Is it me, or is it a little unreasonable.

[steveeasy]

Your Opinion please
I have a pontoon berth in a marina. not cheap. I have this as its easy for my partner to leave the boat at night. In terms of navigation on to it , its tidal so can be very challenging to get on to . I have had a berth for 4 years. I go off for 2 days sailing, when I return I start me challanging turn in to the berth and another boat is in there. So I manage to tie up on to it. loads of fenders.

Im rather peeved though cos the boat put in there could have gone on any number of empty berths. But for some reason they put it in my way. If id had a message asking when i was reterning then I could have known. It could have caused a collision or damage. also what happens if someone falls while climbing over someone elses boat. I appreciate I dont own my berth or have a claim to it but surely common sense should prevail. I will have to have a conversation but should I really need too.

Steveeasy

 

[Tranona]

I assume you advised the marina how long you expected to be away.

 

[Moodysailor]

My opinion: it's not ideal, but it is the way it is. Almost all marina contracts state they have the right to use your berth when it is vacated - in fact ours even says we should remove any lines if vacating the berth as the marina don't hold any liability for them (meaning if another visitor was to "borrow" our docklines, it's tough luck).

The best practice I have found is to advise them when we expect to be back to ensure our berth is free.

 

[steveeasy]

My opinion: it's not ideal, but it is the way it is. Almost all marina contracts state they have the right to use your berth when it is vacated - in fact ours even says we should remove any lines if vacating the berth as the marina don't hold any liability for them (meaning if another visitor was to "borrow" our docklines, it's tough luck).

The best practice I have found is to advise them when we expect to be back to ensure our berth is free.

Good plan, ill do that in the future.
Steveeasy

 

[LONG_KEELER]

You could also leave a sign saying the classic "Back Today" . Probably in the all time top ten
fibs that yachtsman use.

Or get creative with a sign like "Unexploded Bomb in this Berth ".

 

[Sandy]

Were there no empty berths you could use? One good way of causing utter chaos if everybody moves three berths to port.

I usually drop the marina a quick email stating that I'll be away and that I'll used the owners percentage from renting the berth out to pay 'le electricity' for the next few months; oddly I always have a free berth on return.

 

[Laysula]

As I leave the marina, I call them up on VHF To let them know that I have left and when I intend to be back. It's a simple courtesy which at the same time gives me a radio check.

The bigger picture is that it lets them know that they have an empty berth which can be let out whilst I'm away. If everyone did this there probably wouldn't be the shortage of visitors berths that there are at the moment.

 

[mainsail1]

I always drop into the marina office on arrival at the boat and tell them when I expect to leave and when I expect to be back. Even if I am a day late back I find the berth is ready for me. If I decide to return early I would always call them up a few hours before arriving to warn them. Never had a problem with this routine.

 

[XDC]

I used to be at Haslar and they requested that you advised them how long you were away for.

I'd guesstimate and if I decided to return earlier ... normally weather related ... I simple emailed them and got a thanks plus my berth was free when I returned.

I do have to say that after a while I was not over-impressed telling them as I came back once to find all my preset lines missing, another time my spring lines had been removed and just left on the pontoon where they could be picked up "in error" by the next boat and then another boat started to use my electricity.

I got on well with the office staff (difficult not to) but they would NOT give me the details of who was in my berth when £200 worth of lines went missing.

Data privacy apparently ?

 

[johnalison]

I very much hope that the marina will use my berth when I am away. Only by attracting visitors can my own mooring fees be kept to an affordable level. My marina has a card system on the pontoon for notifying Vacant berths but in practice almost everyone does it by VHF, which doubles as a radio check.

 

[Gary Fox]

XDC, why didn't you call the police to report a crime?

 

[Gary Fox]

I used to be at Haslar ....they would NOT give me the details of who was in my berth when £200 worth of lines went missing.

Data privacy apparently ?

Just report it to old bill, then it's an official crime, Haslar has to give the name.
The marina has CCTV.
I know the marina fairly well.
There is no way I would have let that pass.

 

[XDC]

XDC, why didn't you call the police to report a crime?

1. No way of proving which boat took the lines ... yes they have cctv but EXACTLY trained on the transom of the visiting boat??? Doubt it.
2. Even if only one boat was in my berth they could have claimed they took the lines off and left them just as the other boat did.
3. If so, how do I prove that a passing "pedestrian" didn't pick them up?
4. Private property??

All highly unsatisfactory but a rope is a rope is a rope. Can you really imagine the police combing marinas for a boat carrying blue mooring lines?

 

[Hacker]

Data protection rules don’t apply if a crime has been committed. Report to the Police and get a crime number; the marina then have to release any images.

 

[steveeasy]

I very much hope that the marina will use my berth when I am away. Only by attracting visitors can my own mooring fees be kept to an affordable level. My marina has a card system on the pontoon for notifying Vacant berths but in practice almost everyone does it by VHF, which doubles as a radio check.

Out of interest how does it keep your fees down ?
Steveeasy

 

[stuartwineberg]

All of the above and I also give the marina quick phone call when I'm a couple of hours from home to check that its clear. IIR the system has failed once and I just went onto a free berth. Any subsequent cascade effect is definitely the problem of the marina not me.

 

[Never Grumble]

Can you really imagine the police combing marinas for a boat carrying blue mooring lines?

I cant imagine the Police coming out to look for some old rope.

 

[steveeasy]

Ok there is no VHF and all gone by 5. However ill most certainly allways email or text just to avoid similar again. Just to make my life easy.

Steveeasy

 

[PhillM]

Out of interest how does it keep your fees down ?
Steveeasy

Because they can make additional income. The overall profitability of the berth is important as by letting it out when you go, they are able to keep your fees down.

 

[Concerto]

When I returned after nearly 3 weeks away, on the day I notified I would return, I had a sligfhtly differnt problem.As I entered my berth, I found my lines had been tensioned tight so I could not pick them up. I only found this out as I tried picking the spring line with a boat hook and being singlehanded this was a major problem. A bit of brute force managed to stop the wind catching in the sprayhood. A quick dash back to the cockpit for an extra line to loop over the pontoon cleat and then sort out the lines. To say I was unhappy was compounded when I was told my berth had been used the day before by a boat that had mad a mess entering the lock, so a marina member was sent to assist them into my berth and he passed my lines for them to use. When I went to the office to complain, I was greeted by "We sent an email this morning to say my lines had been altered". I started sailing at 7.30 and they sent the email at 10.30. They failed to mention this when I contacted the lock before entry and again failed when in the lock. When I said I do not receive emails on my phone, I had not seen this message and said this message had no guarantee of being received. Why did they not telephone or send a text, both more reliable to ensure the message was recieved. Later the young man who helped the boat into my berth and the following day was told to tidy up my lines, came to apologise for his error. He explained the day before was his first day working there and he had no experience of boats. He thought tidying the lines meant they should be tight due to no knowledge or training. I accepted his apology and then spent some time explaining how a boat is moored, showed him over my boat and said at sometime in the future I would take him out sailing. The following morning I spoke to the marina manager about the problem to ensure any message must be known to be recieved by the owner, even if done multiple times, and this was going to be made known to all staff. I am expecting a free high pressure washdown when lifted later this month, which the manager said may be possible. Basically no cost to the marina to keep an owner happy.