What’s better than parking your boat on the street?

In the wake of the boom in demand, delivery dates for some brands have blown out to 18 months, placing lots of pressure on the second-hand market as buyers shop around for quality used boats.

People have gone mad for anything that allows them to get out and enjoy life, and rightly so. But haste can lead to problems. In the scramble to get into the market, have you considered everything?

The last thing you often think about when buying a boat is where you are going to put it once you arrive home with your new ride.

That lack of foresight is why you often see the streets around Sydney Harbour lined with boats sitting on trailers. You’ll often find them grouped together in large numbers as though they are huddling together for safety. They kind of are. But more on that later.

In 2013, as boat numbers in the state surged past 217,000, the NSW Government foresaw boat storage issues and produced a report, the Sydney Harbour Boat Storage Strategy. The report considered dry stack, swing moorings, street parking, private marina docks, dinghy storage and trailer storage issues.

I am sure other states have done the same, as they all tend to suffer from a lack of space in and around key waterways.

Sydney has experienced an explosion in dry stack storage, which you can’t beat for convenience. In most instances, you just phone the marina before heading down for the day to find your boat in the water ready to head out. The same goes for the return journey; phone ahead, tie up, and the marina will do the rest for you.

Dry stack storage takes up less room than conventional storage. Your boat is also out of the saltwater and generally stored undercover, so boat degradation is minimised compared with other storage options.

If you own a boat large enough for a marina berth or swing mooring, you are in the box seat.

Marina berths offer a safe environment to moor a boat for extended periods. They also have walk-on, walk-off ease of use, maintenance services and fuel are usually on hand.

You don't even need to head out on the water for the day to enjoy your boat.

The downside is having that access and the services in one place comes with a commensurate price tag.

Private swing moorings, where you tie up to a buoy out on the water, generally have lower fees than a dry stack, but the trade-off is the higher wear and tear on your vessel as it sits in the water all the time attracting algal growth.

You will also need to regularly pay for the expense of maintaining the mooring to ensure that the next time a storm blows through, the mooring won’t fail.

There is also of course the hassle of getting to and from your boat. I have used a surfboard to get to a boat on a swing mooring, but in the depths of a Victorian, South Australian or Tasmanian winter, that probably would not be an option.

A driveway, or better still, a garage, is the gold standard in my book. It is off the street, away from thieves and depending on the type of garage, extremely low maintenance.

It’s easy to tell a garaged boat compared with one that has sat in the bleaching sun all its life. It’s also easy to tell which would have a better resale value.

However, if none of these options is at your disposal, then street parking it is. And if someone finds a boat layup haven on the street, others are sure to follow.

Having the neighbours complain about your boat on the street is not a good thing, so people tend to park them around the corner, on the side of a wide road close to home, or anywhere other than outside their own house.

On that point, some inner Sydney councils, responding to such complaints, have introduced a law requiring boat trailers to move every 28 days.

On-street parking and out in the paddock is where most boats suffer their saddest fate.

These boats are a hassle to move, and it will be near-impossible to find another parking spot. It’s a vicious circle; your days on the water become fewer and soon, your boat is wasting away as just another neglected boat.

Think about these things before you buy, lest you find yourself selling a boat that’s falling apart on a rusty trailer.