Any advice on finding moorage?

[Piccadilly]

Can anyone offer assistance on how to secure moorage in Vancouver? Ultimately looking for annual moorage but willing to consider sublets if not too far before I can secure an annual spot. West Vancouver would be preferred but anywhere on the North Shore would work short term. I’m buying a 28 foot boat and will need a place to put it. It should come with a trailer but I dont have a vehicle capable of towing it. Is dry storage my only option? And ideas would be greatly appreciated. Cheers, Pic

 

[Rain City]

You have to go down in person and hassle them. Give them your sob story. Even better, bring a crying baby. Squeaky wheel really does get the grease with marinas in my experience. Good luck.

 

[Piccadilly]

You have to go down in person and hassle them. Give them your sob story. Even better, bring a crying baby. Squeaky wheel really does get the grease with marinas in my experience. Good luck.

Hah, thanks man. I actually literally have a crying 6 month old to bring. I’ve called around and added myself to wait lists but everything seems to be “a couple years”

 

[ab1752]

They always say that. Are you buying through a broker? Make it part of the deal. Lots of six months contracts end in May so put your name down at thunderbird for sure. Same with mcm there's lots of empty slips down there but could be boats in storage. Lgm for sure has space in the yard but you gotta have a trailer unless you want to spend a ridiculous amount of dough on the travel lift.

 

[Piccadilly]

They always say that. Are you buying through a broker? Make it part of the deal. Lots of six months contracts end in May so put your name down at thunderbird for sure. Same with mcm there's lots of empty slips down there but could be boats in storage. Lgm for sure has space in the yard but you gotta have a trailer unless you want to spend a ridiculous amount of dough on the travel lift.

Thanks for the advice. I’m new to this world and moorage seems to be the only logical path as I don’t think I could sell a 28 foot boat and a pick-up to the wife. Our driveway wouldn’t work anyway. Thunderbird is a 5 min drive for me and would be ideal. I’m on the ‘list’ there. Will try the broker angle as well.

 

[BCI]

Craigslist sometimes lists moorage sublets.

Most marinas will know when their customers are gone for a week+ and will rent you those slips and split the money with the slip holder.

Sometimes you get lucky and find something available for a month or two while the boat is away somewhere else...

Smile and dial... Most availability shows up March/April/May when the annual renewals are processed and the marinas are looking for their annual payment/commitment for the year.

 

[Squire]

If Thunderbird is 5 mins away for you then Lions Bay Marina could be a consideration. They dry stack your boat so you don’t need bottom paint and don’t have the regular moorage worries. We had a spot there when we were in Squamish and really appreciated their system and Howe Sound Marine (Yamaha outboard dealer) is on the adjacent property for maintenance and repairs. They were almost twice as much as our moorage at Ladysmith Community Marina now but full value for the money in my opinion.
Your 28 footer might be pushing the max weight for their forklifts but it may be worth looking in to. Good luck.

 

[CBsqrd]

Are you buying through a broker? Make it part of the deal.

FWIW, if you are shopping through a broker in the current market, some won't even help you unless you already have moorage lined up to take the boat on purchase. I had a buddy who just purchased a boat and this was his experience. Fortunately the boat he bought came with moorage (False Creek).

LGM will work if you have the boat on a trailer, but the cost to have them launch/retrieve will add up quick if you don't have a tow vehicle. Also bear in mind that the time you want your boat launched and the time they are able to launch it may not be the same so prepare to be flexible.

Lynwood Marina is another option on the North Shore and there is also Sewell's in Horseshoe Bay which is probably closer for the OP.

 

[ab1752]

OP one other thing to keep in mind is loa vs hull length. The marina will want every inch measured so if your hull measures 26' like mine does, but loa is 29, you need to search for a 29' slip.

Lgm is 30 bucks each way for valet launch I believe. But they had become sticky around timing...

What boat did you buy anyway? Congrats.

 

[Squire]

OP one other thing to keep in mind is loa vs hull length. The marina will want every inch measured so if your hull measures 26' like mine does, but loa is 29, you need to search for a 29' slip.

Lgm is 30 bucks each way for valet launch I believe. But they had become sticky around timing...

What boat did you buy anyway? Congrats.

