North Harbour Boating Community ...
are you having trouble getting to your boat in North Harbour?
Community access to use North Harbour
Who we are
Manly Yacht Club is a community based not for profit organisation that supports yacht racing, junior learn to sail and racing programs, Sailability, dragon boating and kayaking.
We support the rights and interests of all private boat owners and users in Manly Cove and North Harbour, a cherished part of Sydney Harbour. Our objective is to ensure that boat owners’ voices are heard and respected in dialogues with local and state governments, while preserving equitable access for boats and water-based sports. We are committed to providing a solution to give people more reliable access to their boats and reduce the need for dinghies along the foreshore. Through our proposal, we aim to protect North Harbour's vibrant boating culture for current and future generations.
The Core Issue
If you have a private mooring the only option now is to rent a dinghy rack from Council, however, there are only 46 spaces to service 107 boats. With a long waitlist and no Council racks available, boat owners have been forced to tie up their dinghies to trees along the waterfront - far from ideal for many reasons.
Jilling Cove, commonly referred to as North Harbour, has a rich history of boating dating back to the earliest European settlements. By the 1920s, several boatsheds were established, with Manly Boatshed and Davis Marina emerging as key commercial businesses by mid-century. Davis Marina pioneered the Runaround Club, offering boat owners on private moorings services such as access to a work berth, pick-up/drop-off, tender service, and courtesy dinghies for a fee. This service was highly successful and popular among private mooring licensees in Jilling Cove for nearly 40 years. The new owners of Davis Marina - North Harbour Marina - have discontinued this service. Manly Boatshed do not provide a tender service to those who are not leasing one of their moorings; North Harbour Sailing Club has no more storage capacity and TfNSW, as licensor of the moorings, doesn’t provide any services directly to its clients.
What do Boat Owners Need
At a minimum to enjoy, manage and maintain a boat safely on a mooring, owners need:
• 24-hour dinghy access
• Pick up and drop off pontoon
• A work-berth with access to water and electricity
• Tender service would be desirable on weekends
Our Proposal
Manly Yacht Club is proposing to lease the Scout Hall from TfNSW and construct a deck with facilities for courtesy dinghy storage, a ramp, and a pontoon. The pontoon would include pick up and drop off, work berth, tender berths as well as dinghy launching. The capacity of the facility and courtesy dinghies should be sufficient to service all the private moorings in North Harbour.
HOW DO WE INTEND TO FUND CONSTRUCTION?
Manly Yacht Club will fund the approval process and construction costs.
HOW DO WE INTEND TO MANAGE AND USE THE FACILITY?
All private and commercial mooring licence holders in North Harbour along with any local residents would be able to use the facility. There would be a fee of up to say $1,500 pa, if weekend tender service is included; a little more than the old Davis Marina Runaround Club when it had 60 clients. If there were more users, including dinghy owners that don't have moorings, then fees would be reduced.
WHAT WILL BE THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND VISUAL IMPACT?
A low-profile mesh decking allowing light onto the harbour bed will encourage marine life. Again, a mesh deck access ramp to the pontoon will allow the seagrass bed to continue as it does at present, and because the pontoon will be in deep water it will have no significant environmental impact.
There will no longer be a need for boat owners to bring their dinghies on car tops causing parking and traffic problems and there will be less need to store dinghies on the foreshore.
