Which Plymouth Marina?

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We are thinking about moving our boat to the South West for a couple of years or so. Mayflower, QAB and Plymouth Yacht Haven seem to be the best options for us. We typically drive to the boat on a Thursday evening, use it for 3 days and drive home on the Sunday evening, so easy pontoon access is essential. We also prefer quiet locations.

Can any well informed readers of this forum suggest which marina should be at the top of our list?
 
+1 for Mayflower. But then I am biased as I am berthed there.

Staff all excellent. Jolly Jacks Bar/Bistro very good. Other berth holders pleasant. One draw back is that it is not that sheltered in winter storms. Also a bit away from the centre of Plymouth but if you are a berth holder you will have driven down so have a car available, then no problem. Lots going on, on and off the water in Plymouth.
 
I would put Sutton at the top of your list. PYH is quite remote and catches the wind from all directions, and the facilities aren't great. Mayflower is equally remote and QAB suffers from swell.
Sutton is locked in so is very protected, it's right in the centre of the Barbican, just minutes walk from dozens of restaurants, and the facilities are second to none.
 
longjohnsilver said:
I would put Sutton at the top of your list. PYH is quite remote and catches the wind from all directions, and the facilities aren't great. Mayflower is equally remote and QAB suffers from swell.
Sutton is locked in so is very protected, it's right in the centre of the Barbican, just minutes walk from dozens of restaurants, and the facilities are second to none.
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+1 And if you go in the posh bit you will get some of the best showers on the south coast and a swipe card for secure parking next to your boat. We've been there three years, no complaints at all. It ranks at the very top of the most secure (weather wise) marinas in the UK.
 
I have not kept a boat on any of them but I know Plymouth quite well.

Sutton has best shelter but it is a lively location and there is a lock, not sure about parking either. Mayflower has a lot of tide through some of the more available berths and can be blustered (is this a word?) in a NW wind. The new marina in the docks will be as sheltered as Sutton but has gates and will be subject to a lot of dock noise 24/7. The third world "marinas" on the Tamar are not worth consideration, in my view. QAB can be bouncy with swell and wind form the SW

From what you say, Plymouth Yacht Haven might suit best, it is quiet and yet it is easy to get right into Plymouth on the ferry. It is tucked away from SW weather - though a strong westerly would, no doubt, be felt. It is handy for you by road, with little congestion or stress, and there is lots of available free parking.
 
Sutton Harbour for absolute shelter, closeness to the action and good nightlife/restaurants. Plymouth Yacht Haven for a bit more peace and quite but not quite as much shelter (not bad by any means though). There are some very good pubs nearby in Turnchapel and the marine services (engineers etc) are all quite adequate. I would not recommend Mayflower simply because the swell can be quite awful. QAB is best for marine services and is a bustling place, particularly when events are on. Personally I would go for PYH except that I have a mooring up the Tamar which costs around £200 a year all in (If you are interested in a swinging mooring PM me and I'll tell you all about the Cargreen Yacht Club of which I am Commodore at the moment).
 
Mayflower.... Bad tide, can be difficult in strong SW.
Sutton harbour.... Very sheltered, lock, nice loos, in the centre of town so noisy sometimes..
Qab.... Swell... But tight... Shore storage is exposed.. (boats have been blown over...)
Phy... Can get swell in the right conditions... We never had a tide issue and it's surprisingly sheltered in SW.. Best fuel, all services in site.... Best shore storage... Quiet. Nice beach across the road... Excellent walks.. Access to the barbican is easy via the ferry.

Frankly, other than the swell which can very occasionally come up the river in prolonged winds... It's the best for the quiet life.. The access to the countryside is very good.... Everything else is in town...
 
Brightwork said:
+1 And if you go in the posh bit you will get some of the best showers on the south coast and a swipe card for secure parking next to your boat. We've been there three years, no complaints at all. It ranks at the very top of the most secure (weather wise) marinas in the UK.
Click to expand...