This was not my experience up until October 2020. They were open 8-8, seven days per week during peak season but their hours were shorter over the winter. The valet launch they charged for was in the event you wanted them to launch your boat for you the prior evening (unattended by you) and tie it up at the dock so you could get out earlier than 8 am or if you got in late and left your boat tied to the dock for them to put away in the morning. You had to leave them an extra set of keys to enable them to do this. Alternatively you could launch before they closed and tie it up yourself. The moorage rate covered a launch and retrieval every day. If you were a pain in the butt coming in and out multiple times per day they would want to charge you for the extra service. I found that coming in right before closing was busiest but they are efficient at what they do and even being the 6th or 7th boat would only cause a wait of 15 mins or so.

Not only do you not need a trailer (you can boat straight in with prior arrangements) they don't have anywhere for you to park it. When you show up wanting to launch you can either drive your vehicle to your boat's rack and load up or have them bring it down off the upper racks and put it in a temporary rack for you to load up. Once you've parked your vehicle they put your boat on their trailer and you board and launch with the trailer. They go in far enough to soak your drive and you give the driver a thumbs up when you're running and engaged in reverse then they go in further and you reverse off the trailer. When returning the process is just done in reverse: you drive your boat on their trailer and they pull you out and put your boat away. It is a slick service but like anything there are pros and cons to it.
Pros:
No bottom paint needed, no scum line or growth on your boat, no bad weather or wakes slamming your boat against a dock, boat can't sink (general piece of mind), no trailering, no boat ramp chaos, location (central to great boating waters), secure storage, fresh water at boat storage spot, parking spot, fuel dock etc..
Cons:
Expensive but they have staff running the forklifts and tractor for launching/retrieving, only one parking spot per customer and extra pay lot above was closed for Covid last year, and restrictive launching/retrieving hours (you can still access your boat 24/7).

 

[CBsqrd]

This was not my experience up until October 2020. They were open 8-8, seven days per week during peak season but their hours were shorter over the winter. The valet launch they charged for was in the event you wanted them to launch your boat for you the prior evening (unattended by you) and tie it up at the dock so you could get out earlier than 8 am or if you got in late and left your boat tied to the dock for them to put away in the morning. You had to leave them an extra set of keys to enable them to do this. Alternatively you could launch before they closed and tie it up yourself. The moorage rate covered a launch and retrieval every day. If you were a pain in the butt coming in and out multiple times per day they would want to charge you for the extra service. I found that coming in right before closing was busiest but they are efficient at what they do and even being the 6th or 7th boat would only cause a wait of 15 mins or so.

Not only do you not need a trailer (you can boat straight in with prior arrangements) they don't have anywhere for you to park it. When you show up wanting to launch you can either drive your vehicle to your boat's rack and load up or have them bring it down off the upper racks and put it in a temporary rack for you to load up. Once you've parked your vehicle they put your boat on their trailer and you board and launch with the trailer. They go in far enough to soak your drive and you give the driver a thumbs up when you're running and engaged in reverse then they go in further and you reverse off the trailer. When returning the process is just done in reverse: you drive your boat on their trailer and they pull you out and put your boat away. It is a slick service but like anything there are pros and cons to it.
Pros:
No bottom paint needed, no scum line or growth on your boat, no bad weather or wakes slamming your boat against a dock, boat can't sink (general piece of mind), no trailering, no boat ramp chaos, location (central to great boating waters), secure storage, fresh water at boat storage spot, parking spot, fuel dock etc..
Cons:
Expensive but they have staff running the forklifts and tractor for launching/retrieving, only one parking spot per customer and extra pay lot above was closed for Covid last year, and restrictive launching/retrieving hours (you can still access your boat 24/7).

You are talking about Lion's Bay Marina. @ab1752 and I were referring to Lion's Gate Marina...

 

[Squire]

Yeah, I see now that the acronym doesn't even fit

 

[ab1752]

Yeah, I see now that the acronym doesn't even fit

Nice looking boat, those pics bring back memories when we used to store our boat at Newman Creek in the 80's. It was a totally sketchy launch and retrieval, if you lost power you were going to kiss the rocks in no time.

