Cost of marina

ghostlymoron

ghostlymoron

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I'm about to book my summer marina berth. The cost will be half the value of my boat but I consider it worthwhile for convenience, all tide access and avoiding launching down a slipway and mast raising. (The latter two used to be easy but have become hard).
Seems a bit unfair for small boat owners - I bet bigger boat owners would think twice about paying £50k a year.
 
ghostlymoron said:
I'm about to book my summer marina berth. The cost will be half the value of my boat but I consider it worthwhile for convenience, all tide access and avoiding launching down a slipway and mast raising. (The latter two used to be easy but have become hard).
Seems a bit unfair for small boat owners - I bet bigger boat owners would think twice about paying £50k a year.
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It is I think the biggest barrier to more, younger people entering the activity and the reason why small cheap boats are virtually valueless.

Of course from the marina / harbour authority's perspective, the cost to them is directly linked to the amount of space you occupy. It's similar to garages in posh bits of London going for £50k - £100k. Makes no difference if a 1982 Mini Metro worth £50 lives in there or the rarest supercar on earth.
 
johnalison said:
When I run a marina the fees will be in relation to the insured value of the boat. (Double for cats of course).
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Which will be wonderful for all the £200 collapsing wrecks who can presumably stay there for 20p a year, but it won't be much of a business for you :)

Pete
 
jac said:
It is I think the biggest barrier to more, younger people entering the activity and the reason why small cheap boats are virtually valueless.

Of course from the marina / harbour authority's perspective, the cost to them is directly linked to the amount of space you occupy. It's similar to garages in posh bits of London going for £50k - £100k. Makes no difference if a 1982 Mini Metro worth £50 lives in there or the rarest supercar on earth.
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im 35 do i qualify as young? Marinas are expensive, it was my biggest challenge when buying a boat, i ended up on a river mooring, i'd love a marina berth but the cost is the barrier.

but i love sailing so much so i drive a crap car instead, when i see a 100k+ range-rover parked up i just see potential boats i could have for the same money (my boats more like a VW btw if only i had 100k to flit away on a boat :cool: )


johnalison said:
When I run a marina the fees will be in relation to the insured value of the boat. (Double for cats of course).
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can i reserve a space please :)
 
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My marina fees are more or less the value of my boat, but annually of course.

With more and more cheap boats and expensive marinas I'm sure this is not at all unusual.

Still worth it though...just.
 
Why on earth does anyone think the fee be relative to the value of the boat (other than in an utopian make-believe world, but then in that world boats and berths would be free anyway)? An N metre hole in the water next to a pontoon costs the same to provide/administer/maintain regardless of the value of the vessel occupying it (or not occupying it). A business has to have some business sense.
 
MikeBz said:
A business has to have some business sense.
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Isn't the core of business sense charging as much as the customer can pay? And in general, won't a customer with a £250k boat be able to pay more than a customer with a £25k boat?

I once got a buckshee extra night in a west of Scotland marina because, the manager said "Your boat is much nicer to look at than all these horrible modern white things".
 
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For smaller secondhand boats it's better to think of them like printers - virtually free to buy so the cost is based on consumables.

But marina fees would drop like a stone if there was a simple and cheap way to scrap a boat - either by the marina or owner. There would be a lot of berths free.
 
RupertW said:
For smaller secondhand boats it's better to think of them like printers - virtually free to buy so the cost is based on consumables.

But marina fees would drop like a stone if there was a simple and cheap way to scrap a boat - either by the marina or owner. There would be a lot of berths free.
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That is all so very true.
 
RupertW said:
For smaller secondhand boats it's better to think of them like printers - virtually free to buy so the cost is based on consumables.

But marina fees would drop like a stone if there was a simple and cheap way to scrap a boat - either by the marina or owner. There would be a lot of berths free.
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I am not so sure. If people could get rid of the old boat easier then they would probably trade up more willingly & those higher up the chain would do the same. I suspect that there would be more boats sold as a result. Then there would be more sailors & more people wanting berths.
I believe that being stuck with a boat they cannot easily recycle, scrap or dump is what is putting people off at the lower end from moving up. Instead they let their boat rot & they give up sailing
 
prv said:
Which will be wonderful for all the £200 collapsing wrecks who can presumably stay there for 20p a year, but it won't be much of a business for you :)

Pete
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Ah, but it's my marina, so I can choose whichever boats I wish. I don't think that there are any discrimination laws about yachts yet. The marina will be full of well-kept boats with real character, and the sight will be so appealing that my associated restaurant and shop will make a bomb as people come to gaze upon the joyous sight, with hardly a white slab-sided monster in view, or maybe tucked away behind some trees. Of course, it may not happen.
 
johnalison said:
Ah, but it's my marina, so I can choose whichever boats I wish. I don't think that there are any discrimination laws about yachts yet. The marina will be full of well-kept boats with real character, and the sight will be so appealing that my associated restaurant and shop will make a bomb as people come to gaze upon the joyous sight, with hardly a white slab-sided monster in view, or maybe tucked away behind some trees. Of course, it may not happen.
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Sign me up! What a wonderful vision
 
I once used to moor in Pwllheli - and before the marina.
I'm glad I left for Greek waters where I pay marina dues for about 1/150 of days sailed. Even harbour dues are unneccesary.

However if you object to the price, how about Aberystwyth, or a mooring in the Dyfi river or Fishguard or even Port Dinorwic.
Why are people obsessed with marinas - which usually cost more than the boat is worth.
 
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