Which East coast marina?

dune16

dune16

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Milton Keynes - Boat in Croatia
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Hi all,

Early next year I'll be the proud owner of a Jeanneau 389. I have been offered berthing (at least for the first season while I have own boat tuition etc..) either at Suffolk Yacht Harbour or Shotley Point. I had planned to go in SYH but am now wondering if I should be considering Shotley? I had originally planned to start down south but I am buying the boat from Clarke & Carter so want to stay close to them for the first season or two.

Thanks in advance.
Simon
 
:D You may not get objective views here!

Both are nice marinas. SYH is rather a long way up the river, so it takes longer to get to sea; Shotley is right on the harbour. SYH is sail straight in; Shotley has a lock. Yard facilities are pretty good at both. Toilet/showers are arguably better at Shotley. Pub/restaurant facilities are arguably better at Shotley too. Shotley suffers from some noise and dust from Felixstowe docks, although the view over the harbour is great (especially at night). SYH is very easy to drive to; Shotley is at the end of a long winding road full of infuriatingly slow people in improbably coloured small Korean cars.

I've spent years in both marinas and prefer Shotley.

Note, incidentally, that Clarke & Carter's main office is at SYH, the one at Shotley is basically an unmanned lock-up shop window. I believe C&C do their commissioning at Burnham Yacht Harbour on the Crouch. If that's still the case, you might prefer to be there if you're thinking of resolving niggly problems.
 
pvb said:
:D You may not get objective views here!. I believe C&C do their commissioning at Burnham Yacht Harbour on the Crouch. If that's still the case, you might prefer to be there if you're thinking of resolving niggly problems.
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Shotley and Burnham YH are the same Company, I think it's 30 nights at the other depending which is your residence....and pvb is correct everybody on here is probably biased :):)

We have recently moved to Shotley and the WiFi is not good, but someone said it is to be upgraded soon ???
 
Boz said:
Shotley and Burnham YH are the same Company, I think it's 30 nights at the other depending which is your residence....and pvb is correct everybody on here is probably biased :):)

We have recently moved to Shotley and the WiFi is not good, but someone said it is to be upgraded soon ???
Click to expand...

Yes, Shotley and Burnham are owned by the same company, and offer reciprocal 30 nights' free visiting.

In my experience, most marina wifi is dreadful; I tether my laptop to my phone.
 
Speaking as an occasional visitor, I think the shower facilities at Shotley are pretty dire, haven't been into SYH for a while so they might be no better but they were not bad last time we were there, except, the timer left you in the dark half way through a shower, as no sensor near enough to detect your presence!!
 
Boz said:
Shotley and Burnham YH are the same Company, I think it's 30 nights at the other depending which is your residence....and pvb is correct everybody on here is probably biased :):)

We have recently moved to Shotley and the WiFi is not good, but someone said it is to be upgraded soon ???
Click to expand...

Wifi here has never been good in my experience. But as pvb says, pretty hit and miss everywhere and i also tether my phone.
 
Leighb said:
Speaking as an occasional visitor, I think the shower facilities at Shotley are pretty dire, haven't been into SYH for a while so they might be no better but they were not bad last time we were there, except, the timer left you in the dark half way through a shower, as no sensor near enough to detect your presence!!
Click to expand...

I think "dire" is a bit strong - adequate would be better, the important bit is always hot and controllable and of good pressure and you can dry yourself without bashing your elbows on the walls, the real problem is only two cr*p traps without a walk to the main block :)
 
pvb said:
:D You may not get objective views here!

Both are nice marinas. SYH is rather a long way up the river, so it takes longer to get to sea; Shotley is right on the harbour. SYH is sail straight in; Shotley has a lock. Yard facilities are pretty good at both. Toilet/showers are arguably better at Shotley. Pub/restaurant facilities are arguably better at Shotley too. Shotley suffers from some noise and dust from Felixstowe docks, although the view over the harbour is great (especially at night). SYH is very easy to drive to; Shotley is at the end of a long winding road full of infuriatingly slow people in improbably coloured small Korean cars.

I've spent years in both marinas and prefer Shotley.

Note, incidentally, that Clarke & Carter's main office is at SYH, the one at Shotley is basically an unmanned lock-up shop window. I believe C&C do their commissioning at Burnham Yacht Harbour on the Crouch. If that's still the case, you might prefer to be there if you're thinking of resolving niggly problems.
Click to expand...
you didnt mention the velux roof lights in shotley after dark
 
dune16 said:
Hi all,

Early next year I'll be the proud owner of a Jeanneau 389. I have been offered berthing (at least for the first season while I have own boat tuition etc..) either at Suffolk Yacht Harbour or Shotley Point. I had planned to go in SYH but am now wondering if I should be considering Shotley? I had originally planned to start down south but I am buying the boat from Clarke & Carter so want to stay close to them for the first season or two.

Thanks in advance.
Simon
Click to expand...

We have berthed at both and (much) prefer SYH.
There are pros and cons for both.
Most of them already discussed here: http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?459538-Shotley
 
No one on the forum is unhappy with their current marina. All were unhappy with their previous marina. Therefore we have either found Nirvana or there is a powerful loyalty factor at play that skews responses. The passion with which marinas are defended, the evangelical fervour with which they are recommended, is tribal like in its adherence to the particular company who are currently siphoning off our spare cash. Weirdly all the many marinas in the Orwell are pretty much full and charge just about the same, so you pick the one that suits you best, and judging by the occupancy rates there may be less to choose between them than the passionate posts suggest.

That's all by-the-by though because no one loves their marina like a Shotley bertholder. To the OP - if you want to love your marina then go to Shotley, all the failings that others see in it are viewed as endearing qualities that other less beloved marinas are lacking.
 
Thanks for all the comments. I will arrange a time to go and visit both marinas and decide from there, I'm probably still favouring SYH mainly because the dealer main office is there so if I have any warranty issues I can find them easily and she'll also be getting her copper bottom from the yard there.
 
dune16 said:
Thanks for all the comments. I will arrange a time to go and visit both marinas and decide from there, I'm probably still favouring SYH mainly because the dealer main office is there so if I have any warranty issues I can find them easily and she'll also be getting her copper bottom from the yard there.
Click to expand...

If you visit Shotley you'd be welcome to drop by if you want, i'm on J28, the kettle is usually hot.
 
Was on waiting list for over 7 years at SYH, found the attitude of some of the staff less than customer focused. Gave up in the end and ended up in Woolverstone who actually understand customer service.

Was at Shotley for several years as well and again their customer service is second to none.
 
davidwf said:
Was on waiting list for over 7 years at SYH, found the attitude of some of the staff less than customer focused. Gave up in the end and ended up in Woolverstone who actually understand customer service.

Was at Shotley for several years as well and again their customer service is second to none.
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I assume you did not encounter Trevor then. :D Agree all the rest of the staff are great, altho' I don't deal with them as a berthholder in recent years.
 
We moved to SYH last year from a N Kent marina. Without exception we have found the staff to be very helpful. The pleasure of not having to wait for a lock has still not worn off. The berth holders are a friendly bunch too ?
 
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