Calculating Slip Fees . . . and Beyond

[aegean adrift]

Hi all,

Found your forum while figuring out how to calculate slip fees.

Am new to selling holiday real estate, in a region that's also new to me. Given the developers' current clientele, I presumed I had some time to learn about the new marina.

But the first question my first prospective client asked was about slip fees. So now I know the marina uses LOA x beam, terms I hadn't known before.

This has woken me up to the reality that I have to learn at least enough to figure out who marina management is and negotiate some kind of deal favourable to my clients. Given how much I like learning, I'll be around for a lot more than that.

Chances are, I'll mostly be lurking. When I do post questions, it's possible they'll risk seeming trollish, since I have zero background in boating and no plans to get into it myself. If I ask oddly-ignorant-and/or-businesslike questions about how to negotiate better slip fees or when you leave a boat in the water over the winter and when you dry-dock it, I truly mean no disrespect to your forum of experts and enthusiasts. I'm just a bit ... slow and/or thick, is all!


-- "commercial-interest" disclosure --
While I'm learning about boating in order to better serve my real-estate clients, I am NOT looking for clients here on the forum!
-----------------------------------

[skipmac]

Well as far as slip rent costs you have the basics. Not really too complicated. First will be how much space the yacht will use in the marina so calculate length (LOA) times width (beam). While beam is straightforward and almost always based on the widest point of the boat length can vary. LOA length overall is one method but in boats with an angled stern there has been some dispute over whether the LOA is to the edge of the deck or to the part of the stern that sticks out the furthest.

The other cost calculations will focus on the resources used by the boater. If they live on the boat they will be using more water, electricity, trash services etc so many marinas charge a higher fee for a boat with owners living on board. Some marinas charge flat fees for electric, some use meters.

Hope this helps. Good luck with your project.

[virginia boy]

I live in Virginia and have recently found a liveaboard slip for my Westsail 28 for
$390.00 per month including electric and water.

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and welcome aboard!
Good to have you here and asking questions however I can't imagine anyone not wanting to jump right into boating.
Strange!
kind regards,

[aegean adrift]

Originally Posted by SkiprJohn

Aloha and welcome aboard!
Good to have you here and asking questions however I can't imagine anyone not wanting to jump right into boating.
Strange!
kind regards,

Thanks John!

Well, if I'm honest, the sea has always had a fascination for me. Sailing, though ... I've let myself be put off by the few boaters I've known.

By contrast, this forum seems to have a lot of people who are bright, responsible, humorous, creative, hard-working etc. So the only obstacle now is that getting into sailing would be a huge learning curve.

[seacap]

Originally Posted by aegean adrift

Thanks John!

Well, if I'm honest, the sea has always had a fascination for me. Sailing, though ... I've let myself be put off by the few boaters I've known.

By contrast, this forum seems to have a lot of people who are bright, responsible, humorous, creative, hard-working etc. So the only obstacle now is that getting into sailing would be a huge learning curve.

Thats half the fun!

[capt_douglas]

I get asked the same questions about slips:
LOA
Beam
Draft
power requirements
length of stay

[rgscpat]

For smaller boats, marinas often focus on length overall (LOA) but they have a bias to measure it in the longest way possible, sometimes counting projecting bowsprits, anchors, boats on davits, swim steps, transom-mounted rudders, outboard motors, etc., in their computation of length. This can make the length longer than the LOA or length on deck (LOD). And some marinas state that they will charge for whichever is longer -- the boat or the pier fingers/floats/pontoons that define the length of the slip. Some marinas will also state a maximum allowable length of boat relative to the length of the piers. For slip or end-tie/side-tie rentals, multihulls may be charged a premium or multiple of the standard length-based rate.

[barnakiel]

I have seen the fees calculated in any of the following manners:

- LOA times beam times a rate (per space),
- per LOA (per length),
- per day (all boats pay the same),
- per LOA, but with beam slots,

Prices differ if along a finger, no finger or on pontoon proper.

Sometimes a liveaboard charge is added.

Oftentimes multihulls pay 1.5 or 2.0 the rate.

Water and electricity can be included or not.

b.

[aegean adrift]

Thanks to capt_douglas, rgscpat and barnakiel for the constructive input!

[daddle]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

I have seen the fees calculated in any of the following manners:

- LOA times beam times a rate (per space),
- per LOA (per length),
- per day (all boats pay the same),
- per LOA, but with beam slots,

And...

- fees are such a bother: Free. (Malaysia)

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by daddle

And...

- fees are such a bother: Free. (Malaysia)

In the marina?

b.

[aegean adrift]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

In the marina?

b.

I keep hearing the "everything's free!" line from non-sailor locals in my search for alternatives to the large-yacht marina. Do they really think that owners in the U.K. are going to leave their boat at a "free" restaurant pier for most of the year?

And I'm a bit squeamish about ringing up the mega-marina to ask about options for boats below their target market.