york marina

[paul 13]

hi, everyone iam new to boating i live in the york area, just bought a 20ft mayland crusier from sawley marina shes in really good condition. a real credit to the previous owner. i had the usual jokes and advice about not buying a boat from loads of people, but its something i have always wanted to so i have taken the plunge. i checked all the marinas in my area within 30 miles before buying and only york marina had any spare moorings and they are expensive £30 a metre more than anywhere else.i called into the marina to have look round and ask how long it took to sort a mooring out just a few days i was told. well after sorting the insurance and all the paperwork with sawley and the boat transport company i had sent the paperwork to york marina by hand and waited and waited nothing for a week no email no phone calls nothing so i was working in york so i called into the marina no one could tell me anything the main man richard was off and the next day was is day off they took my tel no again and told me he would call again nothing. so i sent a email the reply was that he was going to have look at my application and was sorry, a week later i still have not heard anything so my boats still at sawley. has anyone else got experience of york marina, i know here they do have a monopoly but i just think its really poor service.

 

[SP2]

Welcome to the Forum - you will get lots of opinion on service in the marine leisure section here

Can't say I know anything about York but find as a rule that many marinas don't do too well on communications - even the posh ones like St Kats in London. Many don't do email or if they do, only slowly and a personal visit is often the best way.

For many years, most marinas were over subscribed so this level of customer service was sufficient although I've dealt with some down south that were always exemplary even if they were saying "sorry we are full". With the downturn maybe this attitude will change and they will do more to encourage keen new entrants like you with a bit of customer service.

Keep persevering with them and enjoy your time afloat.

 

[volvopaul]

I'm not surprised to hear that at all, I get more hassle from inland marinas than anywhere else . Most Coastal marinas are on the ball these days fighting for customers. I could put Richards mobile number on here so you could ring him direct. I'll pm it to you I'm sure he won't want any bad publicity on here , it will give him a chance to either give you a mooring or refuse you on his grounds.

 

[trouty12]

A few years ago, York marina had a policy of discouraging small and older boats from taking moorings. I don't know if that policy still exists.

If you realy want to be on the Ouse you could try one of the bankside private moorings. No Electricity or water but inexpensive and peaceful. Have you thought about Boroughbridge? That used to be friendly and the river up there is quite nice and easy to navigate with your size of boat.

The other option is to stay on the Trent. There are more destinations and the locks are mostly manned. Kings marina in Newark is one of the cheapest and is easy to get to.

 

[tinkicker0]

hi, everyone iam new to boating i live in the york area, just bought a 20ft mayland crusier from sawley marina shes in really good condition. a real credit to the previous owner. i had the usual jokes and advice about not buying a boat from loads of people, but its something i have always wanted to so i have taken the plunge. i checked all the marinas in my area within 30 miles before buying and only york marina had any spare moorings and they are expensive £30 a metre more than anywhere else.i called into the marina to have look round and ask how long it took to sort a mooring out just a few days i was told. well after sorting the insurance and all the paperwork with sawley and the boat transport company i had sent the paperwork to york marina by hand and waited and waited nothing for a week no email no phone calls nothing so i was working in york so i called into the marina no one could tell me anything the main man richard was off and the next day was is day off they took my tel no again and told me he would call again nothing. so i sent a email the reply was that he was going to have look at my application and was sorry, a week later i still have not heard anything so my boats still at sawley. has anyone else got experience of york marina, i know here they do have a monopoly but i just think its really poor service.

I had the same 5 years ago, email went astray and after waiting about a month, got in touch with them.
Oh we sent you a letter was the reply I got - non arrival of course.

Apparently wondered why I never got back to them.

You have to pester them to get things done sometimes as communications seem somewhat hit and miss.


You are likely to get the berth next to me which last year had a skibsplast 20 footer in it.

So:

If you get put on here you will be kept up all night by the sound of beer slurping which can get somewhat alarming in intensity and volume.

