How do you decide whether to put your boat into a marina or a drystack?
It’s a question we’re frequently asked. So, let’s start… if your boat is under 4 metres or over 13 metres long, or has a mast then read no further, a drystack is not for you! Have a look at our marina and other storage options.
Drystacks
These giant boat racks have up to 5 or 6 tiers of boats. Your boat is launched by a large forklift and on your return, it is lifted from the water quickly rinsed and stored back on the rack. Drystacks can be a rack outside, a building with 1 or more open sides or fully enclosed.
Keeping your boat out of the water means significantly less wear and tear as well as a clean hull, boosting performance and saving fuel.
At Trafalgar, we have a fully enclosed 60,000 square foot building – a monster boat hangar!
Marinas
Marinas allow you to store your boat alongside pontoon docks. It means you can walk directly from your car to your boat, although you will need to go through the security and walk the pontoons. Just turn up when it suits you, cast off and go.
In all marinas your boat is stored in the open so the environment can take a toll.
At Trafalgar our marina berths are dredged for boats up to 1.5m draft and we offer a wide range of options.
| Description | Drystack | Marina |
| Suitable for small to medium-sized powerboats | Yes (4m – 13m) | Yes (Marina Specific) |
| All other boats | No | Usually (Marina Specific) |
| Convenience | ||
| Need to book to have boat launched ready for your arrival | Yes (1hr from call to launch) | N/A, boat in the water |
| Guaranteed unlimited boat launching 7 days a week (1 hrs notice) | Yes | N/A, boat in the water |
| Walk from your car straight to your boat = easy to get on board, load gear | Yes | Yes |
| Boat is launched and recovered for you (also freshwater rinse) | Yes | N/A, boat in the water |
| Quick and easy to cast off and go | Yes | Yes |
| Easy access to power and freshwater | Yes | Yes |
| In peak times you may need to have to queue to enter/leave the marina | No | Marina Dependant |
| Full tidal access to open water | Yes | Marina Dependant |
| Maintenance | ||
| Antifouling required | No | Yes |
| Regular anode replacement required | No | Yes |
| Fresh water rinse and inspection on return | Yes | No |
| Bookable powerboat maintenance racks with water and power | Yes | Marina Dependant |
| Boat Cover Required | No | Yes |
| Better fuel efficiency from clean hull (No barnacles/weed on the hull. | Yes | No |
| Security & Safety | ||
| Covered indoor storage and on racking (high security) | Yes | No |
| CCTV and security patrols | Yes | Yes |
| To review potential costs savings on your boat storage view this page here | ||
In summary, when looking at marinas and drystacks look at these key factors:
Comparison of a selection of Solent accessible drystacks and marinas
| Drystack | |||||||
| Portsmouth/Fareham/Gosport | Southampton | Hamble | |||||
| Overview | Indoor fully enclosed Top of Portsmouth harbour easy acess from M27 Clean and secure in a Boat Hangar |
Open to the weather, Bottom of Portsmouth “Island”, Secure. |
Open to the weather Bottom of Gosport Secure in a marina |
Open to the weather Northam, Southampton Industrial Area Secure in a boatyard |
Open to the weather Northam, Southampton Industrial Area Secure in a boatyard |
Open to the weather Northern end of Hamble River Secure in a boatyard |
Open to the weather Southern tip of Hamble Secure in a boatyard |
| Access | 5 mins from M27 20 mins to sea |
15-25 mins from M27 (very traffic dependant) 10 mins to sea |
20-40 mins from M27 (very traffic dependant) 10 mins to sea |
15-30 mins from M27 (very traffic dependant) 45 mins to sea |
15-30 mins from M27 (very traffic dependant) 45 mins to sea |
5-15 mins from M27 (very traffic dependant) 45 mins to sea |
15-30 mins from M27 (very traffic dependant) 15 mins to sea |
| Annual | £4,193 | £3,465 | £3,430 | £3,174 | £3,843 | £3,920 | £4,215 |
| Monthly | £436 | £497 | |||||
| Refund guarantee | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Marinas | ||||||||
| Portsmouth/Fareham/Gosport | Emsworth, Chichester, Hayling Harbour | Hamble/Southampton | ||||||
| Description | Marina top of Portsmouth Island | Marina with lock top of Portsmouth Island | Marina bottom of Gosport | Marina top of Chichester Harbour | Marina (Tidal) next to Emsworth | Marina (Tidal) next to Emsworth | Marina at Southern tip of Hamble | Marina Centre of Southampton |
| Access | 5 mins from M27 20 mins to sea |
5 mins from M27 20 mins to sea |
20-40 mins from M27 (very traffic dependant) 10 mins to sea |
10 mins from A27 40 mins to sea |
10 mins from A27 40 mins to sea |
10 mins from A27 40 mins to sea |
15-30 mins from M27 (very traffic dependant) 25 mins to sea |
15-30 mins from M27 (very traffic dependant) 45 mins to sea |
| Annual | £3,255 | £3,740 | £3,430 | £3,730 | £2,765 | £2,891 | £3,678 | £3,678 |
| Monthly | £424 | £467 | £417 | £467 | £249 | |||
| Money back guarantee | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Check your travel time on our automated mapping system
To help you decide the best place to store your boat see our checklist.
Let our customers do the talking…
Trafalgar Wharf Hamilton Road Portsmouth
Hampshire, PO6 4PX United Kingdom
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