High marina costs and more rules

Published 2:27 pm Tuesday, December 20, 2011

I have been a tenant at the Oak Harbor marina since 2008. The facility has had some improvements in the last few years that were needed to keep the tenants at the marina. The attractive slip fees were an incentive to moor a boat there.

The one thing that Development Services Director Steve Powers may know or not know is that the policies and “rules” of the marina seem to be enforced much differently than in the past.

One thing that changed this year is that I was required to rent a slip that was larger than in previous years. The reason given was so that my boat would be less likely to be hit by other boats? I figure it was just a way to require me to rent a more expensive slip. I had never had any problems in past years.

When it came time to haul the boat for the winter, I was required to pay an extra month’s rental fee because of failing to give the marina 30 days’ notice? Never before in the years past has this ever happened.

To sum it up, the marina is presumably in trouble because  of low occupancy. I would like to suggest that the overall tone and operating method has contributed to some of the drop in tenants.

One thing that Mr. Powers might want to consider is that there are other moorage facilities that are more modern and up-to-date and much closer to the cruising area that most boaters prefer. This, in turn, equates to less fuel being used to reach their destinations thereby reducing the cost of boating. The cost of fuel is a major factor in choosing a moorage facility as is the overall condition and security of the facility. Oak Harbor is quite a few hours from the major boating areas and thereby it costs more in time and money to cruise from the marina to the popular areas, which was offset some by the cost effective moorage rates.

The monthly moorage fees that are much less than the Oak Harbor Marina’s are just 40 minutes away. It could be that the city of Oak Harbor has just waited too long to make the marina an attractive and secure marina.

Larry E. Ogle

Coupeville