Do we really need more boaters?
- Thread starter Daveinet
- Start date
That's totally not the economics of marinas/slips. The slip fees not simply jacked based on so-called demand, they are priced so the owner's business model works. If that does not work the places is running a non-profit, which is hardly their intent. The waterfront land and operational cost are very high. So the slip prices reflect that.
You cannot look at the cost of your 30 year old boat as part of this.
I'm just waiting for the ***** apocalypse (you fill in the blank)... A zombie apocalypse is probably less likely than social revolt resulting in economic meltdown, but whatever happens... I'll just wait it out in the desert with my cache or automatic weapons and dehydrated meals and when its over there will be a much lower global population with plenty of boats to choose from for free and unlimited dock footage to park it...
Dock space here goes for between $10 and $25/foot /month depending on location and amenities. I shopped hard to find deep water no fixed bridge with 30amp power and water but no sewage for $10/foot. Some of the good location high amenity marinas can be $2000/month for a slip, but they will have Cable TV sewage, a gas dock, showers, parking, security, etc. Whereas I am docked in the back yard of a private home, three bridges and 45 minutes from the Atlantic ocean. The closer you get to the inlets, the higher the dock rate even for private docks.
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Scotty T-Bird, when I was shopping, I was not finding those prices. I do see them now. 1500 bucks is kind of do-able. 3K is not. I was shopping about 5 years ago. Some of the boats I was looking at had fixed keels, or very tall masts that would have been difficult to step everytime I took the boat out. I had a line on an FC8 at the time, but just could not find a situation that was reasonable. I'm not sure about what the situation is now, but 5 years ago when I was shopping, the lake levels were much lower. I know 1 marina that was closed up in Waukegan. Their docks were about 8 feet above the water level. Another place I inquired about mast up storage stated their launch ramp was unusable do to low water levels. I assume this has changed with the rise of the lake level. I'm wondering if that has affected availability.
I find this is true in life overall. In the political and corporate worlds, it is sometimes referred to as "pulling up the ladder behind you" and I've witnessed it personally many, many times. My personal opinion.
Yes, all told my slip fees are about $3,400 per year, for my 25' boat. In the water all year; we have neither a launch ramp, nor dry storage, nor a hoist although we have a boatyard next door.
Our facility includes electricity and water at each slip, but we don't have a pump out for the heads. The facility DOES have showers and decent restroom facilities, a communal BBQ and tables, clothes washer and dryer (coin operated laundry room) and we do two parties a year - 4th of July and Christmas. There is also a small, covered and sheltered, workbench with electricity for doing off-the-boat workbench type repairs and so forth.