FINALLY SOMEONE TALKS ABOUT BOATS. THANKS!

The Port of Everett Marina is situated at the mouth of the Snohomish
River. There is a US Navy base immediately south- you know, one of a
categroy of locations specficially *excused* from environmental
regulations by the Bush administration. Immediately north, where the
marina is going to expand, is an abandoned industrial site
from back in the days when you disposed of toxic chemicals by digging a
hole and dumping them in.

There was a time in Everett, only 20-25 years ago, when the crap the
mills pumped out was so toxic and corrosive that at least one facility
rigged a "steam rinse" in the employee parking lot across the street
from the mill and hooked it to the mill's boiler.
The steam rinse was in response to complaints from workers that the
paint was peeling off their cars. One has to wonder why the workers
weren't more concerned for their lungs.......

If every single liveaboard discharged directly overboard, it wouldn't
begin to move the needle on the pollution meter in that area even a
degree or two.

Everett has done a lot to clean up its environment and its image. It
would be nice to think the last remaining item to address is the
handful of folks who live aboard at the marina without benefit of
holding tanks. But that isn't the case.

As far as the marina fees, they are going through the roof in this
region, and probably elsewhere as well. For everybody, not just the
liveaboards.

Our local marina owners association brought in a professional
consultant who recommended the members follow a very aggressive
program.

1) Forget about keeping moorage rates at a level where your marina is
full. A full marina is a bad thing, and indicates you are
under-utilizing your asset.

2) Immediately begin raising rates. Continue raising rates until you
achieve your goal: ten-percent vacancy.

3) Stop raising rates when that 10% vacancy realized, and check the
bottom line. Empty slips require fewer services so expenses will be
down, and the increased revenue generated by the higher fees calculated
to drive away 10% of the business will increase the monthly net
substantially.

'tis a bitch, but these people are in business to make as much as they
can and as fasst as they can off their investment.

Those POE liveaboards who don't like being told they cannot haul
porta-pottis to the shoreshide facilitites should move to Shilshole in
Seattle. At Shilshole, everybody is *expected* to use the permanent
restrooms, not discouraged. (Some do, most don't). Even so, when it's
35 degrees outside, 300 yards to the restroom, and you're in your
underwear at midnight the odds of many people hiking to the restroom in
the parking lot are-shall we say- "remote".

On 26 May 2005 07:35:10 -0700, wrote:

3) Stop raising rates when that 10% vacancy realized, and check the
bottom line. Empty slips require fewer services so expenses will be
down, and the increased revenue generated by the higher fees calculated
to drive away 10% of the business will increase the monthly net
substantially.

I actually had to sit down and work this out because something didn't
seem right. I made a few calls and received some basic information,
then worked off my services bills as a baseline.

I can't make the numbers work out for some reason unless you jack up
the higher end boat (like the 35-50 foot category) slip/services rates
by more than ten percent - closer to twenty. Even then the bottom line
wasn't effectively affected by the loss of business assuming stable
costs. That was based on a marina with 250 slips and I figured 1/3
20-30 foot, 1/3 30-40 foot and 1/3 40 foot and up - which is about
what my marina has slippage for.

What I suspect you might lose is the lower tier boats (20-30) and
that's where you make most of your money because you can fit more than
one boat per foot (length of pier) rather than the behemoths that take
up more space.

I'd like to see his numbers if you happen to have them - you have my
email addy. I'm only curious because I can't make them work - I must
be missing something.

Later,

Tom

Tom,
Not sure where you are, but here on the left coast many marinas start
moorage rates at 30' minimum, Tie up a 20' boat and pay for 30'.
UD



http://community.webtv.net/capuglyda...inUglyDansJack

On Thu, 26 May 2005 08:56:20 -0700, (UglyDan®©™)
wrote:

Tom,
Not sure where you are, but here on the left coast many marinas start
moorage rates at 30' minimum, Tie up a 20' boat and pay for 30'.

True, but the math still stays the same - the smaller boats are the
money makers because there are more of them.

Later,

Tom

Your math probably isn't off.

One of the biggest marina owners in Seattle is now Joe Diamond, the
same guy who has made $bazillions putting parking lots on empty sites
in the central business district. He is pricing everything up as high
as he can- and probably would be doing so even if the marina
association's advisor had never addressed the meeting.

