Moreton Bay Trailer Boat Club

[StevenM]

MBTBC @ Manly, anyone a member?

Good / Bad / indifferent.

Looking at joining as I tend to boat / fish alone and can be difficult to find somewhere on a weekend where I feel confident enough to leave my boat at the ramp etc with my gear in it while I park trailer / car or get trailer car to retrieve.

Most ramps I have looked at dont tend to lend themselves too much in my opinion, but am I just being paranoid?

Your thoughts etc?

Feel free to Private Message if you like.

Thanks in advance.

[Moonlighter]

Could also consider Redlands Boat Club at Cleveland, right next door to the public ramp in William St, Raby Bay. I've been a member there for many years and it's ideal for what you have described. Has its own pontoon you can tie up to while you get/park your car, and a washstand area for the boat, plus a security gated car park.

Be interested to hear how RBC joining fees and annual membership compares to MBTBC.

[StevenM]

Thanks Moonlighter

fees for MBTBC are as follows

annual member fee $447.50 plus a $30 club levy

First year joining fee is $220. One off payment only

now here is the kicker.

this year they have placed on all members a debt reduction levy off $110

Their membership is from May to April and has a decreasing amount to pay each month if joining outside of the start of their "year"

What are the Redland fees? Can't see anything on their web page.

thanks for the heads up btw.

[solaris]

Redlands is about $330 per year from memory, plus a joining fee for the first year,

[Almako]

So $807.50 in the first year to keep your stuff (possibly) safe whilst you get your car. Bugger that I'd look at insurance if your that worried.

I've never been a member of MBTBC but I have been in there and my thoughts were; 'what a dump, this place needs renovating".

Thats my opinion anyway.

[Jsmfun]

I joined the mbtbc for six months last year and it cost a fortune.... We kept getting letters asking if we could support the club we live western side of brissy so took the family 3 times for dinner and they had run out of things on there menu so we did not see it worth while staying part of the club.... Boat ramp and wash down area are great thow
cheers scott

[DAVE_S]

So $807.50 in the first year to keep your stuff (possibly) safe whilst you get your car. Bugger that I'd look at insurance if your that worried.

I've never been a member of MBTBC but I have been in there and my thoughts were; 'what a dump, this place needs renovating".

Thats my opinion anyway.

And has limited parking

[Oscar]

And has limited parking

Back in 2006 the club had $300K in the bank and the same annual fees as the Redland Club, it just shows what bad management can do to a club.

Ex member.

[mitc69]

just come to port of brisbane, the ramp there are great, not much queue as well... just gettin a 7m boat pass the railway train may prove difficulty but can be done.. the port has camera all over that highway if something went badly wrong... otherwise there insurance for all the other stuff.. only down size u wont be able to wash down.. but take alook and see how you feel

[VictorOscar]

StevenM,

Long story short, I was a member for about 2.5 years and I stopped because I wasn't getting value for money and the facilities were no match for the two brand new public ramps in the harbour.

There was also the issue about the a "one off" levy payment of $110, I was not a fan for it nor was I happy about the reason as to why it was needed in the first place!

But basically,

The Bad:

The ramps needed upgrading, they were cracked and a bit rough. They were also not very good at low tide but the pontoons were ok, though they could have been a bit longer to provide more room at low tide.

The car park did need to be resurfaced. Probably 70% of it was basically completely worn out bitumen.

In the end, it was getting more and more expensive each year and the facilities were becoming run down (I am not sure if they have upgraded anything since I left in April 2015).


The Good:

They do have a hose but you can only use it to flush your motor, good for when you come back late at night and don't want to wait until the morning to do it.

There was a freezer that stock ice. This was handy if your boat didn't need fuel as you could avoid having to stop on the way to the ramp in the morning,

Even though the car park was small, I could always get a park inside the fence. I reckon it would be even less busy now given the price in fees and the extra levy payment they wanted (previously mentioned above) and I will admit that it was a good piece of mind knowing that I was in a secure facility.



If I used my boat 30 + times in a year, then maybe it would be worth the money but given that 2 other mates have boats that we use as well. I reckon I would use mine less than 10 times, so it basically becomes $50/$60 to launch each time. Quite an increase to an already expensive hobby

P.s. you could always lock your car on the ramp, moor your boat and then come back. I do this if I fish by myself. No problems so far *touch wood*

[Harmytage]

My story is very similar to Victor Oscar. I left as I felt for the money they were asking it wasn't enough to justify secure parking as both ramps at manly now have pontoons and I still had to deal with inconsiderate idiots blocking ramps and using the pontoons incorrectly who were members of the club, so I left and saved myself around $500 this year.
cheers

[bigjimg]

As above with previous posts. The levy is an absolute joke. Just under $600, whoever is doing the accounting should be shot. Clearly the planning has failed. I now use either the public ramp next to the club, Redcliffe ramp next to Coastguard, or anywhere that has a pontoon and I am satisfied with the parking. Save your money. Jim

[StevenM]

Thanks for the feedback guys

I did use the port of Brisbane ramp years ago before the pontoon. It was busy then but ok and manageable.

With the two public Manly ramps, north one near MTBC looks better than the south end at R Q. Are they both reasonably busy?

I normally like to get out early around sun up and then back before lunch.

Have just got back into boating after about 7 years just playing in kayaks. Still have 3 of them buggers and the transition was also to fresh water.

however the call back to the salt is getting stronger.

[DAVE_S]

With the markets on sunday the ramp beside the MBTBC gets busy with people parking in the trailer parks .

[gofishin]

Limited parking, yes. Recently in a bit of financial trouble, yes. Increased levy, yes. Annual fee increase, maybe, can't remember. Am I still a member, yes!

I went to the special General Meeting with 3 of my mates (members too) where they discussed the Levy and reasons for their financial predicament etc. We, and I think the majority (?) of members who attended, we're happy enough to vote in the affirmative and continue to be members. Some maybe begrudgingly continued membership, and others were plainly going to pull the pin.

Do I get valve for money? Well if I told you how infrequently I've used my boat recently it might be hard to convince you, but I still find more +'s than -'s.

Oh, and thanks to the guys that have left, plenty of parks the other Sunday I went out, on a good boating day too
Cheers
MBTBC member