Moorings v Marinas

[ChrisH1]

Hi
I'm thinking of moving from sail to power in the South West and am on the lookout for a Fairline Corniche 31 to go in and out of the estuaries/bays etc. I don't want to fork out to be based in a marina (or spend after work evening surrounded by boats) and a swinging/trot mooring would seem a much better option but from what I can see there are no motor cruisers on the swinging & trot moorings and they all seem to be in marinas. Is there a reason I'm missing?
Thanks

 

[BruceK]

No, not really. Motorboat owners are generally the soft sappish kind wedded to creature comforts such as running water and shore power. The ability to walk up to and on to their boat and generally never ever move it unless going to another marina to do the same. Curious breed, the majority will live in large properties so I imagine they come to the ghettoes to live cheek by jowl to nurse some need to bond with their fellow man. No other rational explanation for it I'm afraid. Personally I applaud your decision to go onto a mooring. Two things though. Try for moored pontoon. Otherwise think about fitting a samson post because your cleats will be designed for the soft environment of the ghetto, and may not be up to the stresses of a mooring.

Fellow river pirate right here

 

[Elessar]

Hi
I'm thinking of moving from sail to power in the South West and am on the lookout for a Fairline Corniche 31 to go in and out of the estuaries/bays etc. I don't want to fork out to be based in a marina (or spend after work evening surrounded by boats) and a swinging/trot mooring would seem a much better option but from what I can see there are no motor cruisers on the swinging & trot moorings and they all seem to be in marinas. Is there a reason I'm missing?
Thanks

I kept my second boat on a mooring for a while. Lack of water and power for cleaning, and the inability to just nip to the boat. Depends how long your dinghy ride is of course but any dinghy ride every time you go to your boat is a chore. It’s fun on holiday but a chore every time. And I’d always remember something on the boat when I got back to the shore.
We all have to prioritise our funds. Whilst I can afford a marina I’ll stay in one. I’d go to a mooring long before giving up the boat.

 

[BruceK]

We have a water taxi. £1 for 4 per trip. They are always nice to have. And it's not about marina fees although that is another curiosity that people will pay so much for a parking lot. Honestly, our marinas are gated. I can move our anytime except 1 hour each side of low water. The marinas are at very best 3 hours each side of high. When the tide does not play ball that can ruin your weekend. Plus the views from the marina are down to six foot unless you look up. From a mooring your views are million dollar nearly everytime

River Life. I'm proud to be a river rat.

 

[Portofino]

Insurance issues might influence some decisions too .
You never really worry or should in a marina about flat batteries due to the charger(s) being on .So you know there’s a higher probability to certainty it’s gonna be turn key ,They tend to have more consumer appliances like TV s coffee machines etc .
Also the female users extra appliances like hair dryers , tongues and other paraphernalia like phone chargers need shore power .Then consider heating in the winter , in the U.K. at the edges of the season .Plug n play in a marina .

The mobo ethos tends to be water hungry, plenty of hot water ( the immersion ) = showers , dishwasher etc and with a newer significant purchase you developed a stronger pride of ownership thing and tend to wash it more and cosmetically tend to keep it in better condition than some 1971 long keel Nicholson that’s seen better days having spent all its life on a trot or on the hard at the back of a dust yard .

Mobos are tend to be multiples of hundreds of thousands not tens of thousands so it’s obvious a guy with a £450 K boat is gonna have a different mind set with his new 40 ftr mobo than a guy with a 70 s blistering, soggy cored deck , pump toilet , shagged out sails yacht with primitive solar power worth less than 10 % .
Theses are the reasons you are seeking .

Of course like everything in life there are anomalies as Bruce has kindly illustrated.

 

[BruceK]

Ah, that's the type that wears his possessions like jewellery. They are the funniest of the lot. In that diatribe 2 facts were true, the rest bollox.

 

[DavidJ]

Done both in the past In the UK
Swinging mooring choice was driven by affordability in the early days of boating.
The disadvantage for me was you are either setting off in the mud or returning in the mud.
The boat deteriorated noticeably due to the inability to hose down.
Massive marine growth compared with a marina.
Advantage was super cheap and beautiful location in Waldringfield, Suffolk on the Deben.
It got me into boating

 

[chillee]

We have a water taxi. £1 for 4 per trip. They are always nice to have. And it's not about marina fees although that is another curiosity that people will pay so much for a parking lot. Honestly, our marinas are gated. I can move our anytime except 1 hour each side of low water. The marinas are at very best 3 hours each side of high. When the tide does not play ball that can ruin your weekend. Plus the views from the marina are down to six foot unless you look up. From a mooring your views are million dollar nearly everytime

View attachment 112464

View attachment 112465


River Life. I'm proud to be a river rat.

That is a truly impressive view Bruce.

 

[Momac]

Not having a fresh water supply would be a non starter as far as the chief officer is concerned, unless perhaps the fresh water is available a short journey from the mooring. The absence of shore power a further inconvenience .

Being in the marina and meeting up with friends is part of the pleasure of boating but obviously that doesn't suit everyone.

 

[doug748]

I have recently moved into a marina after calculating that I am highly likely to snuff it with money in the bank and the onset of a bad back. Swinging moorings are a young man's game - or at least a pretty fit one.

If you have a big crew, tenders are a pain, some people are not good in them. If you have a large, nice tender and engine, where do you securely keep them and how do you get the rig in and out of the water? You could keep it in a marina and then you effectively have two boats to antifoul and two moorings to pay for
If you are singlehanded it is much easier but even then, I often had a tender on the boat and another one I kept for the mooring. All dinghies kept swinging on a mooring attract a lot of guano, as do bigger boats at times.
Safe, secure car parking can be another issue.

