How busy is it on the water East Coast?

[Capt. Greg]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

The above post brings home some realistic thoughts.

Yearly dockage 12 x $750 = $9,000
Yearly electric =12 x $75 = $ 900
Yearly insurance (guestimate) = $2,500
Yearly maintenance(g....) = $1,200
Bi-yearly haulout and bottom job = $3,000 ( figured on half value per year)

Just some rough numbers.. $16,600/annum.....

If you take out your boat 12 times a year, not an unreasonable number = $1,383 per trip.
To which must be added fuel costs, etc.

Anyway you look at it...it's an expensive " hobby" unless you sail/live aboard for 6-9 months out of the year...

It's been said, if it flies, floats or f###s, rent don't buy. It's much cheaper.

[Bay Breeze]

Quiet in Maine!

Last summer in Maine (SW Harbor) July had horrible weather all of July. This year in Rockland, weather is beautiful, if a little warmer, but marinas have lots of empty slips and plenty of vacant mooring balls. Wonder if the weather last year made folks skip July for cruising? Tourist traffic seems down too.

[ThomasShaw]

Might be the same here in Annapolis. I was out sailing yesterday and I could count the nearby sail and power boats on one hand. It was hot on shore but breezy and cooler on the Bay. A summer T-storm did pop up around 3 but that's pretty normal for the Chesapeake. A quick tour through the harbor showed a majority of the mooring balls were empty by early Sunday afternoon.

[JBsurfin]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

I noted in this previous thread It's a Buyers Market that it had been very quiet on the water earlier in southern New England. Well, this past July 4th and weekend confirms it for me--this is a very unusual season. I spent the forth at one of our favorite spots--Cuttyhunk Island. We have spent many July 4th holidays there over several decades and usually the problem is finding a place for the boat since the harbor is packed and there is no room to anchor. Not this year. We anchored on the outside anticipating the usual jam, but nobody showed up. We were near one of the outer mooring fields where maybe two moorings were occupied, and there were around a dozen boats total. We could have anchored inside if we had wanted to. Stayed on for the weekend, but moved into the anchorage inside--plenty of room. Almost all weekend there were moorings available inside and even slips in the marina. I kept asking people what was going on and nobody knows. My guess is boating traffic was down at least 50% from previous years. What are you seeing in your area along the East Coast?

We have noted several times this summer to be one of the few vehicles in the parking lot at our marina. Especially on the 4th long weekend. NJ

[merrydolphin]

Originally Posted by Orion Jim

I doubt there will be a general decrease. Everything today is considered a profit center. When my family was young, as an example, Block Island’s Great Salt Pond was an open anchorage and the town was not in the business of mooring ball rentals. Once visiting “yachts” were recognized as a potential source of income we started down the path which now results in a small portion of the pond open for anchoring and the vast majority consists of rental moorings.

I have found the this area, NJ and northward very cruiser unfriendly. If you didn’t have local connections and or arrangements, I found it very difficult to anchor. Pay for mooring balls, if you could even get them. It ‘s all about profit.
The only cruiser friendly area left on the east coast is NC and the Chesapeake area ( Annapolis expensive), and Maine. GA use to be before they passed a bunch of anti anchoring laws. Next time south will just go direct to the E Caribbean where they welcome cruisers. And really appreciate our business, even if we are anchored. Have gone both ways in the past and use to enjoy hopping along parts of the ICW and ports. Now, just give it all a miss.

And yes, the heat! The older I get, the less I can take the heat. At least in the E Caribbean there is always a nice breeze. Of course, only place to be in Hurricane season if you are still there, is Trinidad.

[allen lofland]

Just who is still producing small 30’and down , sailboats any more .???

[Dooglas]

I remain puzzled by the management theory that seems to guide the setting of rates and fees at private marinas. In my area, the rates of the large private marinas continue to rise annually. Yet at the same time, there are numerous vacant slips and the under 30' slips look at least half deserted in the winter (we are talking temperate West Coast of US). A little back of the envelope math suggests that these marinas could increase their income by reducing their rates and increasing their occupancy, but no one even tries that approach.

[MicHughV]

Wasn't that long ago, when my marina, then under the original management, had every single slip full. Every one of them. Dockage was reasonable and affordable.

Then a big conglomerate came along, bought the place out. First thing they did, was jack every price up. Big plans to build condo's. Boats left in droves. No condo was ever built. Today, the place is maybe 1/3 full.

I don't know who the bean counters are, but surely they must see the writing on the wall.

[CaptTom]

At least in this corner of the Northeast, the corporations and investment funds buying up marinas are having no trouble keeping customers, even when they significantly raise rates and fees, and add new rules requiring all work to be performed by their staff.

The new face of boating around here is the wealthy transplant coming here from the cities to our South, for whom these new rates and fees seem like chump change.

It's pure supply and demand. Waterfront property values and permitting bureaucracy make new marinas prohibitive to build. The "resort marinas" are making money hand over fist, offering the luxury and turn-key experience these new boat owners are after.

I wish there were market pressures to keep this gentrification at bay, but I'm just not seeing it. @MicHughV, might I ask where these 1/3 full marinas are located?

(As an aside, I bought a used truck this Spring. Prices are still historically high, which was good when I went to sell my old one, but at least my selection was better. They still laughed at me when I tried to haggle on the price though.)