Yachts up to 280 feet are moored in Port Forum, in Barcelona, Spain. The marina, built byBellingham Marine, proved the concept of scaling up the size and strength of concrete flotationfor the needs of super-yachts.

They'rebig,they'rebeautiful,andthey'relookingfora placeto stay

BY ROBERT WILKES

oday's super-yachts and mega-yachts are driving the boating

world, and they're coming to marinasin droves. They're also precipitating agrowing crisis in the marina and boat-ing industries. The growth in the size ofboats is running headlong into thescarcity of places to park them, and nei-ther shows any sign of abating.

The recreational boating industry is areflection of the general economy, andworldwide economic progress isreflected in longer and wider boats. Themove to bigger and better boats paral-lels the modern home, so that the1950s dream house is a cramped muse-um piece today. The same holds true fortoday's boats.

Many marinas have seen the trend tolonger and wider as an opportunity toeither remodel and/orrepositiontheir slipmix to accommodate increased numbersof larger vessels. (For the story of onemarina's successfulremodel, see "Properplanning pays big dividends-how torebuild and redesign a marina," pg. 26,May/June 2007, Marina DockAge.)

Boats are being built at a faster ratethan there are slips to moor them, andthis is especially true with very large

42 MARINA DOCKAGE,JULY/AUGUST2007

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boats. In "A dash for the deep blue sea,"which appeared in the November 16,2006 issue of The Economist magazine,this trend wasput in the followingwords:

"Boat builders are floating on a tideof orders, with luxury super-yachtsshowing the biggest rises. Sales ofthese giants-some now stretched to400 feet-are up 80% in the past sixyears."

Jill Bobrow, editor-in-chief of Show-Boats International magazine, said,"The lack of moorage is a concern, butit has not slowed the sales of super-yachts. We're seeing an increase in newor remodeled marinas that can accom-modate larger yachts. It's happening allover the world, but particularly in theCaribbean."

Bobrow pointed to Yacht HavenGrand Marina in St. Thomas, wheresuper-yachts more than 400 feet, suchas Larry Ellison's Rising Sun or PaulAllen's Octopus, can now dock as agood example of the new marinas.

Moorage is especially difficult in theMediterranean, where visitors mustoften find moorage before 2 p.m. or beforced to spend the night on theiranchors. Bobrow told of a recent yachtpurchase that characterized the slipshortage. "The super-yacht Hanse in

Antibes on the Cote D'Azur in France

was purchased just for the moorage,"she said. "The buyer sold the boat rightafter he bought it."

Meanwhile, community leadersincreasingly feel pressure from groupsopposing waterfront development,including environmentalists, no-growthadvocates, homeowners seeking main-tenance of their ocean views, and otherswho see their issue as a holy cause.Where coastal land is open for develop-ment, a marina must compete with resi-dential or resort properties in the "high-est-and-best-use" economic test.

All this is to tell those individuals

who own an already operating coastalmarina to get ready, the big boats arecoming.

Many of America's 12,000 marinasare seeing their waiting lists balloon forthe larger slips, especially in Florida.The problem has reached the criticalstage on the West Coast. Sam LeClercq,general manager of LeClercq Marine inSeattle, is a manufacturer of large cus-tom yachts. "Many of our buyers havethe wealth to solve the problem them-selves," said LeClercq. "They can buywaterfront property and build their ownslips. Others buy a boat from a dealerthat comes with three months of moor-age. After that, they're on their own."

To understand what it takes to designand build marinas for larger boats, wetalked to Steve Ryder, manager of proj-ect development for Bellingham Marinein the southeastern U.S. "The newestchallenge for us is large-yacht moor-age," said Ryder. "We're seeing phe-nomenal demand, here in my region andin other parts of the world, especially inthe Mediterranean."

Bellingham Marine has been devel-oping docks for mega-yachts for morethan a decade. "Our experience with theAmerica's Cup yacht basin in Aucklandwas invaluable when we built BahiaMar in Fort Lauderdale," said Ryder."And Bahia Mar taught us how to buildslips for 280-ft. super-yachts in PortForum, Barcelona."

Roundtable discussionRyder wanted to learn more about thesevessels to help him design super-yachtmoorage. So, he and Bellingham Marine

'-

sponsored a roundtable discussion inApril 2007, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.,that included eight captains, an engi-neer, a purser, and a chef from yachts inthe Fort Lauderdale area. The discus-sion was organized by the Triton, anewspaper for yacht captains andcrews.

"The discussions were lively andfrank," said Ryder. "The panel wasasked to talk about marinas they liked,and why they liked them. A subjectthey were very emphatic about washow much they preferred finger-piermoorage over stem-tie Med-moorage.They loved a side tie, but to be in a slipwith a finger pier that allows a side andstem tie is perfection to them."

Why the preference for finger piers?The participants said finger piers allowthe super-yacht's crew to clean and /

work on the boat and easily load provi-sions without having to walk throughthe guest areas. Because a super-yachtis really a floating 10-star hotel, littlethings mean a lot. "A slip with a fingerpier is so much better," said one cap-tain. "When we are leaving or provi-sioning, we can handle lines, fenders,and supplies without going through theowner's cocktail party."

