Opposition to liveaboards

[mdi]

Originally Posted by sidney777

But, people who live anywhere can cause problems and there are some jackasses on boats who may ruin it for some of the other boaters.

Unfortunately I have seen enough drunks on boats doing this that it leaves a bad taste in everyone's mouth. They become loud and infringe on the solitude of the experience, hell I even want them gone.

[Minnewaska]

Originally Posted by mdi

Unfortunately I have seen enough drunks on boats doing this that it leaves a bad taste in everyone's mouth. They become loud and infringe on the solitude of the experience, hell I even want them gone.

True, but they equally take the form of both liveaboards and weekend warriors. I suppose, most of us have been unintentionally guilty at some point. A good sundowner and some start to speak loudly and don't notice that the music travels further when the wind noise drops. Its only when they go way into the night that I begin to think they don't care.

[LauderBoy]

Originally Posted by Hawaiigirl

we found this awesome Marina in Fernandina Beach that is run by the city......anyway...they told us the live aboard rate was going to go up $200 a month!

Wow, that's really high for a liveaboard fee in Florida. My add-on fee is $100 a month which is fairly standard in Florida. Electric is metered, but wifi/cable is free and we have a nice lounge with computers, tv and I believe there's an exercise room.

I really don't mind the fee since the marina has done a lot of improvements over the last couple years. New docks, repaved the parking lots, renovating the laundry and showers, etc.

If it's municipal I wonder if the city is hurting for funds and trying for a cash grab.

[wingNwing]

Originally Posted by joethecobbler

Yea, thats a cool way to go and you've got pretty boat, and solely based on your posts you seem like nice folks and all.

Thanx, Joe. I know we've had our share of honest differences of opinion online over the years, but ultimately, we both want the same thing ... good cruising experiences for all.

BTW, like you, we prefer working yards to resort marinas. Except for the one we were at where the yard workers started drinking hard and fast promptly at 5:01 every Friday night, and one of them in particular became a mean, angry drunk by the time we took the dog for her last walk of the evening, and there was no way to avoid passing the group. I wasn't sorry to see him fired.

[chef2sail]

Our club charges 200 a month for liveaboards. The winter water lines are only necesaary because of them as the regualr dock water is turned off at the end of November- February.

In addition I dont see that a fee is unreasonable as the liveaboards are getting away with not paying property taxes, which fund schools here. In setting rent for apts that is a consideration for the renting charge.

I also see no problem with an HOA and live in a community where the HOA are memebers of the community. The diversity oif the board helps prevent any one individual with abberant strict conformity rules from getting to out of hand. On the other hand the HOA enforcement of some of the community rules keeps our property values higher tha similar communities nearby without them, helps manage the snow removeal and landscaping of the common areas in our community as well as the pool and clubhouse area. No one forces you to live here and if you dont want to comply with the HOA then purchase a house/ townhouse somewhere else.

Dave

[wingNwing]

Of course liveaboards pay property taxes, Dave - the same way that any renter does, by subsidizing the taxes of the landlord or marina. It's a misconception that we're constantly fighting.

[Heinous]

I wouldn't consider a liveaboard fee to be opposition. I live aboard, and I definitely use more of the water, restrooms, administrative staff, mail, and parking than most of the other tenants. That's not hard to do here, though, since most of the boats are documented in Arizona I've never seen them move--the only people ever on those boats are hired to wash them!

What does seem to be opposition is the limitation. I don't know about other places, but San Diego County only allows a marina to have 10% of its slips live aboard. This sucks when there are slips available but the marina is already at 10%.

I'm moving back home to Hawaii soon, and I've been having a hard time finding a liveaboard slip so far.

[wingNwing]

There are some places here too, that limit the percentage of liveaboard slips. They claim it has to do with limited infrastructure such as parking, pumpouts, electric etc. But if that were truly the case, I'd assume the appropriate percentages would be determined by each individual marina based on their circumstances, not county-wide. So I wonder...

[chef2sail]

Jaye,

I dont see it the same way you do. I dont beleive its a misconception at all.

While yes our overall fees to members of the club help pay the property taxes, they dont use the services. Trash collection, snow removal and municipal services like fire and police would be minimal ay MYC from October through March if there were no lived aboards in our club. We would not need postal delivery or sewerage either. We would need bathrooms heated 12 months per year, The school bus would not have to stop at the club if there were no liveaboards. It would not be correct to compare it to a rental property.

Maybe the way I have phrased it is not correct. I beleive in user fees. The liveaboards use the club, the services, the facilities and the municpal facilities more than most club members who are only present 2/3 days per week for 7 months of the year. Because of this their fair share of the burden of running the club is greater thus the fee. When MYC dsecided to permit liveaboards, we knew we would incurr greater costs. The liveaboards consume more of the clubs resources as well as the communities as opposed to when there were no liveaboards.

In no way do I not want liveaboards at our club...there is one right next to me. I am all for it in a limited basis, and we limit it to 10 % of our 144 slips available. They do keep an eye on my boat as it is left in the water all year most of the winters. This being said, I feel they use the facility more than I do and therefore should be charged accordingly.

Dave

[wingNwing]

Dave, I definitely believe in *user* fees for liveaboards, because we both use, and desire, services. What I objected to was your statement that we don't pay property taxes. We, like you, subsidize the property taxes of the place(s) we keep our boats.