Are Australian Marinas Ripping Boat Owners Off?

[tonysail1]

Originally Posted by chala

Try Marina and do not forget, all marinas in Darwin have locks and the locks cost a fortune to maintain.

Or alternately in Darwin hang off the hook in Fannie Bay for 9 mths of the year for the cost of membership at Darwin Sailing Club (for facilities). Its been well over a decade since I lived in Fannie Bay (in a rusty old 34' Temptress), but my memory it only cost me maybe $100 or $200 for the membership at DSC - no other fees whatsoever. I think there was also a cruisers fee for transient sailors which was very reasonable. The facilities were pretty basic - but the showers were hot, the laundry worked, and the beers were lovely and cold.
That sort of cost-cutting makes a few months in a marina during cyclone season pretty attractive - access to power = air-con.
They also had reasonably good meals at the DSC, and there was a liveaboard special which was literally cheaper than chips.
No doubt the costs have gone up, but Fannie Bay I suspect is still one of the best liveaboard locales in Australia by a country mile. I remember it as a bloody brilliant liveaboard location.

p.s., Bayview Haven used to also be known as Baygon Haven, and for bloody good reason.

[haiqu]

Originally Posted by bobconnie

Darn I love my Bayou side property! 25,000 bought us 150ft of Bayou side property with dockage for 3 to 5 boats (3 with our 51 ft there) A shoreside warehouse for storage and washer and dryer, showers and such, an outdoor kitchen and parking for our 2 cars. costs almost nothing for power and water down here (water is always 10 to 12 dollars, and garbage pick up 10 dollars included in the water bill) I can be in open water in less then an hour The weather is hot and humid 7 mo,s or the year the other 5 are great! easy cruise to Mexico and any place in the Caribe. It's not Fla, but it's a bunch cheaper! LOL just sayin Theres places out there if ya look ! we did and love it down the bayou

Holy cow Bob, that's a bargain. Can't buy anything with water frontage in Australia for less than $250k and even that would be a small building block. I know, I've been looking for years.

You can "buy" a berth for less, there was one available in the Gold Coast a while ago for $25k but the downside is that the land is on a 25 year leasehold and monthly administration fees add up to more than a rental mooring.

The only viable alternative is a swing mooring, which is cheap at Woolwich - $710pa. My Brisbane yacht is anchored and I pay nothing.

[Boatguy30]

There are a lot of leaseholds in his area as well, maybe what he is talking about. Will be a sad day when one can no longer anchor in Brisbane. I had my boat in a marina in Manly in 2006. Don't recall it being too much maybe $500 a month? Guess it had gone up quite a bit since then. The downside of a strong economy and good wages. Don't have that problem here, but seems dockage rates are on the rise regardless.....

[dirkdig]

Originally Posted by sctpc

Thats what is happening in Melbourne NOW all private mooring holders now have in St Kilda a Yacht club RMYS, as land lord instead of parks Vic price has gone from $280 to over $1300 for a mooring they are screwing the little man for the mega yacht owners

Well its the same in Geelong and we pay $1650 for a mooring.
$1300 sounds ok

[Talbot]

Originally Posted by dirkdig

Well its the same in Geelong and we pay $1650 for a mooring.
$1300 sounds ok

Is that per month or per year? Is there an additional chage if the boat is a multihull?

[Boatguy30]

I hope a year? Same as here then, it will no doubt rise when the other rate payers find out how much the city is loosing on the moorings and they need to service the debts on the fancy new yacht docks they put in at the marina.

[sctpc]

Originally Posted by dirkdig

Well its the same in Geelong and we pay $1650 for a mooring.
$1300 sounds ok

I moved to Williamstown (a bit choppy) but back to $280 + service.
And at st kilda its 2k for membership also or if you give them a 20k loan its free for 5 years.

