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usdivers61 · 28-06-2019, 13:18

Greetings team,

I am moving to Brisbane region for work, so of course my boat is coming with. Can anyone suggest which marinas are the cheapest for long term pens or moorings?

Looking for anything around Brisbane to 90 minutes drive out of the city.

Thanks in advance for the advice.

**JPA Cate** · 28-06-2019, 13:35

How about the pile moorings on the river?

We have stayed from time to time at the Moreton By Trailer Boat Club. Did not find their berths cheap. CF member Alan Mighty keeps his boat at Scarborough, maybe he'll chime in.

Ann

Alan Mighty · 28-06-2019, 16:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by usdivers61

I am moving to Brisbane region for work, so of course my boat is coming with. Can anyone suggest which marinas are the cheapest for long term pens or moorings?

Looking for anything around Brisbane to 90 minutes drive out of the city.

If only there were a simple answer!

Without any info on your profile, usdivers61, it's not easy to be focused in answering. So here's a start ...

First, what sort of boating (sailing or powered; if sailing then cruising or racing; solo or club oriented; deep draft or shallow draft; river, bay or ocean; fishing?; exploring?) and where (river, deeper parts of Moreton Bay, shoal parts of the Bay, Pacific Ocean, coast N or S of Moreton Bay)?

Second, where are you planning to reside - which might be determined by where you need to attend work and/or what sort of terrestrial lifestyle you want (assuming you are not planning to live aboard)? If you want to live in a coastal suburb (on the Redcliffe peninsula, at Brighton/Sandgate/Shorncliffe, or at Wynnum-Manly or Redlands) to take advantage of cooler days in summer and milder days in winter, then whichever of those options forces your choice of marina location (meaning you'd be crazy to live at Redlands and drive to Scarborough to board your boat). If you were to live in western Brisbane or Ipswich, your choice of where to keep you boat might be influenced by which roads carry you fastest on Friday afternoon (or Wednesday if you're into Wednesday races).

The where question is the big one. The choices include:
1. Northern Moreton Bay, for cruising, racing, fishing, exploring, and exit N to the ocean and the coast (Mooloolaba, Wide Bay Bar entrance to Great Sandy Strait, places north; without mentioning deep reef fishing or ocean cruising);

2. Central Moreton Bay, for cruising, racing, fishing, exploring (and exit N or S);

3. South Central Moreton Bay, for cruising, fishing, exploring (and exit S to southern Moreton Bay and via the Seaway to the Pacific); and we can toss in

4. Southern Moreton Bay, for cruising, fishing, exploring and exit to the Pacific via the Seaway.

Each of those four has its own characteristics and limitations: draught is a big limitation.

Perusal of the charts of Moreton Bay (you likely have electronic; otherwise you can do worse than to look at the Beacon to Beacon chartlets, freely downloadable in pdf from the msq.gov.qld website).

The marina/mooring options line up with Areas 1, 2, 3, 4.

A. Northern Moreton Bay:

Scarborough (three marinas in Scarborough Boat Harbour, one marina in the Newport Canals), Bribie Island (a marina for power boats because of a bridge limiting air draught). See (URLs to marina websites with prices etc): RIBnet Forums - Powered by vBulletin

and two entries (Pacific Shores and QCYC) listed in error on: RIBnet Forums - Powered by vBulletin

B. Central Moreton Bay and South Central Moreton Bay:

Marinas and clubs in the Brisbane River:
RIBnet Forums - Powered by vBulletin (also includes Horizon Shores at Woongoolba)

Marinas and clubs in Wynnum-Manly: RIBnet Forums - Powered by vBulletin

44'cruisingcat · 28-06-2019, 17:21

Worth checking prices at Hope Island marina. It's probably within your driving range, and has been well priced in our experience.

Alan Mighty · 28-06-2019, 19:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan Mighty

Perusal of the charts of Moreton Bay (you likely have electronic; otherwise you can do worse than to look at the Beacon to Beacon chartlets, freely downloadable in pdf from the msq.gov.qld website).

You'll find the Beacon to Beacon chartlets at: https://www.msq.qld.gov.au/Boating-maps

Mike Banks · 29-06-2019, 15:56

Cabbage Tree Creek at Shorncliffe is a good one IF you can get a berth. It is an easy walk to railway station and about 50 minutes or less to Brissy.

The truth is, a pile mooring in the Brisbane River is about as cheap as one can get--and while there were once plenty of spares one is now lucky to get one. What you save in marina fees being far out, you will easily spend in fares. Parking of vehicles is a problem too. Pile moorings have no parking allocations, where some marinas do offer more secure parking--all care but no responsibility--

usdivers61 · 29-06-2019, 16:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Banks

Cabbage Tree Creek at Shorncliffe is a good one IF you can get a berth. It is an easy walk to railway station and about 50 minutes or less to Brissy.

The truth is, a pile mooring in the Brisbane River is about as cheap as one can get--and while there were once plenty of spares one is now lucky to get one. What you save in marina fees being far out, you will easily spend in fares. Parking of vehicles is a problem too. Pile moorings have no parking allocations, where some marinas do offer more secure parking--all care but no responsibility--

Is Cabbage Tree a marina?

Mike Banks · 29-06-2019, 16:34

Googled it--

Cabbage Tree Creek Marina - Marina information

Alan Mighty · 29-06-2019, 17:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Banks

Googled it--

Cabbage Tree Creek Marina - Marina information

Go back and look at cruiserswiki.org/wiki/Brisbane then look down for the QCYC (QLD Cruising Yacht Club) entry.

