Properly coordinating and scheduling travel in your marina is essential to ensuring boats get in and out safely and in a timely manner. Marina travel coordination is essential to running a marina, especially if your location is busy. With so many boats coming and going, traffic jams and collisions are a genuine concern. You’ll lose customers if your marina gets a reputation for a disorder. Fortunately, you can encourage good boating etiquette and foster a safe environment with the following tips.

Properly Coordinating Travel

To properly coordinate travel, it is important to understand everything around the marina. Therefore, you have several things to consider before ensuring that travel flows successfully.

Build Infrastructure

If you ask old pros how to organize travel amongst your marina, they’ll tell you the secret lies in infrastructure. While docks are essential for a marina, they’re not the only structures boats need. Patrons require help getting their boats to the water, loading passengers onto their vessels, and cleaning off the salt water. The following are amenities that make the boating experience more convenient:

• Swimming platforms
• Floating walkways
• Boat ports and lifts
• Floating gangways
• Freshwater rinse stations

Make a Plan

What is your marina’s layout? How large is it? What kind of vessels will you allow? You should answer all these questions before you launch your business. Doing so ensures you have the proper space and docks to accommodate your patrons.

Hire Reliable Workers

Your employees will carry your business, so hire experienced, reliable workers. Your team handles the day-to-day aspects of the marina, such as renting spaces, doing maintenance, and answering questions. It’s up to your crew to ensure all patrons understand and agree to your rules, and they’re most likely to witness bad behavior. Trusted workers can help you keep things orderly and head off problems before they become major.

Require OC Boat Insurance

Marina owners’ liability is a genuine concern, especially if the area has high traffic. To reduce risk to your business, you should require patrons to maintain a certain level of OC boat insurance. Many marinas have agreements specifying the amount and type of insurance boat owners must have. Insurance also benefits patrons, as it covers the cost of repairs or replacement in unexpected circumstances.

Stay on Top of Business Matters

As a marina owner, you should always know what’s happening in your business. Stay on top of local news and regularly meet with your employees to address issues with equipment or patrons. You should also familiarize yourself with nautical basics such as navigation, boat maintenance, and state statutes.

Make a Maintenance Schedule

Saltwater does a number on wood and metal, so your infrastructure will require regular maintenance. Set up a schedule of inspections and repairs to keep everything shipshape. Doing so protects your business from liability and your patrons from physical harm or property damage.

Have Clearly Posted Rules

Everyone who uses your marina should know and abide by the rules of the water. A clearly defined set of regulations prevents confusion and ensures easy resolution of disputes. To avoid claims of ignorance, make the rules easily accessible by posting in public places, reviewing during the renting process, and offering a copy to all patrons for their records.

About Mariners Insurance

Mariners General Insurance Group was founded in 1959 to protect boat owners and marine business clients. We are marine insurance experts and insure boats worldwide – in every ocean on the planet. Marine insurance is critical if you own a boat or nautical business. Trust the professionals with all of your Boat Insurance needs – trust Mariners Insurance. Call us at (888) 402-5018 any time you have questions or concerns about insurance for your vessel or marine business.