoon. Largs and Kip are better locations, better facilities (although Largs showers a bit poor) and better for the 'weekend cottage' types, Ardrossan is very deep, well protected, and if you can stand the first 30 mins of passage time in the shore break, a good place to base, for less money. Rhu is the worst marina in the UK, although serviced moorings may be cheaper, if thats your thing, and Dunoon is popular, although a 30 min/£20 ferry trip away from civilisation. DRB marine in Gairloch, or Fairlie Quay both do swinging moorings too, DRB probably the cheapest of the bunch. You pays your money and takes your choice. Welcome to Ecosse, please leave some cash behind.

PS, almost forgot Portavadie (opposite West Loch Tarbert), one hour further drive from Dunoon, lots of outdoorsy family stuff to do, west coast proper experience, on the bonnie banks of Loch Fyne, best marina facilities and restaurant/accomodation in Scotland, quite reasonable prices, and hair straighteners in the restrooms, too.

Or the absolute cheapest, join Fairlie Yacht Club (£30 PA), provide and lay your own mooring for 10m water, pay the CE through FYC, (another £30), use avon, dump car in village for free while away, sail.
Click to expand...

I would second Ardrossan (Clyde marina) it's considerably cheaper than Largs ( approx £1000 for me ). Facilities are great and staff excellent. Only know of one time during the summer the storm gates have been closed. Very handy for sailing to Arran, it's only 7 or 8 miles to the Cumbraes and shelterd water, closer to the Mull of Kintyre if you fancy a trip out west. There is a train station right at the marina with journey times from Glasgow taking around 45 mins.
 
BlowingOldBoots said:
I wouldn't put your yacht south of Little Cumbrae: Troon and Ardrossan fail your criteria "i sail with my very young family so sheltered and not huge distances is the order of the day".
Click to expand...

I would agree with that, however, a mate from Preston keeps a boat in Ardrossan and seems happy with it.

It's the driving that's the killer for us. The 4½Hrs to Kip/Largs would be doable if I could afford the prices. I can afford Tarbert but the 6½ to 8 hours makes it too far for all but 2 or 3 holidays a year. I would be too nervous leaving a boat on a mooring and being so far away so it would have to be a marina. It takes us 2 hours to get to the A66/M6 junction so you could be that much closer.

How big is your boat? If you are paying someone to move it that could work out quite expensive for a change of scenery for a year. Edit, just found it's 31', and you went to Wales, forget the last bit.
 
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Thankyou everyone lots of helpful info.
Good detective work, the boat is 31 foot and happy to take it up myself under its own power so no nasty delivery costs.
I am guessing Adrossan (clyde) Marina can get a little exposed with limited access is this correct.
I do like the idea of Largs but as stated its eye wateringly expensive but might be worth the extra for one year.
What are others opinions on Troon?
 
Another option is James Watt Dock Marina - a bit further up river. At the moment they are keen to do deals to attract new berth holders. It's not an ideal location, but has good security and very active mid week racing.
 
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"I am guessing Adrossan (clyde) Marina can get a little exposed with limited access is this correct."

Yes, the entrance to Ardrossan is open to the SW, pretty much all the way to Ireland. Leaving there and for the first hour or so heading north, can be pretty unrepresentative of 'Clyde Cruising'!

The town is also not much, except for the Italian Cafe/Ice cream place at the far end of the street that leads to the Marina.
 
Ardrossan

We're at Clyde Marina too and sail with a 5yo child. Getting across the shelf in anything F5 upwards with S through W in it can be a bit bumpy, but it generally improves once you're past Horse Island and heading north, when it's no longer on the nose. We're happy to stay put if it looks like a rough ride. There is a decent play park, a good chinese restaurant and good food at the Laurieston Hotel all on the front at South Beach. There's decent fish and chips and a cracking Indian (though nothing to look at from the outside) on the Glasgow Road. With Asda across from the marina and a train link to the car park, it does take some beating for convenience.
We were at Largs for years and loved it, but when we got the bigger yacht, we couldn't justify the extra cost (£1600 for us) for berthing and lifting/launching.
Hope this helps....Sue
 
damsis44 said:
We're at Clyde Marina too and sail with a 5yo child. Getting across the shelf in anything F5 upwards with S through W in it can be a bit bumpy, but it generally improves once you're past Horse Island and heading north, when it's no longer on the nose. We're happy to stay put if it looks like a rough ride. There is a decent play park, a good chinese restaurant and good food at the Laurieston Hotel all on the front at South Beach. There's decent fish and chips and a cracking Indian (though nothing to look at from the outside) on the Glasgow Road. With Asda across from the marina and a train link to the car park, it does take some beating for convenience.
We were at Largs for years and loved it, but when we got the bigger yacht, we couldn't justify the extra cost (£1600 for us) for berthing and lifting/launching.
Hope this helps....Sue
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Indeed it does help, just the info i am after, always handy to know about playgrounds and other kid related things, our summer cruises seem to be spent hunting out villages with good playgrounds
 
cliff said:
Cheaper than Largs, Kip, and Rhu. Easy travel from south - Prestwick Airport (sleasy jet flights) 10 mins away - 24hr access (all weather unlike Ardrossan)
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If Ardrossan were shut... I would not be remotely thinking of sailing in any case.!
The storm gate is used a few times over the winter..when it does a good job of keeping the marina sheltered.
The station at Prestwick will get you to Kilwinning, where you can
transfer to the train from Glasgow to Ardrossan Harbour, and there walk the last 50yards...A large ASDA within a similar distance, (petrol station also) . And not least, Cechini's restaurant on the quayside.
The hard standing for winter is concrete / tarmac...not the stones,mud & puddles you find at Largs..Decent cradles are part of the deal for winter also.
Port Bannatyne is pretty nice as well, but less easy to get at.

Graeme
 
tyce said:
Thankyou everyone lots of helpful info.
Good detective work, the boat is 31 foot and happy to take it up myself under its own power so no nasty delivery costs.
I am guessing Adrossan (clyde) Marina can get a little exposed with limited access is this correct.
I do like the idea of Largs but as stated its eye wateringly expensive but might be worth the extra for one year.
What are others opinions on Troon?
Click to expand...
I went into Troon in a blow a few years ago & had a hell of a job getting onto berth without demolishing half the other residents. When I went into Ardrossan, the pontoons had a concrete surface that wasn't yachtie friendly.
Stearman65
 
stearman65 said:
I went into Troon in a blow a few years ago & had a hell of a job getting onto berth without demolishing half the other residents. When I went into Ardrossan, the pontoons had a concrete surface that wasn't yachtie friendly.
Stearman65
Click to expand...

Not as friendly on the knees if you fall over after one too many in Cecchini's, but definitely more stable for walking on if it's a bit blowy and less slippery in winter. :)
 
tyce - The M74 has been extended south of Glasgow City Centre. Driving up from the south you more or less have motorway, or dual carriageway, trunk roads all the way to most Clyde Marinas now. The old route via the M8 north of Glasgow was a terrible bottle neck and that has been eliminated. Indeed even getting to Rhu Marina (via the Erskine Bridge) takes an hour less now. The time to get to Weymss Bay for the ferry to Bute (Port Banantyne) has also been drastically cut as a result.
 
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