I have been in Sutton for three years.
For us it's a perfect location, we are on A pontoon, it's perfectly sheltered and far enough from the action in the Barbican to be quiet, yet within a 5 minute walk of the shops, more restaurants and bars than you could visit in several seasons and the bus station with low cost National express coaches is within 5 minutes walking.
We expected parking to be a problem, but it isn't, most times its just a 100m from car to berth.
Toilets are by far the best and cleanest anywhere we have visited and the cleaners seem to be there all day polishing.
The lock isn't really a problem, as it's a smallish marina, the longest we ever had to wait was 15 minutes.
The primary reason we chose Sutton was the prefect shelter, there is little wear and tear on the boat on the berth compared to the other Plymouth marinas this was a big plus for us.
 
I moved from QAB to Sutton Harbour earlier this year. I found QAB very bouncy, and the pontoon spacing is a bit tight for my long-keeled heavy 28. Sutton is very sheltered, and quite a few of the pontoons are on the far side of the admin buildings from the Plymouth "action" and not too noisy. Parking isn't as generous as QAB but I've never had a problem. No shore storage so you're going to end up at QAB or PYH or somesuch for the winter. Can't comment on locking delays as I've been doing a lot of work on the boat and not getting out much (one reason I wanted to move away from QAB) but from about half-tide up it's free flow so you only have to wait for the bridge to swing and not go through a full locking cycle. Friendly staff - but that seems to be fairly common in Devon, compared with the usual south coast locations...
 
I visited 3 of the 4 a couple fof years ago. QAB has a good combination of being close to town and not having a lock / swing bridge. Sutton is, as others have said, nicely sheltered, and right in the thick of it.

PYH was my least favourite of the 3 because it's a long way to the shops / restaurants / bars. More so if you miss the last ferry.
 
My three penny worth.
(we are in Mayflower)

Sutton, too noisy for me (way too close to the Barbican)
QAB , OK but a problem walking to the Barbican (is the walking route across the lock gates of Sutton still closed after 21:00 ?)
PYH , seems a faff to get there across the Laira bridge etc.
Mayflower , yes it gets swelly , easiest access by road from the A38
 
"PYH , seems a faff to get there across the Laira bridge etc."


Not the best route.

The no 1 technique is to come off the A38 at Plympton and cut through Elburton.

Or if you fancy a nice drive, come off at Ivybridge and through Ermington and Yealmpton.

Both routes are rustic with a bit of suburbia for the last few miles.
 
15 years ago we moored at Mayflower with our Birchwood

Fantastic location and the walk over the Hoe to the Barbican was fabulous

But, oh dear, the swell was untenable at times.. One memorable night we had to pack up and go and stay on a friends boat at Sutton. It was so horrible that the ferry dock was badly damaged when the ferry tried to dock that night

Although I loved it, I was glad when our year was up

May
Xx
 
Vote for Sutton.

Stayed there when we had a gale blowing through, so a few days longer than expected.

I wonder if people assume that it's noisy because part of it is close to the action? Where we were was peaceful and a delight. Especially the free croissants and coffee on Saturday mornings.

I think it must be the only marina with it's own wet room and showers I wouldn't be ashamed of in my house.

Having said all that, go with what you think as if persuaded by others you'll only regret it.
 
Did no one mention Millbay? nice and quiet and very sheltered, parking close by. No idea what the facilities are like as we only day sail when the boat is there or head off.
 
photodog said:
Mayflower.... Bad tide, can be difficult in strong SW.
Sutton harbour.... Very sheltered, lock, nice loos, in the centre of town so noisy sometimes..
Qab.... Swell... But tight... Shore storage is exposed.. (boats have been blown over...)
Phy... Can get swell in the right conditions... We never had a tide issue and it's surprisingly sheltered in SW.. Best fuel, all services in site.... Best shore storage... Quiet. Nice beach across the road... Excellent walks.. Access to the barbican is easy via the ferry.

Frankly, other than the swell which can very occasionally come up the river in prolonged winds... It's the best for the quiet life.. The access to the countryside is very good.... Everything else is in town...
Click to expand...

Wot E said! :cool:
 
There is also a new marina nearing completion at Millbay who are offering some incentives for annual packages. I am surprised that nobody has mentioned the very limited parking in Sutton which is very inconvenient if you have visitors.

A couple of corrections - the access to the Barbican across the lock from QAB is now open until 2300 and the ashore storage in QAB is no longer an issue as procedures have been changed somewhat since the incident Photodog refers to, which incidentally was 100mph winds in 2006!
 
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