I'm currently aware of several rates in Seattle that have increased
20-25% this year. People are getting upset and blowing out of Marina X
when the rates shoot through the roof, and move to a vacant slip at
Marina Y. However, even though you are expected to stay at least a year
to get your
security deposit refunded when you leave- the marinas put everybody on
a month to month.
John Q Boater blows out of a place that raises his rates from $10/ft/mo
to $12.50, and scurries off to a new spot across the lake at $10.50.
When the rate across the lake goes up to $13.00- there isn't a lot poor
old John Q can do about it.

I heard a rumor that moorage at Marina Del Rey is something like
$24/ft/mo. A $giesel a month just to park a 40-footer. Ouch. I'd like
to think it won't go that high in the NW, but who knows?

When they first built Shilshole Bay Marina back in the early 60's, the
moorage rate was 35 cents/foot/month. One of the old time brokers on
the lake likes to recall how about a year after Shilshole opened they
raised the rate to 50-cents. He said there were howls of protest, and a
lot of people went back inside the locks to look for moorage at 35-40
cents. I could stand 50-cents a foot. Heck, I'll pay up several years
in advance. :-)

Chuck,
Is that old fart (Diamond) still alive?
I remember when Allen didn't get his way with S Lake Union, So he
teamed up with Diamond and over time bought up just about every piece of
waterfront they could get ahold of around Westlake.
I'm sure with time (cept for Joe Allen will turn it into another
beauty like EMP, but just a private marina as originally intended.

UD

On 26 May 2005 20:10:11 -0700, wrote:

~~ snippage ~~

When they first built Shilshole Bay Marina back in the early 60's, the
moorage rate was 35 cents/foot/month. One of the old time brokers on
the lake likes to recall how about a year after Shilshole opened they
raised the rate to 50-cents. He said there were howls of protest, and a
lot of people went back inside the locks to look for moorage at 35-40
cents. I could stand 50-cents a foot. Heck, I'll pay up several years
in advance. :-)

Per month huh? Interesting.

I pay $75 per foot per season, May 1st to November 1st which works out
to $12.5 per foot per month or $400 per month.

I didn't put a lot of time into it, but I couldn't get the figures to
come out no matter how hard I tried - the gains would be marginal in
any case unless you really jacked up the prices which, as you said, is
what is happening.

Hey, trailer boats are looking better and better. :)

Later,

Tom

"Shortwave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On 26 May 2005 20:10:11 -0700, wrote:

~~ snippage ~~

When they first built Shilshole Bay Marina back in the early 60's, the
moorage rate was 35 cents/foot/month. One of the old time brokers on
the lake likes to recall how about a year after Shilshole opened they
raised the rate to 50-cents. He said there were howls of protest, and a
lot of people went back inside the locks to look for moorage at 35-40
cents. I could stand 50-cents a foot. Heck, I'll pay up several years
in advance. :-)

Per month huh? Interesting.

I pay $75 per foot per season, May 1st to November 1st which works out
to $12.5 per foot per month or $400 per month.

I didn't put a lot of time into it, but I couldn't get the figures to
come out no matter how hard I tried - the gains would be marginal in
any case unless you really jacked up the prices which, as you said, is
what is happening.

Hey, trailer boats are looking better and better. :)

Later,

Tom

Around here they charge by the slip regardless of boat size......9 ft wide
runs about 1600 for the summer (with power and water) 1800 for 11 ft wide,
2200 for 16 wide.
Winter storage is by the S.F.

Shortwave Sportfishing wrote:
On 26 May 2005 20:10:11 -0700, wrote:

~~ snippage ~~


When they first built Shilshole Bay Marina back in the early 60's, the
moorage rate was 35 cents/foot/month. One of the old time brokers on
the lake likes to recall how about a year after Shilshole opened they
raised the rate to 50-cents. He said there were howls of protest, and a
lot of people went back inside the locks to look for moorage at 35-40
cents. I could stand 50-cents a foot. Heck, I'll pay up several years
in advance. :-)


Per month huh? Interesting.

I pay $75 per foot per season, May 1st to November 1st which works out
to $12.5 per foot per month or $400 per month.

I didn't put a lot of time into it, but I couldn't get the figures to
come out no matter how hard I tried - the gains would be marginal in
any case unless you really jacked up the prices which, as you said, is
what is happening.

Hey, trailer boats are looking better and better. :)

Later,

Tom

Join the club Tom.. my Sandpiper 565 doesn't cost me a cent, sitting in
my driveway this cold, dreary, wet May.