 

[Racingfrank7]

York marina is a lovely place with some very nice friendly people but !
It has been heard on many occasion by many different people that they couldn't organise a piss up in a ........
Even when your a berth holder nothing gets done quickly or efficiently !
But all that a side it's the best / safest place to have your boat on the Yorkshire Ouse so stick with it let them know how you feel and put the pressure on, there's loads of spare berths.

 

[volvopaul]

York marina is a lovely place with some very nice friendly people but !
It has been heard on many occasion by many different people that they couldn't organise a piss up in a ........
Even when your a berth holder nothing gets done quickly or efficiently !
But all that a side it's the best / safest place to have your boat on the Yorkshire Ouse so stick with it let them know how you feel and put the pressure on, there's loads of spare berths.

I have in the past sub contracted to them, the last time I was asked they were desperate for a Volvo engineer, but there terms just didn't suit me if you know what I mean.

 

[Robg71]

I have been looking at York marina too,
How long does it take to get to the Humber from here...

 

[kashurst]

there is also a small marina at linton on ouse just above the lock-might be worth trying, right next to a pub too. Depending on the boat it takes about 4 - 5 hours to get to hull - and you need to work out the tides carefully. Not difficult be go in company the first time you do it.

 

[Racingfrank7]

I have been looking at York marina too,
How long does it take to get to the Humber from here...

4-5 hours, but your restricted to going when tide times say you can !

Last time we went ,we went through the lock for 7.30 am ish and we was at Trent end just before dinner time, but there was 8 of us it would be quicker if you was on your Todd !

 

[Richard@YM]

hi, everyone iam new to boating i live in the york area, just bought a 20ft mayland crusier from sawley marina shes in really good condition. a real credit to the previous owner. i had the usual jokes and advice about not buying a boat from loads of people, but its something i have always wanted to so i have taken the plunge. i checked all the marinas in my area within 30 miles before buying and only york marina had any spare moorings and they are expensive £30 a metre more than anywhere else.i called into the marina to have look round and ask how long it took to sort a mooring out just a few days i was told. well after sorting the insurance and all the paperwork with sawley and the boat transport company i had sent the paperwork to york marina by hand and waited and waited nothing for a week no email no phone calls nothing so i was working in york so i called into the marina no one could tell me anything the main man richard was off and the next day was is day off they took my tel no again and told me he would call again nothing. so i sent a email the reply was that he was going to have look at my application and was sorry, a week later i still have not heard anything so my boats still at sawley. has anyone else got experience of york marina, i know here they do have a monopoly but i just think its really poor service.

Dear Paul 13,

I am sorry to hear you were dissatisfied with the service you received. Having looked at your complaint it would appear it has taken us a week to approve your application. Unfortunately your application arrived in the midst of our team running around making last minute preparations for the Yorkshire show. Mooring applications are usually turned around within a week. Once again i apologise, if you wish to discuss further please e-mail me direct richardbleakley@yorkmarina.co.uk

 

[Richard@YM]

A few years ago, York marina had a policy of discouraging small and older boats from taking moorings. I don't know if that policy still exists.

If you realy want to be on the Ouse you could try one of the bankside private moorings. No Electricity or water but inexpensive and peaceful. Have you thought about Boroughbridge? That used to be friendly and the river up there is quite nice and easy to navigate with your size of boat.

The other option is to stay on the Trent. There are more destinations and the locks are mostly manned. Kings marina in Newark is one of the cheapest and is easy to get to.

We have never had a 'policy' of discouriging smaller older boats that is a myth. We do however vet applications to try and assess peoples intentions and the general condition of a boat before we will accept it. There are a lot of projects or 'dreams' as i call them out there which quickly turn into half finished wrecks and bad debts. We inherited over 20 of these dreams when we took over the marina hence we are cautious. Regards Richard.

 

[Richard@YM]

I'm not surprised to hear that at all, I get more hassle from inland marinas than anywhere else . Most Coastal marinas are on the ball these days fighting for customers. I could put Richards mobile number on here so you could ring him direct. I'll pm it to you I'm sure he won't want any bad publicity on here , it will give him a chance to either give you a mooring or refuse you on his grounds.

