Thinking of moving to another Marina.

G

gordhouse

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Poole Mooring
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We are currently berthed in Poole Harbour and enjoy cruising the local area.
However we have also enjoyed our limited trips across to the Solent and surrounding area.

We are considering moving to a marina that will give us more access to areas to the Isle of Wight,Lymington,Chichester, etc involving shorter cruising times.
We have a Merry Fisher 805 and usually amble along at about 7 - 10 knots.

We anticipate an increase in annual fees having contacted some marinas in the area re. berthing charges etc. and look to visiting some of the marinas when we have decided on a short list.
Our journey into the area is A34 M3 M27

I would appreciate opionions on the marinas in the area.

Thanks for reading.
 
gordhouse said:
We are currently berthed in Poole Harbour and enjoy cruising the local area.
However we have also enjoyed our limited trips across to the Solent and surrounding area.

We are considering moving to a marina that will give us more access to areas to the Isle of Wight,Lymington,Chichester, etc involving shorter cruising times.
We have a Merry Fisher 805 and usually amble along at about 7 - 10 knots.

We anticipate an increase in annual fees having contacted some marinas in the area re. berthing charges etc. and look to visiting some of the marinas when we have decided on a short list.
Our journey into the area is A34 M3 M27

I would appreciate opionions on the marinas in the area.

Thanks for reading.
Click to expand...

If you chose the Hamble, and it is the best place to keep a boat if Solent based, then you have 5 large marinas, going from mouth of the river inland, you have Hamble Point, Port Hamble and Mercury (all MDL), then Universal and finally Swanwick (Premier)

My view, Hamble Point a bit of a boat yard and although easy access to the Solent.... a bit sole-less. Port Hamble... you would think a perfect place as right in Hamble and easy walking distance to the pubs etc.. however full of charter boats and racing boys... very busy and can be a bit bouncy on the weekend with lots of coming and goings and a few folk I know there have suffered damage on regular occasions. Mercury by far the nicest place to keep a boat, quiet and safe and I would always recommend. Universal, on the wrong side of the river, Swanwick, its OK... a few peeps on here keep their boats there so i will let them comment.
 
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Swanwick's great but will be pricier than Berthon @ 629.41 pm per year. Hamble point's lovely (a different vibe to Swanwick but very pleasant) but pricier still. Those are the two I can vouch for at least.
L
:)
 
My boat was moored at the Cabin boatyard. This is just north of Swanwick Marina, under the A27 bridge. This can be restricting for us Flybridges, but on your boat, should not be a problem. I believe mooring fees are about 60% of Swanwick.
 
Guess it depends on whether you need/want the facilities offered by the bigger marinas. If I didn't like my creature comforts so much, I would save myself a fortune and go past the bridge.
L
:)
 
We moved to Berthon's Lymington Marina after being in Chichester for 7 years. I cannot recommend Berthon's strongly enough and being in Lymington has made our weekends great as my wife and daughter can go shopping and with some great restaurants, it makes our time on the boat.

For example, yesterday we decided at the last minute to go down to the boat before the kids went back to school. We were out in the Solent winthin 15 minutes enjoying an amazing sunny afternoon.

-Andrew
 
Depending upon how much "pontoon living" you enjoy, you might want to ponder the dry stack, Trafalgar Wharf. I'm just a happy punter there but it works well from my viewpoint. Its under cover boat storage and there are a number of your craft types there. Cost is around £480/m p.a. IIRC and with easy access from the M27 & A27, its, for me, almost a no brainer if you are less than around 8,000kg. No anti fouling, security is obvious, stern drive machinery out of the water most of the time, makes a pretty stress free way to go! Allow around 20 mins to the harbour entrance, so plenty of water to play in if its bouncy outside!
 
Ocean Village. Easy access,midde of town, decent resturants and bars, fantastic staff cheaper than hamble marinas and you still get the freedom berthing benefits if you want to stay over at other marinas.
 
Marina fees are considerably less on the Isle of Wight and the saving offsets the cost of coming over. East Cowes marina £387/m; Island Harbour £300/m. Even if you don't want to go out the boat is already somewhere you would have gone to. Quite a few people on the mainland keep their boats over here.
 
gordhouse said:
We are currently berthed in Poole Harbour and enjoy cruising the local area.
However we have also enjoyed our limited trips across to the Solent and surrounding area.

We are considering moving to a marina that will give us more access to areas to the Isle of Wight,Lymington,Chichester, etc involving shorter cruising times.
We have a Merry Fisher 805 and usually amble along at about 7 - 10 knots.

We anticipate an increase in annual fees having contacted some marinas in the area re. berthing charges etc. and look to visiting some of the marinas when we have decided on a short list.
Our journey into the area is A34 M3 M27

I would appreciate opionions on the marinas in the area.

Thanks for reading.
Click to expand...
It somewhat depends on what you want to do in the Solent. Chichester Harbour is very nice, and you have the sandy beaches of IOW opposite, but the entire Solent is in one direction. Lymington is a very popular village in its own right with pubs and restaurants, but again is a bit down the other end !
Only thing to do is to visit them..Port Hamble is great for the village and pubs and corner shop;some like Mercury for its remoteness, but many dont like there is nothing there. And so on.
They tend to all have their own character. You might want to start with MDL as it gives you access to all the other local MDL marinas.
 
lisilou said:
Swanwick's great but will be pricier than Berthon @ 629.41 pm per year. Hamble point's lovely (a different vibe to Swanwick but very pleasant) but pricier still. Those are the two I can vouch for at least.
L
:)
Click to expand...

