cost of slip rental in seattle?

I am curious, what does it cost you PNW folks to dock your boat in the Seattle area? *I assume water is included but not electric? *Let's say for a 40' slip. *Down here, for a covered slip that size, they run about $375-380 a month. *Just curious if it is close to the same out your way.

While we don't keep our boat in Seattle because of the high slip rates and it's too far away from where we want to boat, I believe a typical slip rate in Seattle is about $15 a foot or more. It will depend on the marina and if you are in Lake Union, Lake Washington, or out on the Sound. We keep our boat in Belilngham and the current slip rate is about $8 a foot.

However more and more marinas in this area are changing from charging by the linear foot to charging by the square foot. I assume this to mean the length of the boat times it's maximum width. Belingham Marina is considering changing to this formula and apparently several marinas in the Puget Sound area have already done so with more to follow.

I think they should charge per sq foot of the stall. And more for single stalls than double. And more for new floats than old scruffy ones. In short*** ...one should be charged for what one gets.

I would be so glad if they changed by the square foot as we are 59 ft 9 inches long, and 13 ft 10 inches wide.* Use to piss me off having to pay the same as an 18 to 20 ft beam boat.* Over the decades boats have become short and beamier.* **
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We where moored at the very South end of Lake Union, down town Seattle where the boat shows and the fancy restaurants.* We were paying about $12.50 per foot, plus utilities, parking and live aboard fee for the total of 1,150.00 bucks, the view and locations were could not be beat.* What was the last straw was when they started charging for parking with no guaranty of a spot, City of Seattle put in metered parking which took out ¼ of the parking spaces, and the final final was when the SLUG trolley was put in which created a huge traffic jam.
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In Everett we are paying about 10.00 per foot, with parking, and utilities included. You can find moorage in 8.00/ft range and maybe 6.00/ft on the other side of the Puget Sound.* The closer you are to a city the higher the rate.* Many marinas have slip available which is was not case 3 years ago.* Everett vacancy rate is 20% to 30 %.**
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With a 60 ft boat three years ago*you asked if they had a slip available, and did*NOT*ask the price as moorage*was so*tight, especially a live aboard

Phil Fill wrote:I would be so glad if they changed by the square foot as we are 59 ft 9 inches long, and 13 ft 10 inches wide.* Use to piss me off having to pay the same as an 18 to 20 ft beam boat.

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*Phil--- Don't for a moment think that if they change the moorage to square footage that you are going to get a lower slip fee.* I have been told by the marina folks in Belingham that when the calculation changes, EVERYBODY's fee goes up no matter what dimensions their boat may be.* It just means they can charge even more for the widebody folks.* Also the length of the slip is still part of the overall formula but the actual boat size is based on square footage, not length alone.

Bottom line is it is simply another way to get more money for every slip.

nomadwilly wrote:
In short*** ...one should be charged for what one gets.

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******* Eric:

*Why should I pay more for my slip than my neighbor who has the same length boat & older floats? We both use the same water, same length finger docks, power, etc. Should one pay more to a parking meter that is new and shiny vs an older one?


-- Edited by SeaHorse II on Wednesday 27th of July 2011 03:07:11 PM

Are you guys talking about uncovered slips in the PNW? Are there many covered slips in the PNW to compare to Tony's rate?

My slip in a covered shed with 9 or 10 other boats on the CA Delta is $10.50/ft ($420) for a 40 ft slip. That includes water and private parking with close access.

These pics were taken during a high water period this past spring.* Our marina is the P-shaped cluster of sheds in this photo.



Very protected from wind and current...



With convenient parking in the middle.




-- Edited by FlyWright on Wednesday 27th of July 2011 03:22:51 PM

Marin wrote:Phil Fill wrote:I would be so glad if they changed by the square foot as we are 59 ft 9 inches long, and 13 ft 10 inches wide.* Use to piss me off having to pay the same as an 18 to 20 ft beam boat.

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*Phil--- Don't for a moment think that if they change the moorage to square footage that you are going to get a lower slip fee.* I have been told by the marina folks in Belingham that when the calculation changes, EVERYBODY's fee goes up no matter what dimensions their boat may be.* It just means they can charge even more for the widebody folks.* Also the length of the slip is still part of the overall formula but the actual boat size is based on square footage, not length alone.

Bottom line is it is simply another way to get more money for every slip.

Port of Edmonds went to square footage quite a few years ago, and as Marin states, it was "simply another way to get more money".* There is some discussion that they are considering going back to a straight length formula, but this just presents another opportunity.* Then, in a few years, they'll want to change back.

My moorage expense model is no longer in step with the port's revenue model, as my moorage rates have gone up over 2500% since 1974.* And this does not include inflation!

The latest is that there is a $25/mo fee added onto any sublease amount.* It is getting very hard to find subleases during the summer, and this just about kills it.

So for my covered 40' x 15' berth, it's about $700/mo.** The marina was significantly rebuilt in 1997 after the old one collapsed in a snow storm.** There was a rather large moorage increase then, as well, even though the pre-1997 rates produced a surplus of over $3 million that was meant to rebuild the marina when needed (old one was new in 1968 and 1974).

So, yes, my button has been pushed.* And, I'll be voting with my check book and looking for new moorage early next year.

Sorry for carrying on.

We paid about $9 at Elliott Bay last winter for a 45' slip.* They were happy to have our money - lots of empty slips.* Its a very nice marina, good security, good parking (included), marble showers, waste oil disposal included.* I'd go back there in a heartbeat if it worked for us.* I don't know what hours that harbourmaster keeps - I assume he closes sometime but he was open every time I went to his door, and in the morning he always had fresh coffee and doughnuts.

