Marina waiting lists

[Apex]

What is your experience with waiting lists and where?

I am currently in Elk Rapids, MI, 28ft slip. Excellent marina in Northern Lake Michigan. Of course two-foot-itis has set in (actually 4 to 9ft) so I am on a wait list in order to upgrade eventually.....

140 people on the list for the 31-38ft slips, and the next open slot goes to someone who has been waiting since 2015.

 

[Terry Cox]

Will save a long story about our wait list experience with the Everett Marina, WA for another time. Needless to say the end result was relocating to a more accommodating marina further north where we’ve been for several years and much happier for it..

 

[rgranger]

Many people on the wait list will have made other accommodations once the marina finally contacts them. Sort of like @Terry Cox mentioned in the previous post. So .... it will move a little faster than you first suspect.

 

[Jackdaw]

Get to know the marina manager well and go out of your way to be considerate, friendly, take care of your boat and lines, and always pay your bills on time. In most cases there is NOTHING in law or agreement that says they must give out slips in any particular order. Many marinas will do it based on how the manager feels about an applicant and will give priority to someone they know is a good egg.

You will have an additional complication if there is demand for the bigger slips but not for your size. Then you're likely to wait full term (or longer!) to move up as they will not move you to a slip with a waiting list and leave yours empty.

 

[Justin_NSA]

We wish we had a problem like that. Too many open slips ever since the drought. When I joined I had to sublet a slip until something opened up. Do you have that option?

 

[Scott T-Bird]

Looks like a prime location with small capacity. I can see why you want to stay. There must be slip availability somewhere else nearby, but it may not be as nice as what you have. I doubt that you can wait for a slip and then buy the boat. I'd guess that you will have to buy the boat, move on, and put yourself on the list and wait. Or keep your boat. I can tell you that moving from our Starwind 27 to our Catalina 320 has been a HUGE pleasure. At your location, I wouldn't hesitate to move up in size and find a marina that can accommodate you. I would not wait 5 years for the hope of a slip.

 

[srimes]

I've seen boats listed for sale here with available slip transfer. Maybe search for the package deal?

 

[Rick D]

First slip in 1970, long wait list. I walked into the dockmaster's office and he asked me how soon I could have the boat in it. I said tomorrow. He said fill out this form, etc. Turns out he had booted someone out and wanted the slip filled. I was on a wait list in SoCal's Alamitios Bay from 1969 to 1981 for a 30'. For our Catalina Island mooring, 13 years. For our current Long Beach Shoreline Marina slip, 3 years. Things change. Vacancies in Long Beach, Catalina moorings not being filled (in some coves).

 

[capta]

Is there no way you can put your new boat in your present slip until a larger one opens up? Of course you'd pay more, but at least you'd have a slip.
I've never had the waiting list experience, but I have put my boat into a 35' slip w/o any problems after the widest point got by the pilings. One of the pluses of having a rub rail.

 

[Brian D]

Oseanside Ca Marina has a wait list. The size of the list now is unknown. However, when I bought my boat in 2005, the boat was in a sub-lease slip so I had to move it. To get on and stay on the wait list one had to pay, I think then, $75/year. This guarantees the Marina will have a LOT of income.

I moved the boat shortly after I bought it to Chula Vista South marina. No wait list, and no waiting. I eventually moved to Oceanside after I bought a junker and sold it. I took over the slip.

I was on the Camp Pendleton wait list for many years. Very small marina with a lot of active/civil service/retirees waiting. Eventually through attrition I got a slip here. But Oceanside with its Pay-to-Play. Wow!

 

[Justin_NSA]

You have to pay an annual fee just to be on a waiting list!? Capitalism at its peak!

 

[Brian D]

Yeppers! It's gone up I see.

"Applicants pay a $90 annual fee to be on the slip-waiting list, and a one-time fee of $100 to get on the live-aboard wait list.Jun 28, 2017"

 

[Apex]

I'll go back and check the rules re: taking over a slip with boat purchase. But there is a couple of stories on overage. 1st, in my slip "no". I did get approval from the harbor master last year if my dock mate would swap slips, as his is next to a 50' slip, so I reasoned with Mike that overage there would not be an issue. I've never met that guy, just his son twice in 3years. My opinion is he was denied that same request years ago, because he was a bit grumpy about being asked. My error was to tell him the "why". I had my eye on a bene 33.7 at that time. It will all come together in time.

Wait lists here are $20 application fee for each wait list. 31-38 is the only one of interest for me, my storage unit is 38ft, so that ties out well. 32ft-36ft really is the sweet spot for boat size I am looking for too.

The waitlist was 2-3yrs for my current slip size, and got that in 1 yr, so perhaps the wait will be shorter.

Thanks JD for the advice, I can see that as helpful.