We are also at Swanwick (just along the pontoon from Lisilou) with a small boat (under 8m) - we have just renewed under their small boat scheme which IMHO is a bargain. You share a long pontoon with another small boat and so may have to warp out which we do with no problem. In exchange you are asked to pay under 3K. You get all the benefits - free nights etc and because of the strong Hamble current, they trend to tuck you well inside which puts you near the showers etc. Swanwick is refurbing their shower block over the winter so next year should provide the full Classic FM effect you get in Port Solent. Call Natalie and see what she can offer
 
admillington said:
We moved to Berthon's Lymington Marina after being in Chichester for 7 years. I cannot recommend Berthon's strongly enough and being in Lymington has made our weekends great as my wife and daughter can go shopping and with some great restaurants, it makes our time on the boat.

For example, yesterday we decided at the last minute to go down to the boat before the kids went back to school. We were out in the Solent winthin 15 minutes enjoying an amazing sunny afternoon.

-Andrew
Click to expand...

I agree the ambience there is lovely and a very easy walk into town. If you are a devoted user of your favourite off site engineer I think I am correct in saying this isn't permitted at Berthon - you have to use their people. The super ferries are a challenge. Most people I have seen wait for one going in their direction and follow it in or out - using it as a sort of marine snow plough!!
 
stuartwineberg said:
I agree the ambience there is lovely and a very easy walk into town. If you are a devoted user of your favourite off site engineer I think I am correct in saying this isn't permitted at Berthon - you have to use their people. The super ferries are a challenge. Most people I have seen wait for one going in their direction and follow it in or out - using it as a sort of marine snow plough!!
Click to expand...

Haven't found their closed shop an issue. The onsite cleaning/valeting team works out well, the quality of the shipyard work is excellent and the engineers from Fairline/Volvo/etc are allowed providing they are insured. Nothing is too much trouble.

The ferries are not much of a problem, just follow them in if I happen to get behind one.
 
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gordhouse said:
We are currently berthed in Poole Harbour and enjoy cruising the local area.
However we have also enjoyed our limited trips across to the Solent and surrounding area.

We are considering moving to a marina that will give us more access to areas to the Isle of Wight,Lymington,Chichester, etc involving shorter cruising times.
We have a Merry Fisher 805 and usually amble along at about 7 - 10 knots.

We anticipate an increase in annual fees having contacted some marinas in the area re. berthing charges etc. and look to visiting some of the marinas when we have decided on a short list.
Our journey into the area is A34 M3 M27

I would appreciate opionions on the marinas in the area.

Thanks for reading.
Click to expand...

Honestly, I'd stay in Poole, er, as I am!

The Solent is nice, Yarmouth and Island Harbour are my favourites, but you haven't got all the lovely places that Poole has, so much variety. Short runs to places like Studland antd Swanage, can stay in harbour, if weather not so good, so many great places like South Deep, Blood Alley, Pottery Pier or a run to Wareham, but you know all that.

The Hamble is aweful, wall to wall moorings, the Itchin is terrible, IMHO. Hythe quite nice, but a lock to contend with. Southsea has a chill, sorry cill (damn predictive text),Port Solent a lock, but a great place. Gosport is grim !

I like Chichester harbour, and Sparks marina is very nice,, but small, and on site restaurant is poor, but Hayling Island SC has nice facilities. Northney ok but not much there. Chichester and Birdham have locks again.

No, I'd stay in Poole.

Edit, yes if I HAD to move to Solent, then Lymington or Bucklers Hard would be my choices.
 
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Geoffs said:
Honestly, I'd stay in Poole, er, as I am!

The Solent is nice, Yarmouth and Island Harbour are my favourites, but you haven't got all the lovely places that Poole has, so much variety. Short runs to places like Studland antd Swanage, can stay in harbour, if weather not so good, so many great places like South Deep, Blood Alley, Pottery Pier or a run to Wareham, but you know all that.

The Hamble is aweful, wall to wall moorings, the Itchin is terrible, IMHO. Hythe quite nice, but a lock to contend with. Southsea has a chill, sorry cill (damn predictive text),Port Solent a lock, but a great place. Gosport is grim !

I like Chichester harbour, and Sparks marina is very nice,, but small, and on site restaurant is poor, but Hayling Island SC has nice facilities. Northney ok but not much there. Chichester and Birdham have locks again.

No, I'd stay in Poole.

Edit, yes if I HAD to move to Solent, then Lymington or Bucklers Hard would be my choices.
Click to expand...


the Solent sounds a horrible place, no wonder it's always devoid of boats when we go there ;)
 
Or go under one more bridge on the Hamble to Foulkes, where the rates are 50% MDL et al (and by the way its not a dump, just full of real people). New showers / loos this year, and possibly a Bar next. Power and water on the pontoons, access on many berths at all states of the tide. 2 mins from Jn 8 M27 plenty of parking. Good access too to the upper Hamble, especially for a Merry Fisher - you would get to the Horse and Jockey at Curbridge on early PM HWs.
 
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