Marinas Bite the Big One

[redsky49]

Well, there is no other way to put it. Marinas are on a disturbing spiral and I see no end in sight.

Over the past ten or 15 years, venture groups and holding companies have been buying up many, if not most, of the better marinas across the US. These companies are versed in acquisitions and marketing, hospitality and investment. These are not owner operated or family run.

The result of this trend - higher prices and less service. Long-time experienced staff are dismissed, and corporate, "team" members are brought in.

My favorite and long-time home base marina in the Chesapeake (starts with a Z) had precisely this happen a few years ago. Result:
GM fired
Service Mgr. fired
Experienced service technicians fired or left of own accord.

And slip fees jumped. Service declined.

Just happened again here in Florida. Big financial Corp buys marina I am currently at, raises slip fees 41%; changes billing so that you pay up front, and not in arrears; eliminates amenities, etc..

So there is no longer a local owner, but a corporate raider comprised of CEO, COO, CFO CMO, CTO, plus enough VPs to choke a horse.
And we still don't have internet that was promised to be fixed three years ago.

I understand that boaters are looked at as cash cows, but the truth of the matter is that a lot of us are retirees, living on fixed incomes. Getting hit with a $237 monthly slip fee increase, with 30 days notice isn't a happy thing.

I have seen others over the years complain about costs associated with boating. Seems most comments are "if you don't like it, leave."

Well, I don't like and I will leave, but to where?
Industry consolidation (elimination of competitors and creation of monopolies) is not in the public's best interest. Remember when there were more than just West Marine for boating supplies?

A handful of large companies are taking control over the marinas, docks and boatyards. This will not end well.

[Celestialsailor]

Not sure if you have seen this thread. Kind of the same thought...
https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ld-260144.html

[gonesail]

it goes hand in hand with all the changes that have come about in the last 30 or 40 years. back then it was boat US .. not west marine. i keep hearing the same thing: boating is a rich man's game now. maybe it always was .. but it seems a lot tougher for the regular folks now days. i guess the other side of the coin is that a lot of older marinas need work and selling out is a way to get the work done. and sometimes it takes a new owner to come in and clean out the bums and derelicts. but being told "if you don't like it then go somewhere else" stinks

[ChrisJHC]

It sounds like most marinas in the US are privately owned.
Here in Aus, the majority are owned by yacht clubs.
Hopefully that will reduce the likelihood of the situation you described happening here.

[Orion Jim]

Must admit 600 bucks a month for a 41 footer seems like a decent price. I’ve been paying my annual slip fee and winter storage up front for many years. And I’ve been retired for nine years….so far.

[thinwater]

Leave. They won't understand anything else. That is how a free market works.



You could always get the slip holders together and go condo/yacht club. That seems like the only other way.



My Chesapeake marina is $125/mo. for a 40-foot slip with electric and water. Someday he will sell and it will go ^^. The maintenance is marginal, but I don't want to complain.

[Stu Jackson]

OK, I finally made it to 76 Trombones, and I gotta tell you kids:



You're starting to sound just like my parents and grandparents talking about the good old days and how the kids are making the world going to hell in a hand basket.

[Orion Jim]

Originally Posted by thinwater

Leave. They won't understand anything else. That is how a free market works.



You could always get the slip holders together and go condo/yacht club. That seems like the only other way.



My Chesapeake marina is $125/mo. for a 40-foot slip with electric and water. Someday he will sell and it will go ^^. The maintenance is marginal, but I don't want to complain.

Fifteen hundred bucks a year with electricity and water for 40 foot slip…..amazing. Sounds like a “friends and family” deal. If you share the name of the marina I’ll be your neighbor tomorrow.

[garyfdl]

Originally Posted by Orion Jim

Must admit 600 bucks a month for a 41 footer seems like a decent price.

My 30' slip in a municipal marina costs me $855... a season! The 40 footers are about $250 more. That said, it is on a lake (30 miles long and 9 wide) but will soon (hopefully) have water access via a restored canal system to Green Bay (Great Lakes) and, we only have access/use from April 15th to November 15th.

Several lifetimes ago, I used to live in Noank, on McDonald Ct. (was stationed at the sub base). Is Abbot's still in business?

[deblen]

Sounds like the "American Dream" to me. Capitalism,Un-regulated free enterprise,etc.
Cheers/Len

[Auklet]

Originally Posted by redsky49

Well, there is no other way to put it. Marinas are on a disturbing spiral and I see no end in sight.

Over the past ten or 15 years, venture groups and holding companies have been buying up many, if not most, of the better marinas across the US. These companies are versed in acquisitions and marketing, hospitality and investment. These are not owner operated or family run.

The result of this trend - higher prices and less service. Long-time experienced staff are dismissed, and corporate, "team" members are brought in.

My favorite and long-time home base marina in the Chesapeake (starts with a Z) had precisely this happen a few years ago. Result:
GM fired
Service Mgr. fired
Experienced service technicians fired or left of own accord.

And slip fees jumped. Service declined.

Just happened again here in Florida. Big financial Corp buys marina I am currently at, raises slip fees 41%; changes billing so that you pay up front, and not in arrears; eliminates amenities, etc..

So there is no longer a local owner, but a corporate raider comprised of CEO, COO, CFO CMO, CTO, plus enough VPs to choke a horse.
And we still don't have internet that was promised to be fixed three years ago.

I understand that boaters are looked at as cash cows, but the truth of the matter is that a lot of us are retirees, living on fixed incomes. Getting hit with a $237 monthly slip fee increase, with 30 days notice isn't a happy thing.

I have seen others over the years complain about costs associated with boating. Seems most comments are "if you don't like it, leave."

Well, I don't like and I will leave, but to where?
Industry consolidation (elimination of competitors and creation of monopolies) is not in the public's best interest. Remember when there were more than just West Marine for boating supplies?

A handful of large companies are taking control over the marinas, docks and boatyards. This will not end well.

Around here in Southern California the privately owned marinas offer far more in “services” and amenities than the municipal ones. Slip prices not much different among comparable areas. But newer facilities will up the price.

BTW unless wealthy, everybody lives on an income not easy to increase w/o changing jobs or situations. So, all those working folks are on a “fixed income” unless in sales or maybe owners their own businesses. People have conflated living on a fixed-income investment such as an annuity as living on a fixed income of normal types. It’s not living on social security b/c SS gets COLA adjustments as do many pension plans. Any person working on a (fixed) salary and hit with a 27% increase in slip fees will feel the same pain as a retired person living on an annuity. Can’t just go out an get a salary increase on demand. Are we saying that persons living on fixed-income investments should receive more “sympathy” than a working stiff on a barely adequate salary trying to keep up a boat slip?

[garyfdl]

Originally Posted by deblen

Sounds like the "American Dream" to me. Capitalism,Un-regulated free enterprise,etc.
Cheers/Len

Yeah... no. That's not the 'American Dream'.

[maine50]

to Garyfdl- yes Abbotts is still open.

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

about the good old days and how the kids are making the world going to hell in a hand basket.

You have read the news this last two years...right?

[Chenega]

Originally Posted by garyfdl

My 30' slip in a municipal marina costs me $855... a season! The 40 footers are about $250 more. That said, it is on a lake (30 miles long and 9 wide) but will soon (hopefully) have water access via a restored canal system to Green Bay (Great Lakes) and, we only have access/use from April 15th to November 15th.



Several lifetimes ago, I used to live in Noank, on McDonald Ct. (was stationed at the sub base). Is Abbot's still in business?

Abbot’s is still there..!