Are Australian Marinas Ripping Boat Owners Off?

[Capt Rottnest]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

and land prices.

..and exchange rate.

AU$ rose from USD.75c to USD1.05 in only a few years. From international visitors perspective that's from "fair price" to "bl**dy expensive".

[Factor]

Originally Posted by Wanderlust

So they charge what they can. If you owned the business wouldn't you?

We certainly don't.

Costs are broadly speaking, Operating (Power, Telephone, insurance, staff wages etc) Maintenance (Minor upkeep) Major Maintenance provision (Set aside enough to in effect renew the marina over its operating lifespan) Government Charges (single biggest Item). All UP thats Called E

Income is some commission on administering renting out of berths for owners and the Charge to the owner (called Berth Occupancy Fees - Called BOF). All up thats Called I. The BOF amount is calculated based on I and E roughly being equal and dividing the amount up amongst the berth owners. Fairly simple really.

As a marina company we dont own any rental berths, they are all owned by individuals (be they natural persons or not) When a berth owner rents out a berth, the price is entirely up to the berth owner. However as a guide, they have a cost (BOF) plus their own capital costs - either servicing a loan or rate of return on capital or portion of both. They are entitled to a margin, and adding all that together, surprise surprise , what berths are renting for through our NFP company is similar to the commercial cost.

So I don't think anyone (apart from the government) is gouging to much.

[Capt Rottnest]

Originally Posted by BillAU

No mate, I would not! You may think me stupid but I believe in a fair days wage for a fair days work.

Well, land is priced on scarcity, so marina pens are too.
We have a shortage of them here in WA too.

[ozskipper]

Might be worth checking out the prices at Brooklyn. Assuming the boat is seaworthy enough to get there, there is no shortage of marinas-unlike the harbour. You may find its just as easy to keep the boat there. Plus, the Hawkesbury eats the Harbour as a cruising destination.

Of course, the other option is to buy your own mooring!

[sww914]

A marina in Puerto Escondido was bought up. They stopped maintaining their facilities to improve profits. Boats stopped coming in numbers and profits were down, so they raised prices by 70%. Now nobody's there, I heard this morning that there are 5 boats. They'll probably raise the prices again.
There's a marina in Puerto Vallarta that has the nicest facilities and the best prices. Guess what? They're full. The other one across the bay is more expensive and half full and they don't maintain it very well. The townspeople asked the second marina to lower their prices so the town and the marina could make more money and they refused.
Why can't people figure this out?
Greed is weird.

[Boatguy30]

In the US anyway, the actual marina facilities were often paid for by cities or state or federal governments. Corporations convince the politicians, they give money to, to privatize the management of the marinas. Fees creep up, all kind of fancy new clubhouses and toliet blocks get built and they get a percentage of the gross so they charge the max. Meanwhile the long forgotten working man that paid for all the original construction has sold his yacht for scrap lead as he can't afford the dockage or the insurance (more corporate profit)

I hope I can still anchor in OZ if its possible for a yacht to still pass the canal in a few years.

[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

[BillAU]

Originally Posted by ozskipper

Might be worth checking out the prices at Brooklyn. Assuming the boat is seaworthy enough to get there, there is no shortage of marinas-unlike the harbour. You may find its just as easy to keep the boat there. Plus, the Hawkesbury eats the Harbour as a cruising destination.

Of course, the other option is to buy your own mooring!

G'day and thanks for all your views mates. Some replies say, Government Charges, local, state and federal, whatever, seem to be the blight, why does that not surprise me .
As for the post above "Plus, the Hawkesbury eats the Harbour as a cruising destination”. I could not agree more , I love the whole Hawkesbury area but as I plan on basing my boat and myself somewhere in SE Asia, (I'm now one of the grey hair, in my case no-hair brigade ) perhaps I should look at buying a boat in SE Asia. Perhaps one of those newish 60' BANKA boats from the Philippines, fitted-out to my specs for living aboard in comfort, would best suit my needs and, as I have no concerns over who gets the boat when I'm finished with it, (I could leave it, in my will, to one of the smaller Islands, a church or a loyal crew when I'm gone) I reckon I could get one of those 60' BANKA boats for around 750,000.00 PHP = 17,659.31 AUD, or half of that, for a boat fitted-out for my needs. Guess my next step should be a three or six month trip to the Philippines and other parts of SE Asia...To chose a port or Island where I would be happy to base myself...Plus check on boats for sale

Cheers mates,

Bill
Australia

[BillAU]

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

Good on ya mate, sounds like you got things right...My kind of living...If I were a yank, I'd be living next door to you

Bill
Australia

P.S. Are there any more of those 150ft of Bayou side property with dockage still on offer at that price

[Catalpa1]

We are live aboard in Cairns Marlin Marina and are paying around $900 a month for our 45ft mono< that includes water and electricity. Love to be out on a mooring, but my wife likes the convenience, especially getting our son to school and dealing with our 4month old daughter. Expensive, but convenient.

[sctpc]

Originally Posted by sww914

A marina in Puerto Escondido was bought up. They stopped maintaining their facilities to improve profits. Boats stopped coming in numbers and profits were down, so they raised prices by 70%. Now nobody's there, I heard this morning that there are 5 boats. They'll probably raise the prices again.
There's a marina in Puerto Vallarta that has the nicest facilities and the best prices. Guess what? They're full. The other one across the bay is more expensive and half full and they don't maintain it very well. The townspeople asked the second marina to lower their prices so the town and the marina could make more money and they refused.
Why can't people figure this out?
Greed is weird.

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

[David M]

Originally Posted by sww914

The townspeople asked the second marina to lower their prices so the town and the marina could make more money and they refused.
Why can't people figure this out?

Because they do not understand even the most fundamental principles of economics.

[tonysail1]

We are in the Breakwater Marina in Townsville. A 10m berth, plus liveaboard fees (power, water, waste, etc) for 1 adult and 2 kids (paid 3 mths in advance) figures out at $640/mth - or close to 8 grand a year.
The parking is okay, the area is good, the maintenance leaves a bit to be desired, and the facilities are minimal.
It seems to be about 70% or so full most of the time.
Make your own conclusions as to value for money.
Not sure what the other marina in Ross Ck charges.

T

[chala]

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

[boatman61]

Mate... stop being Racist...
Marina's world wide rip off boat owners if there's no good anchorages nearby... or competition.
And if the latter... price fixing is far from unknown if the trade is good..