Questionable Marine Policies Part 2

[KelseyB]

Originally Posted by Tellie

One side of the story first of all. But times are a changin in the Marina industry, especially in the last year and a half or more. Here in S. Florida the schedules are so tight the work is coming in faster than most of it can be done. Any help is hard to find. Really good help is Slim and none to find right now and Slim left town. Though it might be frustrating to a point, my best advice is to be always flexible with the yard. They are over worked, understaffed, and customers are lined up behind you in some instances for months. These are not Harvard educated people operating these lifts. They are the hard-working average Joe's in blazing heat right now, and the last thing they are interested in is time complaints and anyone's sailing schedules and weather windows. If they can scoot you in a few hours early I'd try my best to accommodate. Bad business practice? Perhaps. I know we have had to institute a new policy about schedules and weather windows as well. I'm not saying the OP is a pain. I'm sure he is a great person. But I can't see a few hours earlier than scheduled a hill to die on.

Wanted to note that in no way am I trying to bash all lift operators or yard workers... their jobs are incredibly difficult and almost all of the people I have worked with in a yard want to do their best to help you and your boat, and some have been integral to my own refit process, giving me priceless advice. And I have no issue with being asked if I can do a few hours earlier, I have an issue with being asked, saying no, and then them going ahead and doing it anyway without my permission while I continue to tell them I'm not ready. A few hours may not seem like a big deal, but it is when there's 5+ coats of different types of paint involved all with their own cure times, and when the lift was scheduled well in advance with careful planning regarding those cure times and my own work schedule and availability

[KelseyB]

Originally Posted by GreenWave

I don’t disagree with you but this story and experience is so far off the weird and wild spectrum it isn’t funny. Yes you have to be flexible. But hauling a boat when owner isn’t present - that is just wrong. And I don’t care what the contract says… what they did regarding flat out lying about placing slings and then lifting. Do that in Texas and you might have a barrel in your face.

KelseyB - had you paid the marina fee before they splashed you ( or will you)? I sure wouldn’t be paying full price.

So we did end up paying full price for the haul out, because if we didn't they were going to put us back in the water and kick us out and it was far too late for us to find anywhere else to go. The price of the haul included the price of the spring launch. We ended up not paying for the reblock disaster- It never showed up on the invoices. I think that someone in the office had some sympathy for us, and also probably realized that if we had been present for the original haul we wouldn't have had to do the reblock because we would have had her blocked where we needed her to be in the first place. So that was some consolation

[KelseyB]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Some advice. Try to migrate your boating away from needing so much from marinas if possible.

When you make decisions about boating or your boat in general, do so from a perspective of “how will this minimize my need for a marina?”

Although my boat is currently at a marina because it’s the only way to do the construction on it, it hasn’t been out of the water in five years. I designed it in a way such that it does not need to be hauled. Unless you are doing bottom paint. And that can often just be a diver scrubbing.

I agree- one of our original goals with this haul was to do everything we could to be able to go several years before the next haul. Unfortunately, in this area, the only place to keep the boat in the water is at a marina unless you have a private dock because there aren't any mooring fields, and the anchorages are all at risk of stray barges and big wakes because it's an industrial city.

[Orchid]

Marina we use is great. I've known the owner for 20 years and he caters to all his customers' needs. Of course, if there is an urgent need, he would move our boat without us present but would let us know before doing so.

[Poldhu]

Some Owner / Operators are off the charts weird. I think it comes from running a monopoly in some sense and they know you have limited options.

I had a yard do $7k in work and I was planning on renting a slip as well. The yard folks were nice to work with. The yard manager was a great guy.

I reviewed the lease agreement, provided my proof of insurance, ect... I asked the owner nicely if they had property and liability insurance.... His response.... You have 24hrs to get your boat out of my marina...wow.

Never going back.

[Shaneesprit]

Be sure to leave them a review on Google Maps!

