I can only remember once that I actually used 38 feet as a stated length when checking into transient slip. It was the Ashley marina in Charleston SC and they needed to wedge me in between two large motoryachts. When I do check in, which only happens when a shower or work is required, I’ll use 34 feet as a length, knowing that I can retract the bowsprit if absolutely necessary. I have never had
an argument from any marina official on this, although at the St. Petersburg Municipal Marina I had to explain to them in great detail about retracting the bowsprit if necessary. I had several problems with this marina, but that’s another story…
I’d be very interested in knowing what others use as length, when checking into transient (overnight) slip. I used 28 feet as a length a few times back in the early days, but when calling in on VHF I has faced with the thought at I’d receive exactly 28 feet for dockage space.
Mark Gearhart
s/v Godspeed
I always fess up to 38’… 35’ seems to be a popular cut off for slip sizes here in the Great Lakes and it never seemed worth the embarrassment to be hanging out 3’ to save $10-12 a night. Also can’t imagine unstringing the sprit to be worth the effort.
But that’s only my opinion…Tom
Tom Harrer
S/V Whitewings III
(Transat to Med and return, and a season in the Carib) we haven’t
gotten an argument yet. In Europe it is increasingly common to be
charged by square footage(beamXlength), something we hadn’t heard
before. We like the cost benefit of that big Bruce hanging on our bow.
My local marina here does annual charges by slip length, comes in 5 foot increments, so I wind up paying for a 40’. Of course my 26 footer was 30’ too. Transient dockage is by actual LOA alongside. In strange places, I ususally state when going in that I am a 28 foot boat with a long bowsprit, so I need about 38 feet. When I go to the office to pay, they ask the boat length, I say 28 feet, figuring I already told them about the sprit. One guy in the Bahamas did get mad even though I had told him about the sprit ahead of time. He was on the dock taking lines and of course shouting orders to the skipper while ranting about the sprit and how I would have to pay more, was
trying to deceive him, etc. I had told him about it ahead of time, but I guess he forgot. The slip they were putting me in was about 50 feet long anyway. He was such a jerk, I left the next day when it was blowing about 25 knots, gale warnings, to go anchor.
From looking at their website, I think the marinas in the Canaries charge by square area.
Ever wonder why all those Scandinavian boats are all so skinny? In Norway, they actually charge by beam, not length. I guess waterfront is so plentiful that building longer docks to accomodate wider boats is a greater component of the expense. My current 12 foot wide slip could probably take a 50 footer.
John Churchill
At Raffles Marina, in Singapore, the most professionally run marina in the Malacca Strait, you have little choice. The dockhands run a tape measure along the dock as soon as you berth - so I paid for 37’10".
Cheers
Bil