From: greg@netcom.com (Greg Bullough)
Subject: Re: What is your marina like?
Date: Sun, 26 Jul 92 04:04:17 GMT
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest) 

In article <1992Jul24.163217.24264@csclan.cs.com> CHRIS@csclan.cs.com (Chris Rousseau) writes:
>Reply-To: CHRIS@csclan.cs.com (Chris Rousseau)
>Followup-To: 
>Distribution: usa
>Organization: Computer Support Corporation, Dallas, Texas.
>Keywords: marinas monopolies
>
>I would like to start a discussion about marinas and the service/quality
>per dollar.  We seem to have a marina system nearing a monopolistic state
 
This is intersting. I've always wanted to conduct and publish a
marina-rating survey for the local sailing rag. I think it would
do some good.

It has always impressed me that marina quality (with few exceptions)
seems to be inversely proportional to desirability of location. The
other variable in this equation seems to be harbormasters, who can
range from nice, fatherly types to awful bureaucrats. More often
than not, in my experience, the harbormaster is a real boat-oriented
guy who has no clue about how to treat customers; sort of like the 
'super' in a tenement-house.

>on at least one of the area lakes and are wondering just how bad we are
>being screwed.  Things I wonder about are: 
>
>1)price/foot/year
 
I paid $185/month in South Beach Harbor, in a prime location in
San Francisco. When I was in South San Francisco, and kind of 
isolated from the best sailing, it was $20-30 a month cheaper.
 
>2)quality of management
 
This seems to be a real variable. Harbormasters seem a crochety
bunch in general. I've watched a lot of guys get really abused
'cause they got on the wrong side of them. At my former harbor,
*I* got caught in the middle of a pissing contest between a tenant
who later occupied my slip and the harbor master. They had some
sort of petty feud about the guys insurance, and the harbor master
tried to evict him. When he didn't move, he locked the boat down
and started charging storage. When he didn't pay, the harbor master
slapped a lien on the boat. Problem is, the incompetent hadn't
changed the registration information for the slip, and put a 
lien on my boat (which once started, is very hard to stop) 
instead. Needless to say, he got a call. At home. At night.
With some rather emphatic verbiage employed.
 
Given that this harbor master was given to pissing contests, I
was not amused at getting caught in one.

South Beach seems to have a sort of "take it or leave it" attitude,
which is odd because they are still not full. They promise every new
tenant permanent and adequate shower facilities, "real soon now,"
but "real soon now" seems no closer than ever. They even tried to
shut off the water during the drought, solving their problem and
forgetting about the tenants. A sharp and swift reaction from a
few tenants led to a sensible conservation plan. All in all, you
seem to have to keep at them to get what you pay for. But, the
location is great. A good/bad feature is that South Beach is
a quasi-public marina, being owned by the SF Redevelopment
Agency. As a government agency, they are able to be a lot
less arbitrary (!) than a private lessor.

>3)quality/quantity of facilities
 
Inversely proportional to desirability of location. In the less 
desirable locations (farther from the good sailing) the facilities
seem to be very, very nice. 
 
In areas which offer a better location, the facilities seem to 
be dismal. When I was far from good sailing, the showers and
restrooms were beautiful and adequate. Closer to the good 
sailing, they are dismal, old, worn-out, and dirty. The SF
Marina restrooms are rumored to be terrifying.

Close to good sailing, we find single-finger piers. Away, we
find double-finger piers.
 
Close to good sailing, inadequate parking to handle weekend 
loads. Far from good sailing, ample parking.

Sound market-driven? You bet it does.

>4) other... 
 
I think that tenants' associations could do a lot to improve
conditions in marinas. Particularly those who have yacht clubs
associated with them have a built-in pressure group. But it
rarely seems to happen.
 
Greg