fezzer

I've recently bought a small speedboat with some friends in AD, and after initially thinking we should just leave it outside one of the villa's, we're now thinking a proper marina or boat yard is a more sensible choice. There's security, and either the boat will be in the water or someone else can launch the boat for us.

The big question we have is where can we put it? The Intercontinental dry berth is full with a waiting list, the marina by Marina mall is also full, and Yas Island marina is busy trying to charge as much as possible for a few days over the grand prix.

Any ideas?

MacScot

You obviously have a trailer and it is a SMALL speed boat...keep it at the villa. Annual berthing fees can range from AED15,000 to AED 25,000 ! (based on Dubai prices where many berths are available). Plus leaving your boat in the water results in hull marine growths, so you will need to have it cleaned/scraped monthly. You can also charge your battery at the villa, otherwise you will need a berth with an electric supply. In some areas, small boats are simply moored to a weight and float system (much cheaper) but no electric supply.

busybee2

the problem that you have with the above is that is actually finding somewhere to put it in the water... as there are only a couple of public places in ad... i would get on the waiting lists. talk to the I marina again as i know a lot of people are unhappy there at the mo, so that may change.

MacScot

OK don't know boat ramps in Abu Dhabi but questions about boat ramps have been asked before on abudhabiwoman.com:

there is a boat ramp under mafraq bridge, but its rather rocky and you have to be careful as the current/tide is quite strong there.

there is also one along the channel at btb, but again that is used mostly by the locals and their jet skis etc which is fine, but is quite a narrow channel.

you can pay to put it in the water at the marina

you can pay to put it in the water up at the fish market sort of area.

Try asking at the marina...the marina master should know.

busybee2

yeh that was from me... but not posting on THAT website anymore....

you should have done your research as to where you can use it first... as no point having it if you cannot put in the water. there are less berths than there are houses in abu dhabi at the moment, and so its not good. you can maybe use the shang one they were advertising but thats a wet berth and that will be very very expensive.

MacScot

Haha...'tis not me asking but fezzer !

busybee2

sorry not what i meant, i know its not you.... but i would have thought you would have looked into where you can get it in the water before purchasing.....! things not as simple here in ad as you may think. there has always been a shortage of berths, hence why they are plans afoot to build a lot more.

fezzer

It's down as a nice to have at the moment. There's a public slip nearby (close to the Shangri-la) which is easy to get in and out of. Just need to persuade the other owners that they want to swap their sensible town cars for 4x4s so they can tow it there when i'm not around! I think realistically we'll keep it out the water and live with it and keep our eyes open if the situation changes.

busybee2

yes as i said there are two public slipways there one in the channel in btb and the other under mafraq bridge. there used to be one in bateen but that has been closed, which is obviously the problem with a lot of things here. yes best to keep out of water but some people think that a little boat they can just launch it anyway, well no, because its still quite heavy! put your name down on the waiting list for the Big I dont think that unless you want to pay big bucks the situation will change any time soon.