[JBsurfin]

Originally Posted by KelseyB

Thought I'd throw another marina policy out to see what people think.

The service yard I am currently at seems to have no care for when they lift and move people's boats. When Little Wing was hauled, we brought her around to the alongside the night before and had agreed to a noon lift the next day. At 8 AM I called to make sure we were still on for noon, and they said that she had already been lifted and was on the stands. We rushed over and besides several long streaks down the sides from scraping her way into the well, when we asked the people around the yard how they lifted her, the consensus was that they had used very incorrect lift points and we were lucky she didn't slip out of the straps. We went to the office and demanded not to pay the full price, but they said to either pay the full price or they'd put us back in the water and we could leave so we ended up paying full price.

A few months later we needed a reblock to get to some problem spots on the bottom of the keel. It was scheduled for 1 PM. At 11 AM, they drove the lift up and said they just wanted to place the straps, not lift the boat—I said we wouldn't be ready for the reblock until 1 but they could position the straps. They then proceeded to position the straps, lift the boat, and complete the reblock while I vehemently told them to stop at every step after positioning the straps.

Today, we're set to get picked up and hang in the straps overnight before we splash tomorrow morning. The lift has been scheduled and confirmed multiple times for 2 PM. At 11 AM, they drove the lift over and said they just wanted to position the straps. I said no, we'll be ready at 2 PM. The lift operator threw a fit and stormed off, saying he wasn't going to stay until 2 PM and that if we didn't lift now then he wouldn't lift us today and to take it up with the office. I had to physically block the lift with my car. After the first lift operator stormed off, a second one came up and said that he would stay until 2 PM to do the lift as scheduled, so my car remains parked in front of the boat and I am camped out aboard finishing the final checks I intended to do in the first place.

Of course the added bonus is a few weeks ago they served everyone with a 30-day eviction notice, which was not enough time for most people to finish the work they were doing to be able to move their boats. Luckily we were able to, but it's clearly been a major hassle for others.

We will definitely never be returning to this yard (not that we could with the eviction)- the only reason we were here in the first place is it's the only full service yard in the area that allows DIY. But has anyone else ever had an experience like this??

Between this post and your other one, you seem to have marina issues? I've been boating for over 25 yrs and have never run into such marina issues, even yards that restrict work. And I've run into many a Bi-polar manager or marina owner in my day. Good luck boating..

[Rumrace]

I’ve seen lots of people kicked.
When I was power boating out of Lake Chouchachin on Severn Trent a really nice young couple moved in on a clean 42 Trojan. They got kicked two weeks later for liveaboard. Just about every marina fire in the area was started by the “ I fixed it “or liveaboard crowd in the area. Holland Landing fire - liveaboard welding.
Oil spill Lock 42 - new house boater.
Coverslip Fire Lagoon City - electrical by I fixed it gang. Long history of idiots playing mechanic.
Surveyors with qualifications like “ been around boats my whole life” are not taken serious why would “I have a license for everything” hold water or keep liability where it needs to be.
Reckless boating is a number one boot.
The elite clubs are locked from our view so we don’t make fun of their parked boats. Makes perfect sense.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Twice over the last two decades my boat had a significant leak around a thru-hull right after launch. In one case, it would have been virtually impossible to spot without knowing the boat well. I'd be a nervous wreck knowing my boat was being launched without me present (or at very least, someone I knew well, and who knew my boat well).


Come to think of it, this all seems very odd given the whole insurance demand from marinas. Or maybe this is why they demand it; so when they screw up, the owner's insurance pays...?

We've seen it done both ways. After finding our first big boat with water almost to the floorboards, we get there early the day of launch (usually we try to schedule an early launch anyway).

Of course, if the marina is clearing everyone out anyway, they probably aren't too concerned about customer satisfaction.

What confuses me is why the OP isn't more concerned about them scraping up the boat...an insurance claim against the marina is likely to get their attention.