10 Ways to Find Dock Space This Summer
One of the biggest headaches facing first time buyers of new or used boats, is finding a place to put it. Places such as Southern California and other pockets of wealth but a paucity of slip space has been a problem for decades. Now, it is a problem almost everywhere, and for most new boaters it will be their #1 problem, something most boat salespeople are not eager to talk about.
Yet, for the determined, there are ways to skin this cat. Here are some suggestions--
1. Plan Ahead:
Start your search for dock space well in advance of buying your dream boat. Buying a boat is the easy part.
Decide how much boat you can afford, get several models in mind, then start searching for a slip to accommodate the length of boat you are planning on buying. Also, decide on the dock-side amenities you will want or need.
If the boat you want to buy can be trailered, that will be your ace in the hole, even if you’d like to keep Mom’s Mink in a slip.
2. Research Multiple Options:
Explore private marinas, yacht clubs, municipal marinas, private docks, mooring fields, condo associations with docks, and even non-marine commercial businesses that have dock space. If all else fails, you may find your best course of action is to join a yacht club that has a mooring field or slip space. Most yacht clubs we know would be happy to have a new member, and many have moorings available, and maybe are in charge of a municipal mooring field.
In places such as Ft. Lauderdale, owners of houses on canals and waterways earn extra money by accommodating boat owners. In many areas of the East Coast, there are houses with docks but no boats on them. Don’t be shy about knocking on some doors. In other locations, people with waterfront homes without docks often have mooring rights. If they don’t have a boat, perhaps you can make an arrangement to moor your boat.
3. Networking:
Reach out to local boat owners, sailing clubs, or boating communities for potential leads on available dock space. Talk to the marina operators, harbor masters, and anyone who works around the waterfront – talk to anyone and everyone about your search.
Don’t be embarrassed. Each year, there is a significant turnover in boat ownership in most places. You need to find someone who has a slip, but is planning on selling Old Betsy – but be careful, the boat owner may not have control of the slip.
4. Flexibility:
Be open to different locations (read sub-prime), or types of dock space, such as shared docks or temporary arrangements. Be willing to travel for a slip and make a weekend of you boating, rather than just an afternoon, or a day on the water. The further you are willing to travel from population centers, the more likely you are to find a slip or a mooring.
In case you haven’t noticed, large companies such as Safe Harbor and others have been gobbling up marinas for the last five years, and class-A independent marinas are now in short supply as the marina conglomerates are busy buying them, improving them, then raising prices. For example, in South Florida, the most expensive line item of a boat’s operating expense is often slip rental.
Consider a dockominium. From a net cost standpoint, this could be your cheapest option as we suspect the appreciation of your dock will outperform the S&P 500. (Just ask the private equity companies buying up marinas.)
5. Consider Dry Stack:
If you think that some of the romance of boat ownership is lost if you dry-stack your boat, perhaps you should think again. Dry stack is the one area where we are seeing growth, and some of the new facilities are quite luxurious. Dry Stack has a lot of advantages, including protection from UV rays, rubber particles in the air (which land on your gel coat and become part of it) if near a highway, as well as wind and hurricane protection. There is also pressure on dry stack facilities in many places, so don’t figure they’ll be cheap.
6. Waitlist:
Get your name on marina wait lists. Just because the marina manager tells you that there is a one-year waiting list, our experience is that it might be shorter because the Covid-19 buyers are more likely to get out of boating prematurely. We should also add that just as slipping a C-Note to the Matre’d at Joe’s Stone Crab will get you to the head of the line, so too, can an appropriate amount of grease for the individual keeping the waitlist at some marinas.
7. Online Platforms:
Utilize online platforms or apps specifically designed for renting or sharing dock space. More and more of these are springing up so make use of them. As space gets tighter, these companies will represent more and more private dock owners.
8. Get Dealer or Broker Help:
Ask your dealer or broker for help – after all, they stand to make thousands of dollars from the sale. If no slip space means no sale, the boat dealer or broker has a strong incentive to work their contacts for you. Securing a slip might be a condition of the sale.
We have yet to meet a dealer that doesn’t claim to take care of its customers like royalty, so this will be a good way to find out where they rank on the customer service scale. Increasingly, boat brands are becoming more alike, and the engines and equipment are very much the same, so the dealer with the slip, may also have just the boat you’re looking for.
9. Seasonal Agreements:
If you’ve ever seen a boatyard in the beginning of July with boats that were not launched, that is often a tip-off that a few owners have decided to take the year off from boating. Inquire with the yard if the owners of those boats have dock space they might not be using for the season. And, try just the opposite – if you notice a boat doesn’t seem to be used by the middle of July, inquire with the marina operator as to whether the boat owner’s summer plans have changed. You could pay for his haul out and cover his slip rental as well.
10. Be Persistent:
Keep following up with potential options and stay proactive in your search. And, as a last resort, you might consider doing what they have been doing in Southern California for years – find a boat you like and buy it so long as it comes with the slip.