Marina Life

Stephen Vanderstelt Jr. said:
We are going to be new to the “marina life” this year. What are some of the “must have’s”?

We have the basics, but just looking for that extra stuff to make it awesome.
Click to expand...

I am not new to "marina life" as I or my parents growing up have always had a boat/skis at a marina since I was little but they were always on a trailer on the hard. This will be my first summer with a boat left in the water and a boat that I am actually able to weekend on so I am looking forward to getting the most out of marina life this summer!

I would say a grill might be one of the must have's. Whether it be a portable one on the boat or one outside of your slip if your backed up to a parking lot.
 
Beer.... Lots of beer and Vodka... Must have... lol Folding chairs for the docks also work..... We love the marina life... We spend every weekend on the boat during the summer months.. Its like our little vacation... And we know a few other cpls that spend the weekends also...
 
A boat is an RV that floats. What ever comfort that would fit in the same size RV should go in boat. Remember you have no place to put things except in the boat when you leave to dock.
 
I took us about 6 months to get the boat the way we wanted. Now my wife shows up with her handbag and a small overnight bag. I on the other hand spend the day before provisioning and cleaning, and then a day afterwards cleaning. We love it!
 
Meat that has bones take up more room than non bone meat. If you want frozen meat freeze it at home. Canned corn is the only caned vegetable we get. Corn on the cob is nice but takes up lots of room and only keeps for a few days. A cooler for fresh vegetables will keep them for a week. Cold cuts last 3 days once opened from sealed package. We get Costco cold cut in smallest possible package and use them up one pack at a time.
 
For the marina:
Dock box
Picnic table w/ umbrella
Gas grill
Zero Gravity Chairs or other outdoor seating that won't blow away
In-line water filter for your dockside water hookup
Golfcart

For the boat:
Get a decent tv antenna
You'll figure out the rest!
 
Rain or shine my wife and I spend every weekend on the boat. Right around 26 weekends in a row.

We have a group of 10 docks in a row that took lots of dock jockeying over a few seasons and share most everything like a commune or family. Our marina offers much more green space than any other I’ve seen and collectively we have about a quarter acre for parking, games, decks and screen houses. One grill, two fire pits and dozens of chairs.

There are some good tips here.

If you plan to weekend on the water, trash is the enemy. Bones, corn cobs, bottles and cans can pile up fast. Good coolers are a must even though the initial cost hurts.

Canned beverages only for us, empties are rinsed, crushed and bagged. Fresh fruit and veggies travel well and create little waste.

As Jay mentioned, in time you’ll need to bring very little to live very well and in the fall you’ll realize two things:

You now have two of everything.

You have far more stuff on the boat than you ever thought possible.
 
Please be considerate and only use an electric grill ON the docks.

If any of my dock neighbors would light up their Gas or Charcoal grills I would have to take a water hose to them.

No open flames please.
 
A lot of what you can have depends on the space available. Some people are on docks where there are lots of boats docked tightly together with very little space between the boats.

Others have a lot of space in front of their dock where they can park their cars, set up patio furniture, grills, carpet, gazebos, etc. I have approximately 18' x 36' in front of my boat where I do all of the above. Gas grills in our marina are pretty much at every dock and are quite safe to use.
 
LTD.330 said:
Others have a lot of space in front of their dock where they can park their cars, set up patio furniture, grills, carpet, gazebos, etc. I have approximately 18' x 36' in front of my boat where I do all of the above. Gas grills in our marina are pretty much at every dock and are quite safe to use.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately it is illegal in most states to have open flame cooking on a dock in a marina unless they designate an area to do so to follow NFPA standards. All I can say if anyone wants to light up they better have some money in the bank if they light the dock on fire.

It should be written in most rental/lease agreements.
 
- For privacy, make sure you have functional curtains for all of your port-lights. If you are in a covered berth, chances are there will be lights on in the shed, all night, so make sure your curtains are not too sheer.

- If your slip doesn't have a dock-box, get one. Hopefully big enough to hold all the filler cushions and canvas you aren't using, as well as all your wash-down gear.

- If your shed uses pylons or posts instead of cleats, get permission to cover them with carpet or some other material you can "lean" on when docking.

- Keep two complete sets of lines. One travel set, and one set that remains attached to your slip. Ditto for fenders.

- Get one of those cabinet mount can-crushers. Trash piles up very quickly. Keep on hand a selection of zip-lock bags. You'll be amazed at how many uses you find for them.

- If you want to be near the shoreside amenities ask for a close in slip. If you want to limit the number of folks traipsing back and forth past your boat, then you'll want one closer to the end of the shed.

