Marina slip fees increasing?
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dlandersson
- Admiral
- Posts: 5030
- Joined: Fri Aug 27, 2010 10:00 am
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
- Location: Michigan City
Marina slip fees increasing?
Marina slip fees increasing? - Interesting video. Makes me thankful my season fee is $2200.
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OverEasy
- Admiral
- Posts: 3028
- Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2020 11:16 am
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
- Location: NH & SC
Re: Marina slip fees increasing?
Yes! Marina fees here have gone up by about $60/month over last year! 
It’s still worth having a slip as it really makes it much more convenient not having to deal with all the logistics of getting to the ramp, launching, parking the trailer, retrieving the trailer, loading, clean-up and getting home each time we want to get out. Here in coastal SC we also have to contend with tides and currents. I don’t like to launch or retrieve at other than at high tide.
The ramps can be slick at lower tide conditions and one needs to go further down the ramps to launch. Some of the ramps can/do end quite abruptly and can be rather “excavated” from people powering on to their trailers (and leaving them at power while they spend time hooking onto their winches and safety cables). This can dig out the end of the ramp such that if you’re not careful at low tide one can drop the trailer axle(s) off the end of the ramp.
>>> NOTE: If that happens one generally can’t just manhandle the trailer and jerk it back onto the ramp without damaging something. Generally the only reasonable thing to do is to just sit in the ramp until the tide rises and use the boat’s buoyancy to lift up the trailer. This is a sort of involved process which may entail un-coupling the trailer from the tow vehicle (so one doesn’t flood the vehicle as the tide comes up) and using a sufficiently strong enough set of straps connecting the stern of the trailer to the boat as well as the bow and waiting for high tide. Generally gonna make one not very popular at a busy ramp.
Even without a SNAFU or FUAR like dropping an axle off the ramp there is always as well the limited trailer parking availability at the ramps. It gets quite crowded on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. For us we’ve found that having a slip makes our time out on the water much easier and enjoyable. It’s a worthwhile investment for us.
Best Regards,
Over Easy
It’s still worth having a slip as it really makes it much more convenient not having to deal with all the logistics of getting to the ramp, launching, parking the trailer, retrieving the trailer, loading, clean-up and getting home each time we want to get out. Here in coastal SC we also have to contend with tides and currents. I don’t like to launch or retrieve at other than at high tide.
The ramps can be slick at lower tide conditions and one needs to go further down the ramps to launch. Some of the ramps can/do end quite abruptly and can be rather “excavated” from people powering on to their trailers (and leaving them at power while they spend time hooking onto their winches and safety cables). This can dig out the end of the ramp such that if you’re not careful at low tide one can drop the trailer axle(s) off the end of the ramp.
>>> NOTE: If that happens one generally can’t just manhandle the trailer and jerk it back onto the ramp without damaging something. Generally the only reasonable thing to do is to just sit in the ramp until the tide rises and use the boat’s buoyancy to lift up the trailer. This is a sort of involved process which may entail un-coupling the trailer from the tow vehicle (so one doesn’t flood the vehicle as the tide comes up) and using a sufficiently strong enough set of straps connecting the stern of the trailer to the boat as well as the bow and waiting for high tide. Generally gonna make one not very popular at a busy ramp.
Even without a SNAFU or FUAR like dropping an axle off the ramp there is always as well the limited trailer parking availability at the ramps. It gets quite crowded on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. For us we’ve found that having a slip makes our time out on the water much easier and enjoyable. It’s a worthwhile investment for us.
Best Regards,
Over Easy