Edinburgh Marina

[sawduster]

Port Edgar looks good as a shore side user for the restaurants etc but is pretty miserable as a berth holder. The toilet block is a portacabin at the other end of the marina so ~20 min round trip of walking just to get to it. Pontoons boards regularly rotten and only replaced after request, not noticed by staff dock walking. There is mud every where, pontoons regularly sit on the mud at lower tides, can't park the boat stern to because it'll damage the rudder in the mud if windy or rough. <1m depth at lower tides anywhere near the tyre barrier and end of the hammer heads so good luck getting in and out without getting stuck. Constant horrible side motion from the waves entering the marina caused by tides as they interact of the new bridge pillars. Officious office staff and little to no comms through the year except for demanding money.

Unfortunately no other real pontoon options nearby so just have to stick it out.

 

[Thistle]

Officious office staff

That's a criticism I've heard several times over the years but it hasn't been my experience. I've always found all the staff polite and helpful.

 

[awol]

Officious office staff and little to no comms through the year except for demanding money.

Goodness is she still there? I would have thought she would have retired by now!

 

[dgadee]

She was working from home I was told.

 

[NormanS]

That's a criticism I've heard several times over the years but it hasn't been my experience. I've always found all the staff polite and helpful.

I have found that in general, people give you the respect and friendliness, that you show to them. That's not restricted to Port Edgar.

 

[dgadee]

I have found that in general, people give you the respect and friendliness, that you show to them. That's not restricted to Port Edgar.

Yes, true. "In general". Not always.

 

[Mistroma]

Goodness is she still there? I would have thought she would have retired by now!

I was thinking exactly the same thing. We were there from 1986 to around 2004.

I still remember discovering that the crane had been de-rated and couldn't lift 5 tonnes. Staff told me at lift-out when the bell rang and we couldn't be lifted. It still rang, even with emptied tanks, mast, batteries, anchor etc. removed, but only as the tip of the keel touched the water. They did complete the lift but said I wouldn't be able to re-launch.

Office staff said they'd written to all owners with boats over 5T but didn't bother to contact me as my boat was down as 5T and therefore OK. Re-launch was even worse because of office staff's lack of knowledge (even after many years there). I might post some details when I have time.

 

[dunedin]

It is very sad these tales of woe from the Edinburgh marinas, current and (previously) proposed.
I can understand the challenges of funding the investment needed in Port Edgar to upgrade and maintain it, but sad to see its decline.
The Forth estuary is not a particularly welcoming place for a fin keel boat these days, and I certainly wouldn’t want to over winter here (hence my “boat (overwinters in) on the Clyde” forum note).
I did try to drop by the Forth en route back from Sweden a few years back, but couldn’t get confirmation that a visitor berth would be available in spite of repeated asks in the weeks before departure. I finally got a reply saying a berth would be available - as I picked up phone signal approaching Peterhead.

 

[dgadee]

My story was asking her where I could leave 2 lorry batteries. She said I couldn't. I said they are already off the boat. She said she would send men down to put them back on. Of course someone with more sense went off with them.

 

[awol]

I last used PE while Edinburgh Leisure were in charge but I believe it's improved greatly. At least they no longer require owners to arrange their own crane. A new thread of PE eccentricities might be amusing.

 

[sawduster]

In specific reference to Edinburgh Marina I would have liked Port Edgar to have some competition to force them to up their game on the marine side as I have only seen improvements to the non marine facilities at Port Edgar since the ownership changed hands. I admit that places like Scotts and Down the Hatch are very good to have on site but that's not what I pay my marina fees for.

The facilities I use - car park, toilet block, pontoons, yard, dredging - are the same or worse, particularly worse with dredging recently. Perhaps I have missed other marine side improvements and others could highlight these? I suppose the new pontoon for bigger boats on the short pier to the west counts but this doesn't help me or improve my experience as a berth holder.

Staff wise, officious doesn't mean the staff are not also helpful and polite while being officious. I hope that I engage with marina staff evenly but have not had the same standard of experience at PE as I have in multiple marinas on the west coast (not all of which are perfect either but that's another matter).

 

[Mistroma]

I last used PE while Edinburgh Leisure were in charge but I believe it's improved greatly. At least they no longer require owners to arrange their own crane. A new thread of PE eccentricities might be amusing.

