How to Choose the Right Marina for Your Boat

The cheapest slip 90 minutes from home loses to the more expensive slip 20 minutes away every time. A marina you can get to after work on a Tuesday is a marina you'll use 60+ days a year. A marina you can only reach on a Saturday morning is a marina you'll use 18 days a year and eventually sell the boat over.

Map a 30-minute radius from home and work. Inside that radius, list every public, private, and resort marina. Outside it, you need a compelling reason — deep water, hurricane protection, family second home — to justify the drive.

Controlling depth is the shallowest spot between your slip and open water. A marina advertised at '8 feet MLLW' may have a single sand bar at the entrance that drops to 4.5 feet at a minus-tide. Ask the dockmaster specifically about controlling depth at mean lower low water, and cross-check with the latest NOAA chart and recent Active Captain reviews.

Add a 25% safety margin over your loaded draft (boat + fuel + water + crew + gear). A boat that draws 5 feet should be in a marina with at least 6.25 feet of controlling depth at MLLW.

A protected marina basin is the difference between calm fenders and chewed-up gel coat. Look at the prevailing summer wind direction on a NOAA wind rose and walk the marina on a windy day. Slips with their open end facing into the prevailing wind take the worst beating.

Floating docks track tide and reduce side-loading on cleats. Fixed docks with high pilings and long fenders also work, but only if the tide range is small. In areas with 6+ feet of tide swing, insist on floating.

Day boater: shore power, fresh water, clean restrooms, fuel within a 10-mile cruise. That's it.

Weekend cruiser: add pump-out at the pedestal, an ice machine, a ship's store, and reliable Wi-Fi.

Liveaboard: add laundry, year-round restrooms with hot showers, a sheltered walk to a grocery store, 50A power, mail service, and tolerant neighbors.

Cruiser making long passages: add a fuel dock that takes diesel and gas, a haul-out yard, on-site mechanics, and provisioning within Uber distance.

Base rent is rarely the full number. Add: electricity (usually sub-metered), live-aboard surcharge, water, Wi-Fi, parking after some number of vehicles, pump-out beyond a free monthly allotment, dinghy or kayak storage, and any annual yard fee.

Ask for the actual prior-year average bill for a boat your size. A reputable dockmaster will share it.

Dock condition: dry-rotted boards, loose hardware, missing dock edges, broken cleats, exposed wiring. Pedestal condition: corroded breakers, missing covers, no GFCI. Neighbors' boats: tidy decks and tight lines say the marina enforces standards; sun-bleached covers and trash on decks say it doesn't.

Restrooms and showers. They tell you everything about how the marina is managed.

What is current availability for my LOA and beam? What is the waitlist length? What is the full fee schedule including electricity? What insurance do you require? What is your hurricane / severe weather plan? What is the cancellation policy if I sell the boat or move?