.

 

[chillee]

I would say though, that there are marinas and there are marinas. Not all marinas come with the fancy showers and heated floors. There are some much more basic, and therefore significantly cheaper.
This was my go to mooring prior to drystacking. I didn't need all of the fancy toilets and showers. Just a secure, walk ashore mooring, that had power and water (for cleaning).

 

[PlanB]

I agree with the pro-marina sentiments expressed above, and would also mention that on a mooring you get a lot more motion than you do attached to a pontoon - motor boat keels are shallower than yachts so stability can be a factor when not under way.

 

[Portofino]

Op is asking a specific question -Quote -
“I can see there are no motor cruisers on the swinging & trot moorings and they all seem to be in marinas. Is there a reason I'm missing?”

Not asking for personal preferences.

Just to be clear while it’s nice to know , he’s not asking .

 

[LBRodders]

I have recently moved into a marina after calculating that I am highly likely to snuff it with money in the bank and the onset of a bad back. Swinging moorings are a young man's game - or at least a pretty fit one.

If you have a big crew, tenders are a pain, some people are not good in them. If you have a large, nice tender and engine, where do you securely keep them and how do you get the rig in and out of the water? You could keep it in a marina and then you effectively have two boats to antifoul and two moorings to pay for
If you are singlehanded it is much easier but even then, I often had a tender on the boat and another one I kept for the mooring. All dinghies kept swinging on a mooring attract a lot of guano, as do bigger boats at times.
Safe, secure car parking can be another issue.

Can't really add much to this.

It's fantastic being out on a buoy. You get the feeling like you are at anchor without having to move. However, it's not an easy job - particularly with the family and dog in tow.
So horses for courses.

We have done 2 years on a buoy and have enjoyed every minute. However, time for something different this year. Hopefully we will hop around the Welsh coast, and may even make our way southwards. Will see how work and the weather helps us!

 

[BruceK]

Op is asking a specific question -Quote -
“I can see there are no motor cruisers on the swinging & trot moorings and they all seem to be in marinas. Is there a reason I'm missing?”

Not asking for personal preferences.

Just to be clear while it’s nice to know , he’s not asking .

I think I covered that in my first response. The rest was a rebuttal of the virtues of marina's. Some good comments made and some were near indictment. The downside to a river mooring has been given. And it's not electricity. A lack of systems due to a lack of electricity is a failing of the boat not a absence of a service. It's water. My water filling point is only 200 yards off but it's tidal. Drinking water is not so much an issue the boat carries enough for a family of 4 to use it freely for 5 days including fresh water toilet. What is problematic is keeping the boat clean. Yes river moorings attract guano. I have a salt water high pressure deck pump but salt glazing is always an issue and the boat albeit clean never has that shine so beloved by marina queens.

 

[Hooligan]

Just out of curiosity, what do you do with keeping batteries charged or topped up when on a swing mooring ? I assume in Summer when on the boat a lot all easy as being used, but in times when boat not being used greatly do people disconnect the batteries?

 

[BruceK]

Just out of curiosity, what do you do with keeping batteries charged or topped up when on a swing mooring ? I assume in Summer when on the boat a lot all easy as being used, but in times when boat not being used greatly do people disconnect the batteries?

2mm semiflexible solar panels. I have 10 amps all day in summer and 2.5 amps all winter. There is space to quadruple that and the nice thing about the panels is you can walk on them etc and their micro lenses act like anti-slip.

You can see the main panel on the foredeck here

 

[chillee]

I think I covered that in my first response. The rest was a rebuttal of the virtues of marina's. Some good comments made and some were near indictment. The downside to a river mooring has been given. And it's not electricity. A lack of systems due to a lack of electricity is a failing of the boat not a absence of a service. It's water. My water filling point is only 200 yards off but it's tidal. Drinking water is not so much an issue the boat carries enough for a family of 4 to use it freely for 5 days including fresh water toilet. What is problematic is keeping the boat clean. Yes river moorings attract guano. I have a salt water high pressure deck pump but salt glazing is always an issue and the boat albeit clean never has that shine so beloved by marina queens.

out of interest, as you have so much fresh water onboard, did you try using a product like salt away. I use this when coming back to dock. Only takes a a good misting over the boat and dissolves the salt left behind from spray etc.

 

[BruceK]

and may even make our way southwards. Will see how work and the weather helps us!

You travel some atrocious distances to get to Wales. Having to cut weekend trips short must be a killer. I could never manage what you do. I moved to Wales to be 5 minutes from the boat. I think travelling more than 1 hour with young kids in tow would put me off boating. Much respect there!

 

[chillee]

Op is asking a specific question -Quote -
“I can see there are no motor cruisers on the swinging & trot moorings and they all seem to be in marinas. Is there a reason I'm missing?”

Not asking for personal preferences.

Just to be clear while it’s nice to know , he’s not asking .

Hmm. I've not entertained a swinging mooring. Mainly I think because of convenience, having come from trailering, the reason I moved to a marina was to have quick and no-phaffing access to the boat. If I am honest with myself, I was probably a bit scared to leave it on a swinging mooring too. I could imagine myself laying awake worried about it every time there were strong winds. Stupid I know, but I would have.
My usage went up significantly once I had her in a marina vs on a trailer. That said, I never sat on the boat in the marina, always went out, and usually would find an anchorage . Like Bruce, I don't want to be squeezed into a marina when I am out, and certainly have no interest of being rafted up in one either.