The complete Houseboat Marina Guide.
The services, facilities, and amenities.

The houseboat marina guide will help you to see how marinas come in all shapes, sizes, and prices depending on the docks, services, facilities, and amenities offered. Picking the right one is an important decision since you could be there for quite some time. Use the link below to find a marina.

NEW: Marina Directory - find houseboat marinas here
You can Share your Houseboat Marina experiences here
See what Marinas other Readers have contributed?

Some Common Houseboat Marina Questions?

When it comes to selecting a marina, you have to take a moment and really try to understand your boating needs? These are some of the basic questions that houseboaters have to ask themselves before searching for that perfect marina!


* Are you family oriented and enjoy going swimming and have BBQ's in a secluded bay nearby?

* Do you like to navigate long distances and explore all the waterways that the country offers?

* Do you prefer to stay around the marina and use your houseboat as a floating weekend cottage?

* Would you prefer to have quick access to your boat for some frequent suppers or sunsets?

* Do you not mind traveling a few hours to get to your secluded hideaway marina location?

* Do you want to use your boat as a short term (30 day) home / office to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city?

* As you can see these questions really help you understand your needs.


Let's look at some more basic marina information:

dock fees slip sizes marina services covered slips activities for kids lakes VS rivers launch & haul-out

winter storage repair services fuel & pump-out site security short term living laundry & groceries internet & cellular

NEW: Marina Directory - find houseboat marinas here

back to TOP

---

Dock Fees

The dock slip fees are generally based on the length of your boat, multiplied by a fixed fee for full service dockage (ex: water, electricity), or a reduced fixed fee for limited or minimal dock services (ex: no water, no electricity)

Dock fees can range from @ $1,000-10,000 a year depending on the marina location, available marina services, and the overall vessel length. Some marinas will include other services in their "dock fees" like haul-outs, winter storage, or regular maintenance items.

back to TOP

---

Slip Sizes

When it comes to slip sizes, there are marinas that cater to smaller houseboats such as 25-40 feet, and some cater to mid-sized houseboats such as 40-75 feet, and there are some well-equiped marinas that can handle all sizes, especially the large luxury houseboats ranging from 75-110 feet.

Small houseboats like 25-40 feet generally have a beam width of 8-12 feet, and mid-sized 40-75 foot houseboats generally have a beam width of 12-16 feet, and the large luxury 75-110 foot houseboats have a beam width ranging from 16-20 feet wide.

back to TOP

---

Marina Services

Many larger well-equipped marinas offer additional services like laundry, groceries, ship-store, pump-outs, propane, boat washing, transient docks, family games and activities.

Many of the marinas are full service facilities when it comes to houseboat maintenance items like engine, drive, electrical, bimini canvas, electrical, mechanical, waxing/compound, and structural repairs.

back to TOP

---

Covered Slips

When it comes to covered slips, there is a 50-50 opinion on them. They can provide excellent protection from the elements like rain, snow, sun.

They say that a covered slip can prolonged the life of a boat by five fold, and you can really see the effects of the sun on a uncovered vessels finish.

There are some drawbacks to covered slips as often there can be some birds or spiders who take up residency under the rafters (droppings).

Depending on your location and boating season, a covered slip will reduce the amount of daytime sunlight therefore lowering the warm sunny temperatures.

back to TOP

---

Activities for Kids

Many marinas are equipped with facilities to keeps kids entertained with games like horseshoes, sandbag throwing games, recreation rooms, swing/slide parks, and ping-pong & billiard style rooms.

If you are a parent of young or teenaged children, it is nice to know that they can stay on site, still be safe, and have activities to keep them entertained.

back to TOP

---

Lakes vs Rivers

If you are a long distance traveller, than a river marina location maybe a better choice and provide access to for example Great Loop travels.

If you are on a land-locked lake, than your likely to have limited access to other larger bodies of water. One advantage is that lakes tend to offer many great bays for weekend anchorages.

back to TOP

---

Launching & Haul-Out

If you are transporting or having a large boat shipped to another location, you should verify if your chosen marina, or another marina nearby can launch your houseboat.

If you should require some underwater work or repairs, can your marina handle to haul-out your boat with a traditional hydraulic trailer, or with a travel lift.

back to TOP

---

Winter Storage

Depending on where you do your houseboating, you may be required to "winterize your boat", or physically haul it out for winter strorage. Many marinas that offer winter storage often offer shrink-wrap options to cover and protect your boat from the winter elements.

back to TOP

---

Repair Services

Many marinas are full-service when it comes to boat maintenance and emergency repairs. They generally have a service repair shop, or they have access to many mobile marine mechanics that provide on-call repair work.

back to TOP

---

Fuel & Pump Out

One of the basic needs as a boater has to be the need for fuel and septic pump-outs. If your marina doesn't have these facilities, you will likely have to travel to another location to get fuel and empty your waste tanks.

back to TOP

---

Site Security

In todays society, it is preferable to have some type of basic site security. Some marinas have installed a key punch style gate to limit or control access to the marina property.

Other marinas have a security gate with magnetic access cards to allow members full access anytime throughout the day. Visitors can simply contact the front-desk via telephone or intercom.

back to TOP

---

Short-Term Living

Many states and countries have various rules and regulations regarding living aboard. There are many marinas that welcome short term liveaboards, so if you want to spend like 30 days at at time on your boat, than a marina is a beautiful and pleasant place to spend your days... :)

back to TOP

---

Laundry & Groceries

Depending on the style or size of houseboat, you may have a onboard washer and dryer. If you don't than having access to groceries and laundry facilities, than a trip into town maybe necessary.

back to TOP

---

Internet & Cellular access

With todays technological advances, there are many folks that need and require access to the internet and cellular phone signals in order to work or stay connected with family.

Generally speaking, many marinas are supplying cabled internet, or wireless internet (wifi) access for free or a small monthly fee. As to the cellular reception at a specific marina, possibly your telephone carrier can help you there.

back to TOP

---

---

return to the top of the Houseboat Marina page

We now have a new Houseboat Marina Directory

return to Houseboat Questions and Answers page

return to Home Page of www.all-about-houseboats.com