Moorings

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Windy_Blow

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How do I go about getting a cheap mooring?

OK, I realise that this may be a naive question, but I've worked out more or less what kind of boat I'd like to get (20 - 23 foot, bilge keel). But before looking in more detail on the boat front I'd like to be sure of somewhere to put it. I've tried the RYA website which allows searches for 'clubs', but not 'moorings'. Do I have to join a club to get a mooring? I'd rather not as it seems to be unnecessarily bureaucratic and expensive (joining fee, membership fee, mooring fee, fee to enter club house, fee to go to the loo, etc, etc. and that's assuming you've passed the interrogration process and blood test for AIDS and TB).

So I'd like a mooring, how do I go about finding what's available? I'm looking in the Medway/ Swale area, and I'd be quite happy with sitting on the mud at low tide or swinging round in circles on a buoy. Could someone please enlighten me?

Thanks
 
I noticed a nigerian advertising one on e-bay the other day - have you tried there ? /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 
Reminds me of the advert in the Afrikaaner farmer's newspaper 'Oggenblad' - specifically the 'lonely hearts' column......

(translated) "Farmer Tommy seeks a rural soul-mate with tractor. Please send photo of tractor...."

Maybe you'll have success if you try something similar in the Medway local newpaper.

/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
definitely go to boatyards/marinas, and no, you don't need to join a club unless the club owns the boatyard/marina..
You'll probably find that as soon as you get a mooring, someone will tell you about a cheaper one. Sod's Law.
 
Go and take a tour of local boatyards and ask around. If its anything like down here on the Solent you have to hunt out the smaller yards that often dont even have Computers, let alone web sites for the real bargain moorings.

Dont expect much for your money - until you are known locally you are unlikely to be offered the prime moorings which will already be occupied by the regulars, with a distinct 'pecking order' about who will be offered what when a good one does become available.

You may on the other just strike lucky - but be prepared to commit with cash straight away to secure your mooring - even if you dont yet have a boat!

Your chances willimprove if you are willing to move around - a yard may have a mooring free say, to the end of June, which they will let you use with no promise of anything after that. However, if you are there with your boat and have behaved yourself, most yards will work something out, until a regular mooring becomes free.

Most yards that have waiting lists will actually find they have space on this sort of basis if you are there already with your boat - possibly on a different mooring to where you left it, but if the boat is already there and paid for, then they have to do something with it!
 
Don´t write off clubs because you dont think that you are a clubby person. I joined one to get a cheap mooring in 1976, and still belong, as do the lifelong friends that I met there.
Just make sure it is what Old Harry calls a ´top of the creek´club, with no brass buttons.
 
This almost deserves a sticky as a very good general question.hint,hint,Keith.(not necc my answer though-grin)

1) You would think buying a boat was difficult enough-well it is,but if you want it on a mooring,whether it dries out or not,is a different matter.
There are many ways to get one which depend initially on where you would like to keep the boat.
Immediate options are talking to whom you bought the boat from,asking the local expert who pulls the boats in and out,going to the local pub and covering the aformentioned,putting an advert up at the nearest sailing clubs (having joined something local at least ),asking the Harbour Conservency if you are in one....I would start at the last suggestion first if it applies.
It's a bit like asking which bite of the apple should I eat first.
But it is worth asking :=)
For example,I viewed a boat in Poole last year and to clinch the deal,the owner offered to transfer the mooring to me as well-that was worth as much as the boat (doesn't say much for the boat I know!) but a deep mooring in Poole?-likes hen's teeth.
Good Luck! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
You're making a mistake to dismiss clubs so quickly. OK you might want to miss out the snooty "reefer jacket and tie in the public room" types but the more down to earth ones are a brilliant way of learning all the little bits of boating that really make the hobby enjoyable. They also provide help for the bigger jobs, company to discuss problems with, cheaper facilities than boatyards (clubs dont have to make a profit - mine for example gioves free morrings with the membership, mast lift at £20, lift out £40) some enjoyable functions, cheap beer (£1.30 a pint in ours). I could go on but I wont.

Wander along to one or two of your local clubs and then decide.
 
I too did not like the idea of clubs, after spending years being dragged into various ones by my Father but now I have been a member of a local club for two years. I hardly use the clubhouse but local knowledge is always at hand and the optons of moorings soon came flooding in, I know I would noy have found my mooring without this help, so go on give them a try, some are more friendly than others. Oh and the beer is very cheap.
 
Enlightenment.

"Do I have to join a club to get a mooring? I'd rather not as it seems to be unnecessarily bureaucratic and expensive (joining fee, membership fee, mooring fee, fee to enter club house, fee to go to the loo, etc, etc. and that's assuming you've passed the interrogration process and blood test for AIDS and TB). "

If the club owns the moorings, then YES!

PS. Most clubs are run for the purpose of assisting sailors to improve their 'lot', organise racing, cruising, mooring facilities, social facilities.

What troubles me is that as a new user, you have such a jaded view of 'clubs'. I wonder if they realise the impression they are collectively creating.

Or is it just you?
 
Great place for moorings. Strongly recommend Hoo sailing club and Mariners Farm (tidal access). All tide moorings are available at Queenborough and Harty Ferry (both on the Swale). I pay £200 plus VAT for a professionaly serviced mooring 1st April to 31st October. 10 minutes row ashore with parking and dinghy storage. Ah, the joys of the undiscovered East Coast.
 
Try Youngboats in Oare Creek, or Swale Marina at Conyer Creek. Both on the internet. Both very reasonable prices, and nice people as well. Bureaucracy? What's that? This is the East Coast! And Hollowshore Cruising Club (Oare Creek) and Conyer Cruising Club are the exact opposite of what you seem to think clubs might be like!
 
Ok, maybe I'm being a bit unfair about clubs. I will make the effort to go along to a few.

But yes, as a (potential) new boat owner I do find them a little off putting. Why do I need two 'sponsors'? Why do I need to pay a 'joining fee' in addition to a 'membership fee'? And why do I need an interview? I'm not applying to join MI5!!
 
I've belonged to several clubs in my time. None have required an interview or a joining fee. Certainly round here, clubs just aren't anything like you seem to imagine. If you want to join Hollowshore, my club, just turn up on a Sunday morning to say hello, have a beer and fill out the application form. If you turn up in a blazer or wearing a tie, people might look at you a bit strangely. Don't wear your best shoes if it's a very high tide because you might get your feet wet in the bar.
 
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