By Barb Thomson
Special to the Record
The great thing about moorage at a marina is your boat has a home port with access to power and fresh water.
That鈥檚 a real comfort. The boat is secure and dock access provides safety for you, too.
However, if for some reason you are evicted from the only place where you can keep your boat, that鈥檚 a problem. Why? Because boaters like to joke that wait lists at local marinas are so long you may not still be alive when a slip finally opens for your boat. And that鈥檚 what got me thinking about private mooring buoys and wondering if we might see more of them in the future.
Of course, it鈥檚 not as simple as finding a good spot to drop a block of cement and chain into the water. Think of dropping through a layer cake of regulations. The federal government owns the water; the provincial government owns the sea floor; municipalities also have something to say. In the Canada Shipping Act, 2001 (Private Buoy Regulations), the federal government defines the size and colour of private buoys that cannot interfere 鈥渙r is likely to interfere with the navigation of any vessel.鈥� Provincially, the FrontCounter BC website (BC Private Buoys) directs inquiries to Transport Canada鈥檚 guidelines under the Navigation Protection Program called An Owner鈥檚 Guide to Private Buoys. While no permit is required, Transport Canada has the power to remove any non-compliant buoy.
If you ask Leslie Taylor, manager of the Comox Valley Harbour Authority about the private buoys in our harbour, she鈥檒l say 鈥渢here鈥檚 too many of them.鈥�
Taylor described the local enforcement challenges and cases of owner neglect.
鈥淲hen buoys let go, the boats are on the beach.鈥�
For example, a boat can be too heavy for the buoy ground tackle; MOORING.CA has charts that show the ratio of boat length and wind load to the weight of the ground anchor. Regular maintenance is necessary, and an owner may be liable for damages if the buoy fails to hold.
It鈥檚 tempting. The one-time cost of installing a mooring buoy can range from $1,500 to $4,000 versus $6,500 per year for a 40-foot marina slip. The dollar value is the difference between a boat you can walk to and a boat you can only see from the shore. Yet, what you give up in a marina may be worth the inconvenience and risk of a mooring buoy if it means having nowhere to put your boat at all.
Barb Thomson is a boating enthusiast who writes regular columns for the Comox Valley Record.
