From the dockmaster's desk
If you called five marinas about transient dockage faq, you'd get five different answers — not because anyone is hiding the truth, but because every harbor runs on its own contracts, depths, and storm policies. This page is the version we wish every dockmaster had time to give a first-time caller.
Transient dockage is the boating equivalent of a hotel night — pay per night for a slip, leave the next morning. The most common questions cluster around booking lead time, what's included, and tipping etiquette.
Lead time varies by season and destination. Off-season same-day is usually fine; summer weekends in Newport, Block Island, Annapolis, or the Florida Keys require 30–90 days. Holiday weekends (4th of July, Labor Day) book 6+ months out at premium destinations.
Pricing is per foot per night, $2.50–$10 in most US harbors, $10–$25 at megayacht-class downtown marinas. Power is almost always metered separately, $10–$50/night depending on 30A/50A/100A service.
Etiquette: arrive in the window the marina assigns, hail on VHF 16 then switch to the marina's working channel (typically 68 or 71), tip the dockhand $5–$20 for line-handling help, settle the bill on arrival not departure.
Transient booking checklist
- • Confirm LOA + beam
- • Confirm power service (30/50/100A)
- • Confirm pump-out
- • Note arrival window
- • Save VHF working channel
Always ask
- • Pet policy
- • Ice / fuel hours
- • Restaurant reservations
- • Trash / pump-out timing
- • Departure cutoff