is it always so hard to find a d****d mooring??

millym

millym

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hi
we're newish boat owners bought our boat & were able to keep its swing mooring till next month (sandbanks nr poole) we've just started to try & find another mooring preferably pontoon in/around poole. but we'll need hard standing 1st as a priority as the boat desperately needs a lot of work/anti fouling etc etc.
omg what a mission /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif every time we try it seems we've missed the 'boat'! theyre all full or they can give us hard standing but no mooring or a mooring but no hard standing. ive just spent 2 hrs on the phone this afternoon & have got no where!
what am i doing wrong?? is it always so difficult when your moving from one mooring place to another? or is it just that theres always such a high demand in poole you need to get in early?but when is early? we contacted lots of places last year & semed to hit the same probs.
we actually live in the big smoke (london) but like it down poole way but are starting to think we may have to look somewhere completely different to park our beloved boat.
any advice most welcome
thanks
 
Well you really left it too late to start looking for space ashore when 90% of the harbour boats have been there since November last!

OK. let's start with your two requirements, hard standing and a mooring/berth. These are really quite separate, there is no reason surely that you should not have a mooring from one company and yet lift out at another to do the work?

Secondly, you may have to accept that as everyone else is currently ashore for their winter layup/refit that you delay your own until the first of those already ashore start to re-launch. Lots of boats will be launching before Easter so spaces will become available thereafter.

I don't know who you have asked already about a mooring but try:-

Mitchells 01202 747857
Dorset Lake 674531
Salterns 709971
Cobbs Quay 674299
Rockley Boat Park 665001
Poole Boat Park 680843
Davis's 674349
Stevenson Moorings 675738 www.poolemoorings.co.uk
 
Deacons (Hamble and close to M3/M27) might be able to help. My boat is currently out of the water there. I know of at least 3 boats around me that went back in the water on Monday (7th).
 
At the risk of being thought a pessimist; essentially the answer is yes, at least on the South Coast.
Thats why prices are so high. Waiting lists of several years are common especially in the 26 to 36 feet range.
If you do find a marina berth you will probably find that it is a difficult one to get in or out of, because of its exposed position, or they have just squeezed in too many berths or the the tide rips through it, or it has limited access because of tide, bridge swings or locks. Car parking, bogs and security (as well as all the other boatyard facilities) are also something to think about before you cough up your kings ransom.
All the best berths are taken and are rarely become available.
The suggestion of the East Coast might be worth considering
 
Universal Marina on the Hamble have just installed some new pontoons. Last weekend, they had a sign proclaiming space available.
 
I'm surprised that you are surprised quite frankly! I have had a mooring in the West Country for almost 30 years with the small club to which I belong, and there is always a massive waiting list. In our club for example, it is almost a case of 'dead man's shoes' and I know the situation is exactly the same elsewhere.

You will understand I'm sure, that many clubs and associations prefer their moorings to go to people who live locally and will be active in, and contribute to, the life of the club/association. So hailing from the 'big smoke' is not a helpful attribute!

As others have said, you may have to accept (as indeed hundreds of boat-owners already do) that the marina/mooring company will be different from the one used for laying up. Indeed, this is the case with my own club.

The west country is justifiably popular and any mooring/berth that becomes available is pretty soon snapped up by those with an ear to the 'grapevine', in fact, most lists that I know/knew of, operate in this way. Whether it's deemed 'fair' or not is immaterial, it does apply in very many cases.

I would suggest putting the 'phone down and going down to actually talk to the marinas/clubs in the area you wish to moor in, and start the ball rolling on a more personal level.
 
Take a mooring with no hard standing, in a couple of months the boats will be back in and hard standing available. Worry about next winter in October.
 
What I think you're doing wrong is looking at the South Coast. East Coast is nearer to you, cheaper, plenty of moorings, friendlier - with fantastic sailing. Read 'Magic of the Swatchways' to get a flavour..
 
If you want a mooring on the south coast .... then that is what you should focus on. It's a fine sailing area with more places to go in a weekend than anywhere else in the UK.

It's tough in the first year but you will find a solution. I would have thought a place ashore would be a breeze at this time of the year. There will be loads of boats returning to the water from now onwards? I'm guessing you need somewhere in Poole to save the hassle of moving the boat .... But could then move on once the boat is ready to go?

Speed is going to be of the essence to get a place afloat. By April everyone who is moving will have committed to a new mooring and the spaces will be gone. How about trying a little further East? There are lots of private moorings around Langstone / Chichester. This is a good location for accessing the Solent. Try
www.quaylaneboatyard.co.uk
www.wincormarine.co.uk
Once you have a 2006 solution keep looking for your ideal location. Get your name down wherever you can.

We got a deep water swinging mooring on the River Dart within 8 months (Dispite that outsider feeling). We were very lucky, sometimes you have to rely on a bit of luck!
 
Whereas I can sail to 27 pubs within one days sail...... enough I think.
But where though?
...and for less than the electricity charge in some marinas
 
Could try Chichester Harbour Conservancy, they can normally fit you on a mooring belonging to a yacht that is away cruising, also plenty of yards with space available as yachts return to water about now.
 
[ QUOTE ]
If you want a mooring on the south coast .... then that is what you should focus on. It's a fine sailing area with more places to go in a weekend than anywhere else in the UK.

[/ QUOTE ]Bullshit. South coast is OK if you like sailing in flotillas and passing the coffee back and forth between boats but you cannae beat the west coast of Scotland for "places to go" in a weekend and the marinas are reasonably priced too although I do believe they are charging south coast rates to sassanachs. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I did sail out of Lymington at one time and would not consider sailing on the south coast again.
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"Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity"
 
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