Paul,

You get hassle from inland marinas because usually, like us, they operate all the services on site including marine engineering. Coastal marinas are usually owned by a separate operator who franchise and lease all the other trades to different businesses. If your family had invested millions of pounds in a marina and had huge overheads year on year i'm sure you too would have the same resolve for one man white van bands. Hence why we are not too keen for you to turn up on our doorstop and undercut our labour rate by £5 an hour. Very professional of you to jump on here criticising us on something that has nothing to do with you.

 

[Richard@YM]

York marina is a lovely place with some very nice friendly people but !
It has been heard on many occasion by many different people that they couldn't organise a piss up in a ........
Even when your a berth holder nothing gets done quickly or efficiently !
But all that a side it's the best / safest place to have your boat on the Yorkshire Ouse so stick with it let them know how you feel and put the pressure on, there's loads of spare berths.

A rather broad unfair sweeping statement I feel?

 

[Racingfrank7]

A rather broad unfair sweeping statement I feel?

Sorry Richard, but this is what some berth holders say, which you will all ways get I guess, simply because you can't please everybody all of the time.

I don't think the gates and joe public freely walking up and down pontoons looking at the boats during the day did you any favours.

But I still stand by the rest of my statement saying "it's a lovely place with nice people and the best place to be on the Yorkshire Ouse"

 

[solitaire11]

typical marina management replies!

they are just so far away from reality it's unbelievable... c,mon guys sort yourselves out.

it's 2012 and less boats than ever, you've really gotta up your game and lose the arrogance!

 

[volvopaul]

Paul,

You get hassle from inland marinas because usually, like us, they operate all the services on site including marine engineering. Coastal marinas are usually owned by a separate operator who franchise and lease all the other trades to different businesses. If your family had invested millions of pounds in a marina and had huge overheads year on year i'm sure you too would have the same resolve for one man white van bands. Hence why we are not too keen for you to turn up on our doorstop and undercut our labour rate by £5 an hour. Very professional of you to jump on here criticising us on something that has nothing to do with you.

Richard I have never undercut your company, you actually asked me to sub contract to you last year but I refused as you didn't.

1. Want to pay my rates
2 . Supply your own parts therefore taking more profit.
3 obviously took on more work you could handle wanting me to drop my own customers to come to your aid and play by your rules, sorry it just doesn't work that way wether you have invested millions into your company or not. Oh by the way I'm not a White van man either, a pathetic term to tarnish self employed Volvo trained engineers that know there job, before you have a go I'd suggest you read into my contribution to this forum a little more in future.

 

[Jim@sea]

I was buying a boat in 1973, I asked the boatyard where I could keep it, he said "Go and see the Harbourmaster at Conway" I bought the Boat. Went to see the Harbourmaster at Conway and he said "There is a 5 year waiting list"
Anyway I put my name down, and all these years later I still have heard nothing.

 

[mersey]

I have been looking at York marina too,
How long does it take to get to the Humber from here...

What about Goole?

There is Goole Boathouse and Viking Marine.

Goole is still on the Ouse, just but soon turns into the Humber.

 

[mersey]

Richard I have never undercut your company, you actually asked me to sub contract to you last year but I refused as you didn't.

1. Want to pay my rates
2 . Supply your own parts therefore taking more profit.
3 obviously took on more work you could handle wanting me to drop my own customers to come to your aid and play by your rules, sorry it just doesn't work that way wether you have invested millions into your company or not. Oh by the way I'm not a White van man either, a pathetic term to tarnish self employed Volvo trained engineers that know there job, before you have a go I'd suggest you read into my contribution to this forum a little more in future.

Richard,

Well done for coming on here and replying, respect is due for that. More than a lot of marina management staff would do.

However, you won't get very far calling volvopaul unprofessional, I've never met the guy, but he is a frequent contributor and helpful to a great many people here. Many people on here who have met him and had work done by him speak highly of him. I've never heard a bad word said.