Yup have seen those and various forms of automated moveable racks inside the storage building. Agree it has freed up space for other uses. Still, since I’ve started boating berthing has been a limiting factor. To the point lack of local availability and expense impacts the boat buying decision. My feeling (no formal evidence) is some don’t boat or only charter due to this state of affairs.
In America’s Home Town (Plymouth MA) the waiting list for a mooring has always been decades. There’s fewer moorings for boat = or >40’ there. Same in Marion so suspect commonly true elsewhere. Wait times have only gotten longer. Towns rather put in moorings with smaller swing diameters so they can pack more in.
We used to use a hauling service in Mattapoisett. You’d bring your boat to that town. They’d haul it and store it on huge fields a few miles in land in that town. Got around the expense and limited availability of seasonal storage to some extent but in water remained a difficulty.
My impression is at least for the northeast things have gotten much worst. Berthing expense has skyrocketed. Storage needs to planned up to a year in advance. Think it’s worst everywhere we go. We’ve booked our Xmas storage in the Bahamas already having been told if we don’t there be no space available where we want to stay.
Weird world. It was cheaper to book a slip for a season than for a few occasional weeks in R.I. We won’t occupy that slip for more than half the time paid for but needed that reliable berthing during the summer so we could also spend land and family time ashore. Most people aren’t full time cruisers so reliable berthing is a big deal.
So totally agree with the implied premise of the OPs original question. There’s not enough berthing and moorings. It’s gotten worst and more expensive. The middle of the market is hardest hit. Economic forces favor small boats and large but not the middle. This is being enhanced by consolidation of the marina industry. Please share your personal experiences to support or deny this impression.
Omg, I'm been to Plymouth but America's Home Town? lol. 1620 vs. 1607 vs 1513. Let the wars begin.
Removing small boats from the wet slips will impact the middle. You want to solve Plymouth Harbor, built a dry storage unit for 400 boats.
I agree certain areas have problems. In New England boating is seasonal and difficult to justify marina builds. The rates they would need to charge aren't those boaters are currently willing to pay. They really need annual rates for half year seasons. Still space availability has fluctuated. Marina people I've talked to say there were empty slips from 2010-2014 after no availability in 2003-2008. I think your impression of things being much worse are true impressions but one must be careful as to when they're comparing. Much worse than 8 to 10 years ago, yes. Much worse than 25 years ago, yes. Much worse than 15 years ago, perhaps in some places, but generally not.
I agree with you on moorings. Never found one we could use (other than Catalina). I think it's not a coincidence that the two areas that seem most short of slips are those with mooing fields, RI/MA and the Puget Sound area.
I want to share examples of two dry storage units located very close to each other in Fort Lauderdale. F3 can handle 46' LOA, 20' Height, 30,000 pounds and is all automated by lift, no fork lift, hurricane rated to 170 mph. Port also uses a cradle and one wall handles to 42' while the other handles 52' but still the 30,000 pound limit and as a 10 year old facility only rated to 135 mph, which is still above anything ever to hit Fort Lauderdale. Why not similar in NE? NE boaters wouldn't be willing to pay the price. That simple. They make sense in Fort Lauderdale where marinas are $25 to 45 per month and wet slips require 12-15 bottom cleanings per year. Again, it's economics. Plymouth Harbor has, to my knowledge, only one full service marina in Safe Harbor Plymouth which was a Brewer property. Very small with 100 wet slips and 60 dry. The dry can only handle up to 23' and the wet slips are mostly 40' and less with a few up to 50' but larger only on end tie. However, within 50 miles there are available slips. Just not right there. And within 50 miles a lot of larger slips.
A season being easier than a few weeks is true most places. It's either transient or seasonal rates, but few marinas willing to commit to weeks or months in advance at anything other than transient rates. Not going to do discounted short term rentals in peak season. Christmas storage in Bahamas, of course it's booked in advance. Peak season, holiday?
I don't argue that at various places there are shortages, but I do contend when economically beneficial there will be new marinas built. And I would not build in Plymouth but might in Boston or Newport.
