New York State Inventory of Great Lakes' Marinas
and Yacht Clubs - 2002

By
Nancy A. Connelly, Krista H. Guerrero, and Tommy L. Brown

An inventory of Great Lakes' Marinas and Yacht Clubs along New York's shoreline was initiated at the request of the International Lake Ontario-St Lawrence River Study, which is working to develop new criteria for the management of outflows from Lake Ontario through the St. Lawrence River. Thus, the inventory now represents the total of all marinas and yacht clubs operating in 2002 along Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River in the US that are impacted by fluctuating water levels and describe their operations.

The inventory was conducted during the summer of 2002 by Cornell University's Human Dimensions Research Unit. Using a 1997 inventory conducted by New York Sea Grant as a base list, marinas were contacted and interviewed between May and August 2002. Marinas not on the 1997 inventory but observed in the field were contacted and interviewed by field staff. Each marina and yacht club fitting the following criteria is included in the inventory:

• The business must have ten or more slips for rent, either seasonally or overnight.
• The business must be accessible by the public (e.g., not a communal dock shared by neighboring residents).

We contacted 166 marinas and yacht clubs on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River for interviews. The interviews included inventoried services provided by each marina and yacht club and GPS readings were taken at each business.

The inventory lists marinas by water body and by county location. We found 112 marinas along Lake Ontario and 54 along the St. Lawrence River. Of the marinas interviewed, 132 were open seasonally, while 32 were open year-round. The most common dates of operation for seasonal marinas were April 1st through October 15th. The average length of ownership was 16 years.

The marinas and yacht clubs we interviewed on Lake Ontario had 7,257 seasonal slips or moorings and 665 transients, while the St. Lawrence River had 3,165 seasonal slips or moorings and 691 transients. The average size of a marina on Lake Ontario is 76 berths, and on the St. Lawrence River 73 berths.

Most of the marinas inventoried sell gas (diesel and/or regular), and have pumpout stations and restrooms. Additional services, listed in the inventory, include boat launching facilities (ramp, hoist, lift), hydraulic trailer, dump station, dry stack for winter boat storage, boat repairs, motor repairs, marine supplies, boat sales, restaurant/food service/bar, accommodations, handicap access, and dry slips for in-season-use.

Latitude and longitude coordinates were also recorded for almost all marinas and yacht clubs.

Source

New York State inventory of Great Lakes' marinas and yacht clubs - 2002. HDRU Publ. No. 02-4. Department of Natural Resources, N.Y.S. College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, N.Y. 30pp.