Please, do not whine....

[Nicholson58]

Michigan DNR stopped charging by the foot. Finger docks rent by the slip. A 30 foot boat or a 40 foot boat pay the same.
for a given slip. You can only put one boat, no matter the length, in any slip. No more quibbling or tape measures. Overhangs are not an issue as long as you don’t block the sidewalk or waterway.

[hukilaumike]

I'm beginning to think that my marina is a unicorn. We pay for the finger pier size, not by LOA. Slips on my pier have 26' fingers, and can hold boats up to 30'; we all pay the same price, regardless of the boat LOA. I know at least one guy who has a 28 foot boat, but pays for a slip that can hold up to a 36' boat because it gives him extra room in the fairway to back up.

[Mauruuru]

I always was told growing up “if you don’t want to be treated like a liar, then don’t lie”. Same goes for cheating and stealing which is what they are doing to the marina owners. You are not required to berth there and they aren’t required to offer you your preferred price! If you can’t afford it, go somewhere else.

[gonesail]

i'm in an older marina. 30' boats were considered fair sized boats back in the day. so there are a lot of smaller slips. my 30' boat fits perfectly in my slip. my neighbor's grand banks 42 sticks out 10' into the fairway. but he pays for 42 feet which is the way it should be

[Carl-T705]

Originally Posted by BillKny

Spot on!

Every dockmaster knows EXACTLY how far apart his pilings are, and how many dock boards there are per foot. You can fib all you want, but he KNOWS.

At this marina/boatyard the whole process of measuring boats every time was initiated by a VERY famous YouTube boat who showed up and basically demanded all kinds of special treatment and free stuff in return for free advertising. In addition to using facilities while they were out anchored that they were supposed to pay for, but never did. Do they think they are anonymous or something???

The marina owner pointed out he was full up and turning away customers without spending a dime on advertising, thank you very much, now pay your bill! The YouTuber's reported their boat as the length on the documentation certificate, which was actually LOD, not LOA, and they had an arch with davits, and a bow pulpit, etc.

The owner got so pissed at them he marched down the dock, muttering that there was NO WAY the boat was the length they said... sure enough he got to add 8 feet to their bill... every day they were there. Not a lot of money, but it's the thought that counts!

So now he measures every boat, as a matter of course. A great example of leaving a very stinky wake behind you...

. Well if you sell potatoes by the pound, would you allow the buyer to put potatoes in a bag and then tell you what he thinks it weighs or would you weigh it?? If you rent a slip by the foot and you don't measure the craft you are just being lazy.

[David Ess]

This thread reminds me of a recent one where the boater was indignant because the marina had the temerity to raise slip fees. In both the boating world, and landlubber world, apparently its common that many people think they are not as rich as they deserve to be.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by hukilaumike

I'm beginning to think that my marina is a unicorn. We pay for the finger pier size, not by LOA. ...

Originally Posted by Nicholson58

Michigan DNR stopped charging by the foot. Finger docks rent by the slip. A 30 foot boat or a 40 foot boat pay the same.
for a given slip. You can only put one boat, no matter the length, in any slip. ...

My current marina is the same. There are different sized slips, with increasing prices as the length of slip goes up. Everyone pays the same for a specific sized slip, whether you are five feet shorter than the length, or a couple feet longer (you can overhang by a small amount).

And if a boat is so beamy such that it blocks the adjoining slip, then simply charge double. Easy.

Charging by the foot makes sense for services such as haul in/out or yard storage. But a slip is a singular unit. Charging by the LOA makes no sense with slips.

[Wander4Wonder]

��. Shhhh...The guy who finds Wonder woman island does not tell other guys where Wonder woman island is. Haha.

[Bill_Giles]

Where my boat is the Marina operator decided to include EVERYTHING within the length. So all those people with davits removed them and when they included anchors hanging off the bow roller everyone took their anchors off and laid them on the deck, and put them on, and off, and on. The Marina got fed up with this and gave up on anchors. The davits with tenders hung on them are a nuisance anyway, they either stick out into the fairway or overhang the pontoon walkway.

[Deep Blue Water]

Puzzling as to why some boat owners are so desperate to understate their actual LOA in order to shave their slip fees. Compared to the cost of insurance, boat maintenance and provisioning this seems minor

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Deep Blue Water

Puzzling as to why some boat owners are so desperate to understate their actual LOA in order to shave their slip fees. Compared to the cost of insurance, boat maintenance and provisioning this seems minor

Some are just cheap, but for some, they're just going by the manufacturer stated LOA. For older boats, that's not always the true LOA. So unless the owner has actually measured, they may not know that their 40 foot boat actually measures out at 43.5 feet, for example. Older boats often stated LOD as the LOA and excluded anything bolted on.

[Joh.Ghurt]

Originally Posted by Carl-T705

. Well if you sell potatoes by the pound, would you allow the buyer to put potatoes in a bag and then tell you what he thinks it weighs or would you weigh it??

On a close by farmer's marked, they did something like with apples. You bought the apples by the bucket, just fill it up yourself and pay the bucket fee.

[David Ess]

Originally Posted by Joh.Ghurt

On a close by farmer's marked, they did something like with apples. You bought the apples by the bucket, just fill it up yourself and pay the bucket fee.

Sure, some things were commonly sold by units other than weight, like by the bushel, or 6 quart basket, or pint basket, etc. If you try to put too many apples in a bushel, theyll fall out, so you cant cheat.

[MSgt]

Back in the 90s when living on the hook in Book Key Harbor, Marathon, The Keys, I needed to go into a marina for a couple of months and though my sloop was 34' the marina slip charge was for 40' minimum.

[Montanan]

Whining, as if Size Doesn't Matter.

The only time I have ever heard a boat owner talk down the size of their boat is when they have to pay by its length, otherwise the bigger the bragging, so typically sized up to be stated as LOA, that is inclusive of the overhanging bits at both ends.

I have yet to hear anyone understate their water draft or air draft, yet those dimensional extremes also can hit things just as can the bow and stern ends.