 

[Piccadilly]

Thanks for the input everyone. It seems like a PITA to have to dry store and launch and retrieve at the marina, but if that is my only option until I can find an annual slot that is better than nothing. I haven’t purchased the boat yet but have narrowed it down to two and only one comes with a trailer so this is really helpful. A buddy of mine dry stacks his at Lions Bay and I’d be all over that set-up but their list is apparently pretty long. Haven’t found much in the way of temporary sublets either but if any one hears of anything on the shore this summer I’m all ears. Will keep harassing the marinas in the meantime. If it’s LGM it’s not like I will need to launch before 8am until Sept. 1 anyway (sigh...)

 

[ab1752]

Thanks for the input everyone. It seems like a PITA to have to dry store and launch and retrieve at the marina, but if that is my only option until I can find an annual slot that is better than nothing. I haven’t purchased the boat yet but have narrowed it down to two and only one comes with a trailer so this is really helpful. A buddy of mine dry stacks his at Lions Bay and I’d be all over that set-up but their list is apparently pretty long. Haven’t found much in the way of temporary sublets either but if any one hears of anything on the shore this summer I’m all ears. Will keep harassing the marinas in the meantime. If it’s LGM it’s not like I will need to launch before 8am until Sept. 1 anyway (sigh...)

Make sure you have the trailer inspected too, along with the boat...

 

[Piccadilly]

Make sure you have the trailer inspected too, along with the boat...

Good point. Is it standard for a marine inspector to inspect the trailer as well? Do I also want a separate engine/leg inspection completed as well (beyond a survey)? Sorry for all the questions, im a bit of a newb. I’ve been stalking this site for awhile while I wait to pull the trigger. Any recommendations are greatly appreciated!

 

[Rain City]

Good point. Is it standard for a marine inspector to inspect the trailer as well? Do I also want a separate engine/leg inspection completed as well (beyond a survey)? Sorry for all the questions, im a bit of a newb. I’ve been stalking this site for awhile while I wait to pull the trigger. Any recommendations are greatly appreciated!

I really appreciated the mechanical inspection on top of the survey. The guy took oil samples and checked temps and spark plugs and compression etc.
Really convinced me to get into the mess I'm currently in.

 

[ab1752]

Good point. Is it standard for a marine inspector to inspect the trailer as well? Do I also want a separate engine/leg inspection completed as well (beyond a survey)? Sorry for all the questions, im a bit of a newb. I’ve been stalking this site for awhile while I wait to pull the trigger. Any recommendations are greatly appreciated!

Now is 100% the time to ask these questions. You want to spend the cash for a structural survey and a mechanical one too. Harold Gordon does a great job on the vessel hull and I used (and many others) Pleasurecraft at LGM. To properly inspect a trailer you have to remove the wheels and have a look with the drums off, at least. Ideally hook it up to an actuator and make sure the brakes work.

No need to disclose which boat you're looking at unless you have specific questions, but does one of them look like mine but with a blue wrap on the hull by chance?

 

[Piccadilly]

I really appreciated the mechanical inspection on top of the survey. The guy took oil samples and checked temps and spark plugs and compression etc.
Really convinced me to get into the mess I'm currently in.

Hah, fair. I’m going into this with eyes wide open on potential engine/leg issues that could crop up. That is part of the reason I prefer a single outboard and when the inevitable happens I can debate podding it. My Dad gave up boating after destroying three separate legs in the same season. Would love your 30 set-up though. Who did your mechanical inspection?

 

[Piccadilly]

Now is 100% the time to ask these questions. You want to spend the cash for a structural survey and a mechanical one too. Harold Gordon does a great job on the vessel hull and I used (and many others) Pleasurecraft at LGM. To properly inspect a trailer you have to remove the wheels and have a look with the drums off, at least. Ideally hook it up to an actuator and make sure the brakes work.

No need to disclose which boat you're looking at unless you have specific questions, but does one of them look like mine but with a blue wrap on the hull by chance?

Thanks. Is that the blue pro-line for sale at thunderbird? If it were up to me I’d get something like that for fishing as a priority and seriously considered a Grady 228 last summer. But to get the wife to buy in I needed to go with something a bit bigger with more family function ie. sleeps four, small kitchen, could in theory go to desolation or cross the channel with a young family on board. Thanks for the referral