Jun. 2—TRAVERSE CITY — Earlier this month, a 36-foot boat slip at Harbor West Marina in Elmwood sold for $130,000, according to a listing in Realtor.com. That’s nearly six times the average cost of a new two-car garage, per industry estimates.

This posh price for a private slip is a reflection of a much larger challenge — the chronic shortage of boat slips throughout northern Michigan, particularly those leased on a seasonal basis instead of owned.

The Record-Eagle investigated slip availability at more than a dozen locations from Petoskey and Charlevoix to Traverse City and Frankfort. The answer was almost always the same: “You’ll have to wait. Get your name in now and cross your fingers.”

Area boaters can expect to wait up to 10 years for a slip at many locations, depending on location and slip size.

LOCAL EXAMPLES

Consider the publicly-owned “lower harbor” marina in Elk Rapids that connects to Lake Michigan. It has 213 slips, the vast majority of which are being used for larger power boats. The waiting list today has nearly 700 people on it.

“You’ll be lucky to get one in eight years,” said Lori Smith who works at the Harbormaster’s office. “The length of boats has been increasing over time but we have very few slips in the 42- to 45-foot range.”

Clinch Marina in Traverse City is another example. The public marina has 119 slips, of which 71 are seasonal leases. The waiting list for seasonal lease slips is “above 10 years,” said Harbormaster Shane Dilloway.

“It can be like ‘sticker shock’ for new people coming to the area who want to reserve a slip. Some boaters have been on the list for a long, long time.”

Another 48 slips at Clinch are reserved for transient boats, a set-aside required by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources for certain grant-supported marinas. Such marinas allow boaters to stay for a maximum of 7 to 14 nights before they are required to vacate the marina for at least 48 hours.

East Bay Harbor Marina in Acme Township has a waiting list of about 150 currently. Slip turnover is relatively rare, amounting to only four or five this year, officials said.

The big three marinas in Elmwood Township — CenterPointe, Harbor West and Elmwood Township Marina — report similar issues with waiting lists up to 270 names long.

GEOGRAPHIC CHALLENGES

“There’s definitely a slip shortage in northern Michigan, and part of it is caused by our geography,” said Clem Thompson, harbormaster at the Elmwood Township Marina. “We don’t have a lot of natural inlets and small harbors like they do in places like Chesapeake Bay and parts of New England.

“Building a new marina in our area often means constructing a large breakwater. That can be very expensive, not to mention all the permitting and environmental approvals required.”

Developers Patrick Johnson and Ron Walters were working with Elmwood Township officials to build a new 64-boat marina on M-22 at 13380 Southwest Bay Shore Drive. A 146-room, three story hotel was planned for the 11-acre lot directly across the street.

Pandemic delays and the death of Johnson ultimately scuttled the project, local officials said, and the property is now back on the market.

“If those slips had been built, they’d be snapped up almost immediately,” said Sam Bender of the nearby Grand Traverse Yacht Club. “We’re seeing the same slip shortages in places like Frankfort and Boyne City. It’s absolutely a problem.”

THE BROADER IMPACT

The problem has a broad impact on the overall boating economy, not just boat owners. Companies that sell, service and repair boats are also affected.

Jack Hodge is vice president of sales for Irish Boat Shop. Founded in 1961 in Harbor Springs, the family-owned firm also now operates in Charlevoix and Traverse City.

“We’re essentially at a stage now with people who are interested in buying bigger boats have no place to put them,” he said. “And it’s not just big boats. Unless you own a slip or shore station, you may be out of luck.”

Irish Boat Shop has two marinas with about 300 slips in all, but they’re all allocated today.

The problem that began a decade ago got much worse during the pandemic, Hodge said.

“I’d get hundreds of calls from people looking for a slip for larger boats they wanted to use as a ‘floating cottage.’

“I don’t know what the solution is short of a major recession,” he added. “Prices are continuing to go up yet people are still renewing every season and not giving up their slips. I’m worried about the younger generation that might be getting priced out of boating.”

SHIFTING TO OTHER AREAS

Jeff Kern, owner of HarborView Yacht Sales in Traverse City, keeps in close touch with marinas and slip providers around Michigan. Using those contacts, he helps new boat buyers locate slips in other parts of the state, such as Cheboygan and the Upper Peninsula.

“There are definitely more boaters in the state now but the number of slips hasn’t kept up,” Kern said. “That’s why we’re shifting boaters into other markets around the state. Some of those owners hope to relocate their boats to the Traverse City area when slips become available.”

Seasonal moorings — temporary buoys with mooring lines and/or clips — are sometimes mentioned as a solution to the slip shortage. Such mooring areas can be seen in West Bay and in the Northport area today.

However, those moorings have two major drawbacks: No. 1, they may trespass on the bottom rights of a nearby property owner or boating organization with a breakwater or pier, and No. 2, they can be less than reliable in a major wind storm.

“We have a phenomenon in West Bay and Northport called ‘fetch’ — big rollover waves (swells) that can be dangerous for moored boats,” Kern said. “Sailboats tend to do better in those storm but power boats are more difficult to (moor) securely. It has to be a professional mooring system, and even with that I’d be a little concerned.”

AN EXPENSIVE HOBBY

Mariners sometimes quip that “a boat is a hole in the water into which you pour money.”

Besides the cost of actually buying a boat, several other factors affect are at play in 2024 that can impact affordability. These include financing costs (higher interest rates), unpredictable fuel prices, rising insurance rates and slip leasing costs.

At Clinch Marina, for example, seasonal lease rates vary according to slip length, ranging from $2,640 for 24-foot slips to $6,600 for 60-foot vessels.

Water and electricity hookups are generally included.

At Frankfort Municipal Marina, 2024 lease rates range from $2,856 to $4,950. Prices tend to be higher at privately owned marinas.

But money doesn’t matter much if people can’t find an available slip — at any price. The aftershock of the slip shortage is that the market value of many used boats in the area, particularly used sailboats, is dropping like a rock in water.

“A 30-foot used sailboat sitting on a cradle inland is very expensive to store and maintain,” Hodge said. “Without a slip assigned to it, that boat is essentially worthless. If you can’t use it, what’s the point of owning it?”

Will the state or federal government help fund the construction of more boat slips in northern Michigan?

“I wouldn’t count on it,” Hodge said. “If they do, they should make all of those new slips for transient boaters, not seasonal leases.”