What should I be aware of in seeking a marina mooring?

[woodfin]

After 7 years on a boat club mooring I will be moving next spring and looking for a mooring in an East Midlands marina, either near Rugby or Crick. As this will be my first time in a marina, I would be grateful for advice from members about what I should look for and beware of in my choice.

 

sincerely

[pwl]

We were marina hunting about this time last year. It really depends on what you want. Most marinas wont let you work on the boat while there so if you are DIY refitting or need to repaint you will alway have to leave. Some have a number of businesses e.g. Braunstone so you don't have to go far to get work done, others seem to not have a lot. Some do not like a high proportion of liveaboards. Do you want / need shorepower, a clubhouse, 24x7 camera security? I would suggest that you make a list of your wants / needs then discuss with the marinas that are in the area you want to be. When you have a shortlist go visit and have a look round. Good luck in the hunt.

 

P

Edited October 20, 2008 by pwl

[Athy]

PWL, your comments are valuable, but one of them surprises me. You say that most marinas won't let you work on your boat while you are in the marina. Although we now have an end-of-garden mooring, we previously moored at Whilton (G.U.) and Springwood Haven (Coventry). There was no objection to us working on our boat at either of these. Springwood did stipulate, quite reasonably, that we should not bring in outside professionals to work on our boat without consulting them - since they had, in Kevin, a first-class fitter on their staff, we never needed to.

[pwl]

We looked at 4 marinas in our area that had space when buying the boat (which we knew needed work) so I specifically asked. 3 said no. Maybe its our area or maybe it is because most were new with shore power and water to each mooring, laundry, clubhouse security etc but did not have any workshop so thy did not build / fitout boats there.

 

P

[alan_fincher]

Our's does not let you do any painting to the outside of the boat, nor preparation for painting, whilst on your mooring. It's easy to understand why, but in practice a severe restriction.

 

Internal fitting out is allowed, but if it extended to sawing up masses of 8 by 4 sheets outside the boat, I suspect they might begin to object.

 

We also could not bring outside workmen on site, which would include not being able to use an external engineer without taking the boat out of the marina.

 

Some people were putting fairly modest plastic outdoor boxes by their mooring, for example as a small coal store. Sadly we have now been written to, and told anything left ashore will in future be removed.

 

It's all a bit petty, really, and if I could easily find a linear mooring to suit, I probably would.

[wrigglefingers]

Beware hidden or unclear charges. Read the contract very carefully .........

[Dominic M]

After 7 years on a boat club mooring I will be moving next spring and looking for a mooring in an East Midlands marina, either near Rugby or Crick. As this will be my first time in a marina, I would be grateful for advice from members about what I should look for and beware of in my choice.

 

sincerely

You've a a good few to choose from at the moment. At the last count there were available spaces at Crick, Weltonfield, Braunston, Wigram's Turn, Ventnor Farm, Brinklow. Don't know about Calcutt but the prices there are very competitive so it may well be full. All of the above have full services.

Edited October 20, 2008 by Dominic M

[fuzzyduck]

You've a a good few to choose from at the moment. At the last count there were available spaces at Crick, Weltonfield, Braunston, yadda yadda yadda

 

Dominic, interesting, has this been the case for a long time, or is this a new situation?

 

And, is this in your opinion, an indication of a down turn in boating, or are they all out CCing?

[Athy]

Blimey Alan, who owns your marina? The Third Reich? To forbid the touching up of exterior paintwork is so petty and overbearing as to be almost beyond belief - I am sure that most of us would attack the scratches with pot and brush after a journey, and also try to keep up with the continuous encroachment of rust. Perhaps your marina owners prefer to see rows of scratched, unkempt-looking boats on their moorings?

[LEO]

Alan,

 

I used to moor in the Cowroast before the current owners took over and the same restriction about stored goods prevailed then. Good job too! as some owners used to end up with the most enormous pile of junk in front of their boat. It's a shame that BW don't operate the same policy more stringently on their linear moorings.

 

When choosing a marina it's worth looking at the car-parking policy, I think at your marina you can drive up to and park close to the boat - a real advantage.

 

Linear moorings - great, provided it's a non towpath side, with a 'no fishing' restriction opposite, a short distance from a lock, water-point and rubbish facility ( I am sure that boaters don't produce all the rubbish at these points, some skips seem to contain large amounts of builders hardcore) and one can cope with the often long walk from the road.

 

Albi.

[Dominic M]

Dominic, interesting, has this been the case for a long time, or is this a new situation?

 

And, is this in your opinion, an indication of a down turn in boating, or are they all out CCing?

I can't say that it seems noticeably less busy on the cut this past year than the previous few years, so where are they? Well, in the first place many new moorings have been created. Calcutt, Ventnor Farm and Crick all had substantial extensions built in the last two years. Brinklow is new and has never filled. There is a new large marina at Bugbrooke. So perhaps the marina expansions have proved to be a case of supply outstripping demand in this region, and/or they have priced themselves too highly.