I mentioned the crane problem in post #47 when they were no longer able to crane anything close to 5T (same crane, just de-rated). I gave them plenty of notice about my lift-in as it was then a matter of them getting a crane with dates and times rather than the fixed crane. The office gave me a specific time about 4 weeks in advance and I checked the tide. It would be near low water and so I asked if they would still lift near the fixed crane. I had seen a couple of larger boats lifting at the halfway point a year or so earlier. The office lady confirmed that they would indeed lift at the usual place near the fixed crane.

I turned up in plenty of time and the crane was already in place at the halfway point with a queue of owners waiting. The marina guys confirmed that there was no way of using the crane at the end and that was never a possibility. However, the crane had arrive on time and would just sit around until the tide came in. I queue jumped and was actually launched first a few hours later as a Southerly will float on a damp lawn.

I did mention the debacle when I went to the office to pay for the lift before I launched. I was told in no uncertain terms that it was my own fault for agreeing to the time-slot without checking the tide. I pointed out that I had checked the tide and they were to ones who had booked a crane at a time when the tide was out. I was also told that I should have known they never used a mobile crane from the end of the pier. The lady said I shouldn't just have taken their word and checked with the marina guys as the office people had no knowledge of tides or operating procedures launching. I had been dealing with the same office people for about 15 years at that time, obviously slow learners.


Brilliant!!!

 

[crewman]

Sawduster, if you join the sailing club you will get access to the showers and toilets in the new clubhouse. This is nearer and much more pleasant than the marina facilities.

 

[Mistroma]

I last used PE while Edinburgh Leisure were in charge but I believe it's improved greatly. At least they no longer require owners to arrange their own crane. A new thread of PE eccentricities might be amusing.

We moved our boat to PE in 1986 when it could be described as "all tides". It silted up fairly quickly once it was run by Edinburgh Leisure as they only used a tiny maintenance dredger. It was upgraded to a larger maintenance dredger much later and that actually caused major issues (story for a later post).

I believe that the RN had always dredged PE when they were doing Rosyth as it didn't take long. I was told the RN had offered to continue dredging free of charge if they could store their Bosun's at PE and use part of a pontoon as quid pro quo. The brilliant business brains at Edinburgh Council turned the offer down and thought it was better to charge for these dinghies.

I heard that story from a couple of people but it was obviously impossible to have it confirmed.

 

[TLouth7]

In clearing the ground they dumped spoil into the harbour. We may not see a marina in my lifetime.

The stuff they put in the harbour wasn't primarily from flattening the ground, they went all round the Lothians begging for as much spoil as they could get their hands on. The more land they could reclaim from the harbour the more they could sell off as development plots.

I'm mostly glad they haven't built the new mole which would have closed off the entrance terribly. Now we just have to wait and see whether we can have our deep water moorings back in what is left of the western harbour.

 

[Sandy]

It looks like I now have a collector's item. A freebie blue Edinburgh Marina jute shopping bag, perhaps I should put it up in the For Sale sub forum for £399.99 plus carriage.

 

[dgadee]

The stuff they put in the harbour wasn't primarily from flattening the ground, they went all round the Lothians begging for as much spoil as they could get their hands on. The more land they could reclaim from the harbour the more they could sell off as development plots.

I'm mostly glad they haven't built the new mole which would have closed off the entrance terribly. Now we just have to wait and see whether we can have our deep water moorings back in what is left of the western harbour.

It was over the past few months soil was put in the SW corner. They were told to stop I heard.

 

[TLouth7]

It was over the past few months soil was put in the SW corner. They were told to stop I heard.

Their licence ran out at the end of July, I can't remember whether they stopped then or later. I note that the licence was to construct revetments and piling and then back fill rather than to simply dump hardcore into the harbour.

http://edinburgh-marina.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Marine-works-license.pdf

 

[dgadee]

I was told that they moved spoil in lorries from the bit they call "The Middle Boat Yard" over to the SW corner and dumped it where Shute's yacht was mouldering. They were told to stop.

I was away from start of October to middle of November 2022. That was when it happened.

Edit: just read the license. Regulators are meant to regulate but they rarely do. I wonder whether they will in this case.

 

[sawduster]

Perhaps Port Edgar have been thinking about their berth holders after all, despite the disappearance of any competition from Edinburgh Marina.

--

We continue to invest in the marina assets, with a programme of dredging, pontoon upgrades and enhanced berth holder facilities all scheduled over the coming months.

You will also see that we have invested in a new slipway hoist to compliment our original Wise 25T machine.