Whether you’re visiting a marina to top-up with water, get fuel or pick someone up at the airport there are several other tasks that are better suited to complete in a marina enjoinment. To make the most of your marina stay, use this helpful marina checklist listed below.
But before doing so, watch the video I created in Rodney Bay Marina showcasing one of our temporary marina stays.
The 12 things to do to make the most of a marina visit – VIDEO
Marina Checklist – The 12 things to do to make the most of a marina visit
- Laundry. Most marinas have a laundry service or laundry facilities. Before entering the marina, make sure to fill a bag with light clothes and another with dark clothes. You can either give them over to a laundry attendant or head to the washing machines to refresh your wardrobe.
- Defrost the fridge/freezer and clean. For sanitary purposes it’s good to clean out a marine fridge once a month. Especially in warmer climates fridges can be breeding grounds for bacteria. We use a hairdryer to defrost our freezer and wash the whole fridge out with vinegar in addition to cleaning out the drainpipes.
- Polish the metal work. After the boat is clean and the windows are washed, it’s almost a must-do job to clean off any rust marks from the steal cleats, metal rigging or the safety lines. After the metal is clean and sparkling the boat truly comes back to life.
- Filling up with water. The first thing we do when entering a marina is to fill up our tanks with drinkable water. We use a hose and then filter the water between two water filters prior to letting it hit our water tanks. Make sure to always taste the water as we’ve had instances where the water was brackish or downright bad.
- Check the rigging. Rigging experts say that at the very least someone should go to the top of the mast at least once a month checking all the connections, spreaders, bolts, running rigging fittings and masthead. We check our on-deck rigging every time we sail but when we’re in a marina, where it’s stable, we go up the mast.
- Clean the boat, sails and ropes. If you’ve been using an extra sail such as a spinnaker it might be covered in saltwater. While at a marina you can often find a space to open it up, wash it down with fresh water and let it dry to be packed away and stowed. We also clean our warps and some of the running rigging to wash the salt out.
- Provisioning. Grocery stores are often close to marina’s and better yet, some marinas offer provisioning services. Whenever we’re docked up to land for a few days we make the most of filling up our cupboards and freezer.
- Cook and freeze food. In between routine jobs and special repairs we often find time to make a double batch of chilli, shepherds pie, chicken pie, jambalaya, and any other dish that works well frozen. Having home cooked pre-made meals helps us reduce our need to eat out and can be helpful when the seas get rough.
- Service Engines. It’s much easier to do an oil and filter change in a marina. Furthermore, if something goes wrong at least you’re at a place where you have more chances to get parts or help. Whenever we are temporarily in a marina we do our engine services. It might be worthwhile to service your outboard too.
- Repairs. During our last marina visit we had one of our bent safety rail stanchions fixed by a local metal worker. We also fixed a latch on one of our doors. When were at anchor we often leave minor repairs until we’re in a marina. An anchorage seems like it’s reserved for holiday and a marina is more about working.
- Chill out. Some marina’s are fantastic for chilling. In Rodney Bay Marina, the marina featured in the video, the marina had a pool, several bars and restaurants. We often worked hard during the day but had a nice swim and beer in the evening 🙂
If you like checklists like this marina checklist, make sure to purchase, ‘Checklists for Sailors – Passage Planning, Sailboat Maintenance, Cleaning, Medical and More. Making it easier to enjoy sailing your sailboat.’ To get more information on my books and details how you can purchase them, please visit Checklists for Sailors