Marina services are another measureof the places they like to visit. "We loveMarina CostaBaja," said another cap-tain, referring to a marina in La Paz,Mexico. "When we arrive, there arethree people waiting on the dock to han-dle lines, take off garbage, and arrangeground transport. They understand theservice aspect of our business."

Others mentioned the need for aservices guide or map of the area thatidentified places where they could dolaundry, buy flowers, and shop for pro-visions. "We would love to see a mapor a booklet showing where the servic-es and stores are located," said thepurser. "Not just local advertisers for acar wash, but all the businesses in thetown that we need to find."

A pioneerOne marina that recognized early-onthe value of mega-yacht moorage andexceptional service is the CharlestonCity Marina, Marina Dock Age $ 2005"Marina of the Year."

In 2003, the City Marina hiredBellingham Marine to construct "The

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CIRCLE131

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MegaDock," a 20-ft.-wide, 1,530-ft.-long floating dock that is the longest sin-gle dock in the U.S. The MegaDock pro-vides slips for 60-ft. boats and smaller,but can also take a 250-ft. yacht on a sidetie at the visitor dock. The marinaemploys 15 to 25 dockhands to assistboaters and assigns two dockhands togreet each vessel. The MegaDock, alongwith an earlier remodeling program,completely revitalized Charleston CityMarina and has resulted in enormouslyimproved revenues.

"Large-yacht owners spend moremoney," said Brooke Fishel, operationsmanager of the Association of MarinaIndustries in Washington, D.C. "Goingto larger slips still allows you [the mari-na] to put two 30-footers in a 60, butowners of larger vessels spend more-at the fuel dock, the ship's store, and inother ways. And they pay more for con-venience," she continued. "They'll payyou to take care of it, rather than do itthemselves. That can open up new rev-enue streams, like concierge services,provisioning, boat cleaning, and make-ready services. Generally, in coastal

The City Marina in Charleston, S.c., has devoted a special dock for larger boats. City Marina wasMarina Dock Age's 2005 "Marina of the Year."

marinas, larger boats make a marinamore profitable."

The future

Ryder combined the crew commentsfrom the roundtablewith his own experi-ences to offer a summary of suggestionsfor transforming a marina into a magnetfor big and beautiful mega-yachts.

~~/~~~~

~q4

44 MARINA DOCKAGE,JULY/AUGUST2007

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CIRCLE 132

"If you're building or remodelingand want to moor mega-yachts," hesaid, "you should be aware that struc-tural loads on the docks are magnifiedby the large boats. Wind and waveloads on the docks and pilings aretremendous when you look at the pro-file of a 200-ft. vessel with 600 tons

displacement versus a 60-ft. vessel with20 tons displacement. The docks mustalso be strong enough to take theweight of utility lines. One new marinabeing built by my company has 156conduits going down the dock in theutility runs. That is a lot of copper and alot of weight.

"Docks must have a higher freeboardto keep fenders in place and protect thehull. We discussedthe freeboardrequire-ments with the mega-yacht crews, andthey all agreed that a 24- to 30-inch free-board, like the,.docks at the Bahia Marfacility,is optimum," Ryder said.

Roundtable participants said they donot like to see hard corners, pilingsplaced external to the fingers, andexposed water lines that can gouge ahull. The captains described the chal-lenge of bringing a large vessel into aslip with a wind with these words, "Youget one try." Additional fendering,rounded corners, and anything that pro-tects their hulls is appreciated.

Mega-yacht utility requirements arefar greater than one can imagine. Forexample, a typical mega-yacht requires200 to 400 amps of service compared to100 amps for a 60-ft. boat. Vesselsmore than 200 ft. may require 600 to1,200 amps in both single-phase and

three-phase power. As boats come infrom anywhere in the world, they mayneed 50 hertz as well as 60 hertz power.

Mega-yacht and super-yacht crewsand owners demand good communica-tions. Marinas should assess their WiFicoverage to ensure that service will notbe interrupted by the shadow effect ofanother vessel. Laptops and e-mail arehow the crew stays in touch with therest of the world. One captain at theroundtable commented that he had 15laptops on board. High-definition cableis also a plus.

Mega-yachts require better access. Inaddition to the owner and his/her guests,a super-yachtmay have a crew of 6 to 20persons. With this number of people, anormal 4-ft.-wide finger or 8-ft.-widemain walkway quickly becomes crowd-ed and overloaded. Larger docks canalso be critical for emergency servicesand are preferred for provisioning.Docks able to bear golf carts and othersmall vehicles are becoming standardformarinas with larger yachts.

As for accessories, large-yacht own-ers prefer upscale lighting, meter-read-

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ing systems, fire protection signaling,and sewer and gray water pumpouts. Inaddition, successful facilities offermore than just a typical ship's store anda beer cooler for the crews. Popular on-shore hospitality features are an Inter-net cafe, owner's lounges, and privaterestrooms and showers.

Attention to detail is of the utmost

importance in catering to mega-yachts.

CIRCLE 133

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"The reason is clear," said Ryder."Owners are on the boat far less timethan the crew, and owners often followthe suggestions of the captain and crewwhen choosing the ports and marinasthey visit." .j;,

Robert Wilkes is afreelance writer who

writes about the marina industry fromhis home in Bellevue, Wash.

MARINA DOCKAGE,JULY/AUGUST2007 45

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