(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.
— In bcc@yahoogroups.com , “bernyandray” <bernyandray@h…> wrote:
(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