Dock Fee By The Foot

[Midnightsun]

Most Marinas charge by the foot for a seasonal slip in our area. Used to be it was what was written on the boat such as mine would have been 41. Marinas started charging by LOA to get a little more income which is fine so mine was bumped to 43 which is the actual manufacturers spec. This year they measured my boat and charged me for a 45. I showed him the actual spec but he said they measured it and it was 45, said the spec did not include the anchor sticking out the end!!!

Is this fair? Have others had to deal with this? Should I just say I will drop my anchor slightly so it does not stick out? Not a big deal but I feel this is a going a little overboard.

Better not lean my flagpole over the transom too far or it will be another foot fee.

[buster53]

Not trying to be ugly, but their marina, their rules. Either accept it or take your business elsewhere. It’s your choice. You can try to argue/reason with them, but I’m guessing you will be beating a dead horse.

[Midnightsun]

They just changed harbour master so I did put in a request to review this" Not that it will make a difference as I will stay regardless, more on principle than anything else. Will see what the response is.

[Tireless]

To be honest I thinks it is what it is, a money grab, pure and simple.

Our marina charges me for my slip (50'), doesn't matter how big the boat is, so I don't have to play that game.

I see your frustration. Most people charge based on the length derived by the model number from what I have seen. Newer boat model numbers are actually based on the LOA now anyway.

Greg

[Grafunkus]

That is what our current marina does. And when it comes to wrapping they automatically wrap the swim platform! So not necessary but they are the only game in town for our large boats!!

[tomschauer]

In our area they charge by the slip size. If you rent a 40' slip, you can put a 40' boat or a 20' boat in the slip, same price.
Can't blame them for that. If they charged by the foot the big slips would be full of little boats and their revenue would be half of what it should be. Also, probably couldn't find a slip for a larger boat, as the smaller day boats are taking over.
If you are transient they charge $1.50 a foot/ night

[RGrew176]

My marina also charges by the slip size. I have a 35' slip so my 3007 fits inside nicely. Nothing sticks out. I actually measured my slip just for kicks and it's actually 35' 9" long. My boat is 34' even not counting the anchor which sticks out another 6" or so. Personally I think charging by the size of the slip is the way to go.

[Phrancus]

Here (note; Europe) we're charged by the square meter. So width also matters. As long as we have more long boats than short, this works out fine so we don't get small boats occupying big slips.

This is not a commercial port though, so it's the members through the chairman (plus team) who decide what is fair and what is less (or not but acceptable in the end).

All fees together pay for all water/electricity/maintenance etc so no complex charging system for that. A bit of monitoring of electricity (expensive over here) is done to distinguish between heavy users and the usual trickle charge users.

Generally: bigger boat, member for longer, more involved in the club, more to say. Newcomers are seasonal guests at first and can choose to apply for membership. Members get the right to vote and pay a relatively high entrance fee but get discount on the per meter fee. To avoid people coming and going too quickly and influencing the longer term stability of the club's strategy and rules.

In the end it's always a discussion with many variables. What to do with that anchor sticking out, or a dinghy, or the height blocking the view from the terrace, and some slips have different specifications (high, low, long, short, pole, etc). Policy is to keep it simple and even it all out. Those with much higher 'advantage' are known and generally donate a voluntary extra to the club.

The slips are used for guests who visit and pay an overall fee per night. That usually fills in the financial holes in the budget.

[bud37]

Plain and simple it is a business like any other looking to maximize their revenue one way or the other. Frankly I am surprised you are only seeing this now as it has been the rule at some marinas I have been at for years......

[Cooler]

Yea, but don't be afraid to measure your boat to keep them honest. I had a marina, and a storage facility make " a mistake " when they measured mine. Seemed they both must have read the tape wrong. er