Marinas Bite the Big One

[Fatbob]

Originally Posted by thinwater

Leave. They won't understand anything else. That is how a free market works.



You could always get the slip holders together and go condo/yacht club. That seems like the only other way.



My Chesapeake marina is $125/mo. for a 40-foot slip with electric and water. Someday he will sell and it will go ^^. The maintenance is marginal, but I don't want to complain.

Voting with your feet (leaving) sounds great in theory; however, because the GOV makes it impossible to build new marinas....where are you going to go when the large corporations own all the existing marinas?? Nothing like a GOV imposed barrier to entry to get the vultures circling. Just my 2 cents.

[lestersails]

Originally Posted by lituya1617

SOCIALISM: "1. A theory or system of social organization in which the means of production and distribution of goods are owned collectively or by the government." Webster's Dictionary. You good folks are not using the term "socialism" properly, but "Celestialsailor" is much closer to the definition than "lestersails".

Lituya
You can apparently use a dictionary, but yours seems to missing entries for parody and sarcasm.

[MicHughV]

gas prices in my neck of the woods is now at around $3.50/gal...non-ethanol marina gas now almost $5/gal.....I think the writing is on the wall, gas prices plus soaring marina prices is gonna hurt the pocketbook for a lot of folk, add in insurance, environmental, maintenance, etc...I see hard time ahead....

[Martinini]

Originally Posted by mvweebles

Where are you located? I own a condo with a slip on the ICW near St Pete FL. Marinas a full, ICW is crowded with boat traffic, though sailboats are the distinct minority (not great sailing due to skinny water, narrow channels, and bridges).

I lived in a marina 25-years ago that went corporate. It sucked, but nothing new. But you wanna know the real tragedy? Same thing is happening with mobile home parks where investers are buying up the parks and raising rates. Despite the name, mobile homes aren't exactly mobile. As a hedge/defense, mobile home park residents are buying their own parks so they are owner-operated.

Rather than complain, feel free to cough up the money and buy your marina. You can run it as a non-profit if you'd like to keep that old time vibe.

Peter

Oh THATS FUNNY! Where are people living on Social Security going to come up with the money to buy a Marina!!!! Or on pensions. Afraid I live in the Real World.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

gas prices in my neck of the woods is now at around $3.50/gal...non-ethanol marina gas now almost $5/gal.....I think the writing is on the wall, gas prices plus soaring marina prices is gonna hurt the pocketbook for a lot of folk, add in insurance, environmental, maintenance, etc...I see hard time ahead....

It always amazes me just how much time many of the powerboats in the marina spend sitting around un-used when gas prices spike. On the other hand, we're just likely to go shorter distances when out for the day and save the fuel budget for traveling. And when fuel prices are higher, we're less likely to trade fuel for time by running on plane, instead spending a larger portion of our time than we already do running slow.


Comparing our 2020 (cheap fuel) and 2021 (expensive fuel) seasons, we put 90 and 82 hours on the engines respectively. Part of that was just weather related, we didn't go out for just a day on the weekend quite as much as we lost more days to weather in 2021. And we didn't go as far when we did go out. We did a bit more traveling away from home in 2021, however. More interesting to note is the difference in our total fuel burn. Just shy of 1000 gallons for the 2020 season, about 720 gallons for the 2021 season. Fuel burn includes generator burn (~35 hours in 2020, 21 hours in 2021).

[Martinini]

Originally Posted by fstbttms

There are 12,000 marinas in this country. You list two as proof of your claim. Give us a break.

Yeah, but it's the truth!! If you weren't "Marine Service Provider" you would know! Also marinas these days are eliminating live aboards because they can charge Transient Fees that are double or triple the live aboard rates! At least here on the Gulf Coast. I speak with 15 years as a Cruiser on a boat.

[garyfdl]

Originally Posted by lestersails

Public ownership of property for the benefit of people who are not wealthy! It's the end of the world! Socialism!

Yep, pretty much.

And the money they get from slip rentals is about 60% of the park system's budget. (Public parks, more socialism.)

[lestersails]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

gas prices in my neck of the woods is now at around $3.50/gal...non-ethanol marina gas now almost $5/gal.....I think the writing is on the wall, gas prices plus soaring marina prices is gonna hurt the pocketbook for a lot of folk, add in insurance, environmental, maintenance, etc...I see hard time ahead....

Confused by this. Gasoline at $3.50/gal in 2022 is cheaper than it was in 1980, adjusted for inflation. Gas at marinas was always a lot more expensive than at gas stations. I have very clear memories of my dad griping about marina gas prices when I was a kid (which was a long time ago).

[Martinini]

Originally Posted by fstbttms

You miss the point. Just because a marina is bought up by a corporation doesn't mean the marina goes to hell. In fact, the two marinas local to me that were recently bought by Safe Harbor have not only kept their management and maintenance staff intact, the company has dumped money into much needed improvements. Those marinas are better places to keep a boat than they were before Safe Harbor acquired them.

The OP's (and your) point that corporate ownership of marinas is necessarily a bad thing is simply untrue.

You Work for them don't you!!!!

[garyfdl]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

It always amazes me just how much time many of the powerboats in the marina spend sitting around un-used when gas prices spike.

Some of the biggest power boats in out marina are 'dock condos'. They go from the travel lift to their slip in spring, and back again in fall. Never leave the harbor otherwise. Been that way for years.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by Martinini

Yeah, but it's the truth!!

As with the OP, your opinion about something doesn't make it a fact.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by garyfdl

Some of the biggest power boats in out marina are 'dock condos'. They go from the travel lift to their slip in spring, and back again in fall. Never leave the harbor otherwise. Been that way for years.

Plenty of those in our marina as well, although oddly the biggest ones in the marina all see a decent amount of use. And many of the powerboats in our marina that do see a decent bit of use are rarely out of the slip for more than a few hours at a time. Maybe a long weekend once a year.

[geozeck]

In 2014 my total dockage fees in Key West went above $2000 per month. We moved to Placencia, Belize and docked at a far nicer resort for about $300 per month with electricity. Problem solved.

[MicHughV]

Fishing boats take it on the chin......I can easily drop $300 on marine gas for a morning's fishing trip....now that is inching closer to $500 a trip....even with buddies helping at the gas pump...it's taking a big bite on the 'ole wallet...

I need to get new fishing buddies....my guys thinking $50 thrown into the pot is good going......I need to break the news to them about inflation...

I run twin 150 yammies....I look at the dudes with their twin 350 hp engines...and I can feel their pain...

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

Fishing boats take it on the chin......I can easily drop $300 on marine gas for a morning's fishing trip....now that is inching closer to $500 a trip....even with buddies helping at the gas pump...it's taking a big bite on the 'ole wallet...

I need to get new fishing buddies....my guys thinking $50 thrown into the pot is good going......I need to break the news to them about inflation...

I run twin 150 yammies....I look at the dudes with their twin 350 hp engines...and I can feel their pain...

Those guys with the 350s might not burn as much more as you think. If they burn 2.5 times the fuel per hour but get to the fishing spot in half the time it's only a little worse.