Marina Renting Your Slip to Transients

Fill Ess

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Oct 16, 2020
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I am checking out a new marina (well new to me) in the Boston area. For summer slips under contract, in the contract legal it says you're required to notify the marina if you plan to vacate the slip overnight or longer. And the marina shall have the right to place another vessel or vessels in your slip while you're gone, "without allowance of any kind to the owner." Then should the owner return early, they will make every attempt to put you into a suitable place until your slip becomes available.

Is this common practice?

Thanks for any advice or comments!
 
Same provision exists where I'm at in Chicago, but I'm not aware of it ever being exercised by the harbor system. They always seem to keep a few slips of each size for transients and will put you in a bigger slip if they dont have a transient of your size available. Not saying it can't happen, just that i've never seen it take place. In addition, I have a good relationship with my harbormaster and have never been asked to inform him of us being gone so the slip could be used.
 
W. 79th St Boat Basin, NYC - similar provision but if you call 48 hours before your return, they will try to have your slip available. This slip use can get messy with electric charges, use of cable, etc.
 
It is up here. We only let them know we will be gone if it's more than a night, or special event/holiday weekend and we know we are not coming back early. It has never been an issue here.
 
Same language at my place. Although these days they have more than enough slips.
 
Same up here in Canada at my marina. I seldom let them know I am going to be away though. Not worth the hassle if I decide to come back early some weekend.
 
In Canada same at last marina we stayed at but we got 50% of the rental income. If you pay for power I would ask for compensation as most marinas charge 5 to 10 a day for transient moorage. We now keep our boat on hard. Place is blocked for your boat so they do not put anyone in your place.
 
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Pretty common practice in Michigan. Many of the wonderful places to visit in Lake Michigan ports would be unavailable to transients if marinas held open slips for the renters even if they were gone and not using them. Not really a problem that I have noticed.
 
I am checking out a new marina (well new to me) in the Boston area. For summer slips under contract, in the contract legal it says you're required to notify the marina if you plan to vacate the slip overnight or longer. And the marina shall have the right to place another vessel or vessels in your slip while you're gone, "without allowance of any kind to the owner." Then should the owner return early, they will make every attempt to put you into a suitable place until your slip becomes available.

Is this common practice?

Thanks for any advice or comments!

Been the same on the North Shore: Beverly, Salem, Gloucester, Newburyport etc. for as long as we've been boating (mid 80s). Demand for seasonal dockage has been so high for the past few years (most had waiting lists) many places only want to have dedicated for transients with really big boats.
 
My marina does not do transients at all. But it’s very small with only about 8-10 slips.

I’d be super annoyed if I came home to find another boat in my slip.
 
Same thing at my marina in West Harbor on Lake Erie. No one notifies the marina when they're gone and as of now it hasn't been an issue and no one uses your dock/slip while you're gone. The marina doesn't enforce it.
 
Chesapeake - very common at Fairlee, Kent Narrows, Annapolis marinas. In the contract. I was a weekend transient at Great Oak Landing a while back, slip holder came back early on a Sunday but I had paid thru 6pm. Got ugly tween him and dockmaster. Long ago, but I think we worked it out so all were happy. But no, I wouldn’t stay at Marina with that policy. But then I don’t stay at fancy marina. It’s a boatyard with a lot of derelict wrecks on land, lots of old-salt grizzly captains, cheap rates, no amenities, and I love it! Side note - Great Oak Yacht Club at Fairlee creek. GYOC = Get Out Your Cash! Can I get a witness!
 
Only once have I came back from a week or two away to find a boat in my slip, fortunately my dock neighbor was gone so I pulled into his slip. In the morning I knocked on their boat and kindly asked when they planned on leaving and they said they would have left but they had so engine troubles, offered to take them to West Marine for parts. I would be miffed if I were to come back and find all my dock lines changed.
 
Our marina has the same rule. They can use our slips but like the rest, we don’t tell them we are leaving. Many of us go out on the river for the weekend and only once has one of us came back to a boat in the slip. He and the dock master had a few words only to figure out it was some boater that came in to have drinks at the brewery. Boater had no permission to be in the slip.

He untied the boat from HIS dock lines, pulled him to the center of the marina, and safely anchored him. Put his boat in his slip and waited. It’s only happened once, it won’t happen again.
 
I’m a dry dock member at my marina, and they allow me to stay in the wet slips, I just have to call several days in advance and get a slip assignment, they almost always put me in a slip that is occupied, but the boat is gone for the week/weekend. Not sure how they know, but so far no one has come back and knocked on my door to have me move the boat!
 
The marina I just terminated my lease with had no policy like that one. They did have a policy that if i were going to be away for a few days I could lease the slip to someone. I couldn't make a profit, my rate had to be at the same monthly rate I paid.
 
Thanks for the replies and info, everyone.

I don't anticipate being away overnight very much -- at least not this year. But something doesn't seem right about the idea of signing a contract to rent a space for the six months of boating season, which in my case would be over $1,000 per month not including electric. Then if I leave to go somewhere else, they can rent out the space that I'm already renting. According to the terms, I'm not allowed to sublet it myself, or loan it out for free, because of liability, insurance, etc.

My current marina has metered electric but this new place has a flat rate.

I guess this should not be a deal-breaker.
 
Thanks for the replies and info, everyone.

I don't anticipate being away overnight very much -- at least not this year. But something doesn't seem right about the idea of signing a contract to rent a space for the six months of boating season, which in my case would be over $1,000 per month not including electric. Then if I leave to go somewhere else, they can rent out the space that I'm already renting. According to the terms, I'm not allowed to sublet it myself, or loan it out for free, because of liability, insurance, etc.

My current marina has metered electric but this new place has a flat rate.

I guess this should not be a deal-breaker.
Just buy a couple of these, attach some fishing line and a weight to them and leave them in your slip while you are gone. https://www.amazon.com/BigMouth-Inc-Floater-Floating-Hilarious/dp/B00GSVQDPG
 
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My marina contract contains the same language however I have never let them know when I was going on a trip and there has never been an issue.
 

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