 

Of one thing I am certain - in the current climate I suspect marina values have plummeted. They were changing hands for fantabulous sums. I am not at all convinced they will ride out the current depressed state of the property market and recover to those giddy values, because ther are too many other factors that may affect their long term values. people need houses to live in; a marina is never going to be an essential. The acid test will be to see what the next one sells for.

 

Where is this yadda yadda yadda I didn't mention?! I'd like to moor there

[koukouvagia]

Our's does not let you do any painting to the outside of the boat, nor preparation for painting, whilst on your mooring. It's easy to understand why, but in practice a severe restriction.

 

Internal fitting out is allowed, but if it extended to sawing up masses of 8 by 4 sheets outside the boat, I suspect they might begin to object.

 

We also could not bring outside workmen on site, which would include not being able to use an external engineer without taking the boat out of the marina.

 

Some people were putting fairly modest plastic outdoor boxes by their mooring, for example as a small coal store. Sadly we have now been written to, and told anything left ashore will in future be removed.

 

It's all a bit petty, really, and if I could easily find a linear mooring to suit, I probably would.

 

My advice is to find a marina where the owner knows and understands boats and boaters. The present owner of your marina, Alan, makes no secret of the fact that he would really have preferred to have invested his money in a caravan park because “caravaners are less demanding than boaters.”

Edited October 21, 2008 by koukouvagia

[fuzzyduck]

Where is this yadda yadda yadda I didn't mention?! I'd like to moor there

 

Thanks for the input. yadda yadda yadda is a marina just outside wagga wagga

[gaggle]

rows of scratched, unkempt-looking boats on their moorings?

perish the thought old boy , boats with scratches on are just not on , why it fair turns me brain to jelly.

unkempt you say , we will not have it , take the dirty boats elsewhere.

what a joker , reading the post i thought i was back smoking weed.

in fact now i know such people are still around i feel i will have to go back on the weed.

[Tony Brooks]

You've a a good few to choose from at the moment. At the last count there were available spaces at Crick, Weltonfield, Braunston, Wigram's Turn, Ventnor Farm, Brinklow. Don't know about Calcutt but the prices there are very competitive so it may well be full. All of the above have full services.

 

 

I still have the evidence of bodged jobs from one on that list so email me if you want a name.

 

I am very happy with Calcutt and their work & would recommend to to anyone

[alan_fincher]

The present owner of your marina, Alan, makes no secret of the fact that he would really have preferred to have invested his money in a caravan park because “caravaners are less demanding than boaters.”

LOL!

 

I can't possibly imagine who you mean!

 

To be fair his son largely runs the place, and can be very accommodating.

 

I've met a number of people who chose carefully which day they visit, given that you can generally work out who is on duty each day.

 

I have this gut feeling that with the complexities of selling gas oil from November 1st, we may see them only selling fuel on nominated days!

 

The ability to drive your car right up to you boat, though, as Albi pointed out, is a major plus point for this particular site.

 

We could do with some of this excess marina capacity being down here though - our annual increases have been somewhat ahead of inflation for some years. Some competition would be no bad thing, I can't help feeling.

 

Alan

[woodfin]

You've a a good few to choose from at the moment. At the last count there were available spaces at Crick, Weltonfield, Braunston, Wigram's Turn, Ventnor Farm, Brinklow. Don't know about Calcutt but the prices there are very competitive so it may well be full. All of the above have full services.

 

 

I am grateful to all who responded, many thanks for helpful advice. Continuing to tap this great wealth of experience, would anyone care to give ratings for marinas on the N. Oxford and G.Union canals? Dominic mentioned a number that have vacancies at present, which of these would you recommend?

 

sincerely

[John Orentas]

Hi Woody.

 

Any marina that told me that I could not work on my own boat I would not touch with a barge-pole.. A few locations in the north used to try that scam (and that's what it is) I think they all caved in eventually, certainly the marina I was in for a couple of decades never tried anything like that on with their moorers.. The only stipulation was that you kept the place tidy.

[NiceNarrowboat]

Hi Woodfin,

 

Probably pointing out the obvious, but...

 

Once you've shortlisted the marinas that are local/convenient/appeal to you, I would suggest trying to talk to some of the boatowners, especially liveaboards, about their views on the marina. A few years ago I learnt that one marina suffered from a lot of thefts, another was a fairly unfriendly sort of place, another had a launderette which rarely worked and so on. People are generally very honest, and have nothing to sell, so they are in the best position to answer questions, help you determine your real needs.

[WJM]

Choice of Marina? - Are you a Pump Out or a Cassette?!

 

Seems the only gripe at my moorings is the constant breakdowns of the Pump-Out machine. I guess it must be very stressful if you are live-aboard and your tank is full.

[woodfin]

Choice of Marina? - Are you a Pump Out or a Cassette?!

 

Seems the only gripe at my moorings is the constant breakdowns of the Pump-Out machine. I guess it must be very stressful if you are live-aboard and your tank is full.

 

Hi WJM<

 

I am not living aboard and have both pump out and porta.

[NiceNarrowboat]

Hi WJM<

 

I am not living aboard and have both pump out and porta.

 

Diplomacy in action!!!