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FlyWright wrote:
Are you guys talking about uncovered slips in the PNW? Are there many covered slips in the PNW to compare to Tony's rate?

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*Yes.* No.

A few marinas have covered moorage available but the majority of covered moorage up*here is in the nature of private boathouses.* Based on what I see advertised from time to time in our marina a boathouse capable of holding a 35-40 foot vessel tends to sell for about $50,000.* I have no clue what they sell for in the Seattle area--- probably somewhat more.* Then there is (I assume) the monthly "slip" fee and electricity fee*to the marina to keep it moored along the "boathouse" dock it's on.* But if there is a monthly fee I don't know what the marinas base it on.* Length, height, square footage, volume....?

Some marinas have long covered moorage docks*for smaller boats.* The sides and ends of these docks are typically open and the*roofs have a very shallow angle to them.* Some of them have done a great job at helping a boat fire spread to as many nearby boats as possible :-(

But the majority of moorage available in the Puget Sound-Northern Sound-San Juan Islands is in the form of open slips.* (I guess all I have to say now is "Salish Sea" as that term encompasses all the inside waters from Olympia in the south to Desolation Sound in the north.)


-- Edited by Marin on Wednesday 27th of July 2011 06:20:22 PM

Cape Sante Marina, Port of Anacortes,* (about 60 miles north of Seattle) All uncovered slips are $8.75 ft. plus $49.44 Leaseholder tax and $10 basic Electricity. (Turn on a stove or heater and your electric bill quickly goes to $85.)* This is for a 40 foot slip on a 45 year old wood dock. *My current bill is $444.51 total*
The kicker is they charge you by the length of the slip if your boat is shorter than the slip and by the overall length of your boat if you're longer than the slip.* My boats hull length is 37' 8", but from bow pulpit to swim step/skiff I'm 46' overall.* They actually tape measure your boat.
They are replacing our docks this year maybe, we've heard this every year for ten years now, and i'm told I will have to have a 46' slip. *Gee, I can't wait to see what that is going to run.

Phil Phill says** "I would be so glad if they changed by the square foot as we are 59 ft 9 inches long, and 13 ft 10 inches wide.* Use to piss me off having to pay the same as an 18 to 20 ft beam boat.* Over the decades boats have become short and beamier."*** Why did* that piss you off Phill? You are renting the same size slip and getting the same service. It costs the facility the same to provide each slip and the renters should each pay the same rent. As long as the boat is not over sized the marina should care less what percentage of the slip is used. But in a public marina slips should not be underutilized such as having a 25' boat in a 50' stall unless 50' stalls were in abundance. But in a private marina the operators should have the right to charge whatever and it's not their responsibility to give anybody a good deal. And if it was a great business to be in where great profits were to be had there would be many more private marinas. I see no justification for complaining but hear plenty. Whiners?

Here at the Vallejo Municipal Marina rates are based on the length of the berth.* (I consider this to be the most reasonable and fair method.)* Since I'm 38-minus feet, I pay the 40-foot-berth rate.* Since such berths are in a shoaling area and*caused my boat to be aground during low tides, the marina immediately allowed me to move to a 44-foot-berth at the 40-foot-berth rate.* I believe they treated me right.* On my side, perhaps, is that there is at least a 25% vacancy rate on the concrete-pier side where I'm located (more expensive than the wooden ones)*of the marina.



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-- Edited by markpierce on Thursday 28th of July 2011 12:55:32 AM

nomadwilly wrote:
It costs the facility the same to provide each slip and the renters should each pay the same rent. As long as the boat is not over sized the marina should care less what percentage of the slip is used. But in a public marina slips should not be underutilized such as having a 25' boat in a 50' stall unless 50' stalls were in abundance.

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Squalicum Marina in Bellingham currently*charges for the slip size, not the boat size. The exception (I think) are boats on end-ties where the charge is for the boat length, not the end-tie lengh* because the typical end tie is some 80 feet long or so.

The marina is city-owned and managed by the Port of Bellingham.* However they are required to be self-sufficient.* This means that all the costs of operating, maintaining, and improving the marina must be paid for by the fees and rents collected by the Port of Bellingham.* No subsidy money from the city can be used for the marina.

This is good from the viewpoint of the citizens of Bellingham---*none of their*tax money is going to the marina.* On the other hand, it means the marina has to have enough income to operate, which means ever-increasing moorage fees and rental rates for the businesses located in marina buildings.

But the city of Bellingham doesn't owe me, a recreational boat owner, anything other than a good place to keep my boat.* If*we can afford the cost of keeping our boat in their marina, great.* If*we can't, it's not their responsibility or duty to help us afford it.* They've got their own financial*challenges to deal with.


-- Edited by Marin on Wednesday 27th of July 2011 10:49:31 PM

I agree if its a single slip, but not on a double slip.* The Lake Union slip was a double slip 65 ft slip about 35 ft across.* Two newer fat boats could not fit in the double slip so a smaller or narrower boat was required, and we had only 2 ft between us so it was a tight fit.* *They kept jacking the rates up, so I talk to marina manager and told him that I was not going to pay the new rate as very few boater could fit on the slip and be willing to pay the high price.* So we moved to Everett.* It took them over one year to rent the slip at a reduced rate to a smaller boater boat.* ****
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On the other hand having a narrow beam has be a benefit in finding moorage as we can fit in most 40 ft slips but we stick out a tad.*

Marin wrote:* If*we can't, it's not their responsibility or duty to help us afford it.* They've got their own financial*challenges to deal with.

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* * * * Right on, Bro!