- Post different head-rules for when in the slip. For example, on my boat, the head is to be used only for liquid waste while berthed.

- Get your own foldable dock cart, preferably one that fits in your dock-box when not in use. Using the shed carts means you have to make 2 trips. One to unload, and one to return the cart to the staging area.
 
Last edited:
In addition to the items mentioned above, we always have a complete change of comfortable spare clothes on board in case we end up going some place and staying longer than planned. Also keep separate dop kits of toothpaste, soap and other personal grooming supplies in the shower/head so we don't lug these items back and forth from home to the boat. Clean, fresh bedding spares too. And, a laundry bag. One or two big canvas bags makes taking washable stuff off the boat easier and returning it later. Our water tank is always filled with fresh, drinkable water so we are self sufficient for several days, again in case we end up being away from the slip for a spur of the moment reason. Just a few things we always have available. Enjoy your new experiences.
 
You can keep most anything you want ON your boat. But when it comes to things on the dock, check with the marina to see what they allow. A bunch of us got together a few years ago and bought an ice maker. Big one like might be used in a restaurant. Plumbed it in and wired it and then a couple of weeks later were told by the marina we had to remove it. "Dock safety issues" was what we were told.

Also, no fires of any kind on the docks. Also no large furniture. Folding chairs are OK.

So check with your marina to see what they allow.
 
We are finding MONEY is a huge plus!!! Our boat has brought on a new drive to make more money during the week so we can enjoy more at the lake on the weekend!! It has been a life changer for us. Have fun
 
Little Ducky said:
Please be considerate and only use an electric grill ON the docks.

If any of my dock neighbors would light up their Gas or Charcoal grills I would have to take a water hose to them.

No open flames please.
Click to expand...

Great advice. We spent a weekend last September at a transient marina and were awoken in the middle of the night by banging in the cabin door and someone screaming “get out now”.
Turns out a couple of guys down the dock had a midnight snack attack and grilled up some burgers before falling in to a drunken stupor. They left the hot portable charcoal grill on a knee wall a short distance behind their transom on the fixed bulkheads catwalk when they were done and it set the knee wall on fire. Luckily another boater woke up in the middle of the night to relieve himself, saw the flames, and sounded the alarm.
There was sand and metal picnic tables on the other side of the knee wall where they could have left the grill.
 
In our dock box or mounted to the dock is folding chairs, all cleaning supplies for washing the boat, net (oh crap grab the net:eek:), tool box/misc. parts box (instead of digging the one out of the boat everytime), splitter for your water (hose for boat and hose for washing). I keep spare brush and small spray bottle of boat soap in the trunk for washing while out in the lake. I have a 16' flag pole mounted to one of my dock poles (wind direction). No open flames on the dock. We love the marina and spend every weekend we can there. Have fun and enjoy.
 
rh320 said:
I am not new to "marina life" as I or my parents growing up have always had a boat/skis at a marina since I was little but they were always on a trailer on the hard. This will be my first summer with a boat left in the water and a boat that I am actually able to weekend on so I am looking forward to getting the most out of marina life this summer!

I would say a grill might be one of the must have's. Whether it be a portable one on the boat or one outside of your slip if your backed up to a parking lot.
Click to expand...
FYI. Most marinas do not allow you to use your BBQ or open flames on your boat when in your slip(except possibly electric grill, but we all know that's not really grilling. ). We have BBQs around the grounds of the marina. Otherwise, you can't go wrong in marina life with always having plenty of different kinds of drinks, mixers, snacks. Our best parties on our boat in the marina have always been those that were not planned but just happened because we are all there to have fun and enjoy company and boating together.
 
Last edited:
Stephen Vanderstelt Jr. said:
We are going to be new to the “marina life” this year. What are some of the “must have’s”?

We have the basics, but just looking for that extra stuff to make it awesome.
Click to expand...

Honestly, a helpful hand and a happy attitude. You'll figure out the rest as you go.
 
Little Ducky said:
Unfortunately it is illegal in most states to have open flame cooking on a dock in a marina unless they designate an area to do so to follow NFPA standards. All I can say if anyone wants to light up they better have some money in the bank if they light the dock on fire.

It should be written in most rental/lease agreements.
Click to expand...

Although the above is correct for most states (including TN where I am) when I talked about grilling to the marina manager they allow the use of small propane grills like ones mounted to boats or table tops but frown on larger propane grills because of limited space.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,164
Messages
1,427,640
Members
61,074
Latest member
Corders2
Back
Top