But that's not the question that usdivers61 should focus on first.

His (or her) primary question is what is the draught of her (or his) 10m sailing boat.

Given the nature of Moreton Bay, your draught determines where you sail and, secondarily, where you berth or moor your vessel. A deep draught (deep fin) yacht has limitations that a vessel with a draught of less than 1.8 m (or 1.5 m) does not face. The shoaler the draught, the fewer limitations.

auskiwi · 30-06-2019, 01:14

Horizon shores marina, near Jacobs well might be worth checking, rates used to be reasonable,35- 40 min drive to Brisbane, about 10 min to station. I second Hope Island Marina, reasonable rates, try negotiating it worked for me, and they take liveaboards. Marina is also about 10 min to station, 45 min to Brisbane.

**Jim Cate** · 30-06-2019, 03:13

All those marinas in he Broadwater area share the problem of being a long way from good sailing waters . May not be important to the OP... is to me!

Jim

OldGreyB · 22-07-2019, 15:46

The Raby Bay area, located next to the Cleveland Train Station is 35 minutes by car or 55 minutes by train from the CBD. This canal estate has many pontoons that are privately let at reasonable prices. Typically the sections have a side entry that allows access to the pontoon without to much disturbance to the home owner. Not for live aboard, but good for normal mooring and ready access to Morton Bay. Also normal provision shopping in Cleveland , plus the marina area for good restaurants, bars and fuel. PM me if you want more information on how one finds an available pontoon. This gives a Google Map reference:[URL="https://www.google.com/maps/@-27.5237043,153.2533983,15z"]

usdivers61 · 22-07-2019, 15:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldGreyB

The Raby Bay area, located next to the Cleveland Train Station is 35 minutes by car or 55 minutes by train from the CBD. This canal estate has many pontoons that are privately let at reasonable prices. Typically the sections have a side entry that allows access to the pontoon without to much disturbance to the home owner. Not for live aboard, but good for normal mooring and ready access to Morton Bay. Also normal provision shopping in Cleveland , plus the marina area for good restaurants, bars and fuel. PM me if you want more information on how one finds an available pontoon. This gives a Google Map reference:[URL="https://www.google.com/maps/@-27.5237043,153.2533983,15z"]

Thanks for that. I have moved the boat to the Scarborough Marina at the moment. Almost next door to the shipwright which is really good, as in the process of large refit.

Alan Mighty · 23-07-2019, 21:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by usdivers61

Thanks for that. I have moved the boat to the Scarborough Marina at the moment. Almost next door to the shipwright which is really good, as in the process of large refit.

Welcome to Scarborough Boat Harbour and ScarbMarina, usdivers61! Best wishes for your refit.

Here's a gift, a photo (taken at low tide by Lynne Broughton) of ScarbMarina and a bit of the rest of Scarborough Boat Harbour, and with Deception Bay in the background: Scarborough Marina.jpg, about 87 KB.

I expect you've met the important people: Tracy in the office, Steve in the yard, Jim & Troy of Booker Marine, and Mark of Boatworks.

If you ask Tracy, she can show you the 2018 hydrographic chartlet of the marina. Least depth of 1.8 m, but there're a few spots to know about if you're entering or exiting at spring low tide. I'll attach the MSQ survey statement from 2018, but the chartlet (if Tracy has it at hand) gives the best idea. See survey-scarborough-boat-harbour-03.18.pdf, about 174 KB.

Steve is the man to know if you're hauling out. ScarbMarina is one of the few marinas with a tug service to place you in the TraveLift slings.

Jim and Troy will look after you if you've any engine (inboard and some outboards) work. Golden spanner rates for golden spanner quality work and advice.

Mark and his lead hand, Pat, and their offsiders can do whatever you cannot do. Just make sure that you have your job list agreed with Mark on paper.

You might want to consider joining the Moreton Bay Boat Club. Wed and Sat races, such as on the Garnet Rock course, if you're so inclined. Discount meals for members.

You'll find a number of interesting and useful firms in the Clontarf Industrial area, such as Zackly for fasteners, and ATS Nets & Supplies for shackles and other marine supplies.

Whitworths chandleries are not handy - the nearest ones are at Balaclava St, Woolloongabba; and Breakfast Creek Rd, Breakfast Ck. Whitworths will hold its next discount sale in 2020, on the Friday and Saturday of the Gold Coast/Sanctuary Cove boat show - worth marking the calendar for the 15% discount. If all else fails, there is always Boat Harbour Marine.

Scarborough Boat Harbour is a working harbour, with a fleet of trawlers and netters. The trawlers are of two kinds: Bay trawlers that work inside the Bay from Sunday evening to Friday night; and larger trawlers that work outside the Bay. Consequences include occasional spills of fuel and oil inside the Boat Harbour. Avoiding the berths closest to the trawlers is not a bad idea.

The location of ScarbMarina shows one particular strength in the thunderstorm season that roughly runs from Sept to March. When warm humid air at the surface extending inland to the Darling Downs and other hinterlands combines with colder air at mid-levels, an upper level trough for instability, and Westerly steering winds at higher levels, thunderstorms can form and head towards the coast. The particular local geography usually means that Scarborough is spared the worst with t-storm cells heading N towards the Sunshine Coast or S of Scarborough (and so ploughing the suburbs of Brisbane). Hail at Scarborough is rare and small in size if it does fall. That doesn't mean that ScarbMarina is free of nasty weather incidents - you'll be able to find dock mates to tell you about ex-Cyclone Debbie and so on.