How to Verify a Sailing Club's Facilities

Each facility page on this site explains what one facility is and why it matters. This page covers the checks that apply to all of them, so they are written once rather than repeated on every page.

The single most important idea is this: a verified facility means the club has it, not that you can use it.

Existence, capacity and availability are three different things#

A club record showing boat storage tells you a facility exists. It does not tell you whether there is a space, whether a space would fit your boat, or what it costs.

These three questions need to be asked separately, and clubs answer them separately:

1. Does the facility exist? The record answers this.
2. Is there capacity right now? Only the club can answer this, and the answer changes.
3. Does it suit my specific boat or need? Dimensions, weight, draft, access.

Waiting lists at well-located clubs routinely run for years, particularly for wet berths and mast-up storage. A club can be entirely honest in recording a facility and entirely unable to offer it to you.

Common interpretation mistakes#

Reading a headline as a detail. "Storage: yes" might mean dinghy racks when you need a hardstand, or a marina when you need a trailer bay. The subtype matters more than the headline.

Assuming a facility implies a service. A ramp does not imply a rescue boat. A clubhouse does not imply it is open. A bar does not imply food.

Assuming absence means absence. A facility not recorded is usually a facility nobody has checked, especially at small volunteer-run clubs whose web presence is thin. It is not evidence the club lacks it.

Assuming a photograph is current. Facility photographs on club websites can be a decade old. Ramps silt up, buildings get replaced, and compounds fill.

Check dimensions before anything else#

For anything involving a boat, get the numbers before you get excited about the club.

• Length, beam and weight against rack, bay or berth dimensions
• Draft against the berth, the mooring and the ramp at the tide you would use
• Mast height against any overhead obstruction between the rigging area and the water
• Trailer length against parking bays and turning space
• Vehicle requirements on the ramp gradient

A boat that does not physically fit is not a compromise you work around. It is the reason a membership quietly lapses.

Access hours and seasonal changes#

Ask when you can actually get to the facility. Some clubs have restricted gate hours, seasonal closures, or keep the clubhouse locked outside organised activity. Some ramps are shared with the public and are unusable on summer weekends.

If you intend to sail outside the club's programmed times — which most boat owners eventually do — this matters more than the facility itself.

Cost is rarely in the membership fee#

Storage, berthing, hardstand, lift and crane use are usually charged separately from membership, and often annually rather than monthly. Ask for the full figure for your specific boat and arrangement, and ask what happens if you leave mid-year.

Questions to ask before relying on a facility#

• What exactly does this facility consist of, in detail?
• Is a space available now, and if not, how long is the list?
• What are the dimension limits?
• What does it cost annually, and what is included?
• When can I access it?
• What happens to my space if I am away for a season?

Verification and what this site records#

Facility fields on this site are recorded as verified, absent or not verified, each against a source and a date. Subtypes are only shown once they have been confirmed, because a generic "yes" that turns out to mean the wrong thing is worse than no answer at all.

Nothing here should be treated as a statement about current availability. That is a conversation with the club.

Then read the specific facility page#

With that settled, each facility page explains what that facility actually is, the forms it takes, and who needs it.