Talbot Its a year renting from the government but they sell the fields to private interests

[Sabbatical II]

Originally Posted by BillAU

G'day mates,

I have been offered two vessels at pretty reasonable prices, one is in Sydney, NSW (Woolwich Marina) and one is in Darwin, NT (Tipperary Waters Marina) The seller in Darwin tells me he pays $720AU Per Month for marina fees just to park the boat, if he wants to stay aboard, that's an extra charge. I like the boat in Darwin best, even though it needs more work to make her seaworthy, so I checked on-line for the charges charged by the marina in Sydney, for the vessel in Darwin, the cost of using the Sydney marina start at $100AU Per Day A mooring in the Sydney marina would cost $40 per day or, $495 per month. I think those charges are as bad as those charged for parking your car at Melbourne Airport, which is a bloody rip-off IMHO, so what do you think, is owning a sea going vessel or living aboard, in Australia, just for the well-heeled with their gin-palaces or weekend luxury sailors
What do you pay at your marina or mooring in your neck of the woods
Bill
Australia

No the marinas are not ripping you off. Up until 6 weeks ago I rented a slip at Marmong Marina on Lake Macquarie for $840p.m. for a 13 metre berth. Their weekly rate was about $240. If you went to Sydney the cost of doing business is so much higher I can believe that they need to charge extra. When calculating what you think a marina's costs might be don't forget to add a considerable chunk for the cost of financing the capital to establish the business and then an even bigger chunk for profit. If a business can't recover these amounts then why would they bother?. A business can charge what it likes and if it's ripping people off, it will have no customers. A good example of a good marina business is Soldiers Point Marina. Their standard rate for a 13m berth was $95 per night & it wasn't holiday season. That's Sydney prices and their in a small town. If you don't like it there are other marinas. I will go back to Soldiers Point every time because I regard value as being more important than the cheapest price. With a few boat problems needing fixing, their free loan car was at my disposal whenever I wanted. The free glass/s of wine while using their guest room with free internet was appreciated as is their spotless bathrooms that would rival the Hilton Hotel. Can you do without all this? Of course you can, just go to one of their competitors who can't even give you a smile or maintain their facilities properly. There is a cost to doing things well just as there is a cost to having a business in a major city where land is at a premium and wages are out of proportion to regional centres.

FYI- You can lease a mooring in Lake Macquarie for about $400 per year and it's not so far to drive. When I return home at the end of the year, that what I'll be doing. Nightly marina prices up the East Coast so far: Newcastle $60; Coffs Harbour $55 (for no power & terrible facilities); Gold Coast $55; Manly $55 or $220 for the week + $45 to liveaboard. I have to return home for a funeral and so have booked Bundy from Friday for a week for $240.

[dirkdig]

Originally Posted by Talbot

Is that per month or per year? Is there an additional chage if the boat is a multihull?

Per year, mono / multi same price.

[dirkdig]

Three of the best value we have used is Hope harbour marina on the Gold Coast, Blue Water marina in Cairns and Newcastle marina.

Great service and really helpful staff.

Best bang for buck though is waterfront city marina right in the city in Melbourne $45 a night or $270 a week, top facilities and awesome city location.

[ausaviator]

$1,100 per month plus for a 38ft cat in Melbourne right in the City, less elsewhere and also more than that elsewhere. Or you can just buy one for $120k+ with a life limit and god knows what running costs!

[capttman]

Come to southern USA and you will think you are living life cheap!!! 300 a month just for city moorings.. $25 per foot per month not uncommon for mono add more for cats

[haiqu]

Originally Posted by bobconnie

Darn I love my Bayou side property! 25,000 bought us 150ft of Bayou side property with dockage for 3 to 5 boats (3 with our 51 ft there) A shoreside warehouse for storage and washer and dryer, showers and such, an outdoor kitchen and parking for our 2 cars. costs almost nothing for power and water down here (water is always 10 to 12 dollars, and garbage pick up 10 dollars included in the water bill) I can be in open water in less then an hour The weather is hot and humid 7 mo,s or the year the other 5 are great! easy cruise to Mexico and any place in the Caribe. It's not Fla, but it's a bunch cheaper! LOL just sayin Theres places out there if ya look ! we did and love it down the bayou

On the other hand, there's this: Louisiana's Bayou Is Sinking: Can $50 Billion Save It?

Good thing you have boats available for when it inevitably sinks.

[bouncingyellow]

Originally Posted by dirkdig

Three of the best value we have used is Hope harbour marina on the Gold Coast, Blue Water marina in Cairns and Newcastle marina.

Great service and really helpful staff.

Best bang for buck though is waterfront city marina right in the city in Melbourne $45 a night or $270 a week, top facilities and awesome city location.

Agreed with hope harbour marina, staying at magnetic island marina at the moment and that is much better value than Townsville

[monte]

pretty sure you can tie alongside for free in Melbourne, just along from the marina as well.