How should a marina run a slip waitlist?

Run a slip waitlist on written rules a boater can check: the order, how slip fit is decided, how offers are made, how long a boater has to answer and what happens after a pass. Offer every open slip the same way, in order, and log each offer and answer.

What every waitlist entry needs

A waitlist is only as fair as its records. If you cannot tell which boats fit a slip, you cannot offer slips in order.

Field	Why it matters
Sign-up date and time	Sets the order. Record it when the entry is made, not when someone remembers it.
Length overall, beam and draft	Decides which slips the boat can actually use.
Slip type wanted	Seasonal, annual, covered, lift or transient. Different lists, or one list with a filter.
Shore power needed, as the boater reports it	Avoids offering a slip without the right pedestal.
Earliest start date	A boater who cannot start until May should not block an April offer.
Contact details and preferred channel	An offer that never arrives can cost a boater their turn.
Deposit or list fee, if your policy charges one	Record what was paid and the refund terms.
Last confirmed date	Stale entries slow every offer.

Write the rules down first

Decide each rule below, write it into your waitlist policy, and publish it where boaters can read it, such as your website or the waitlist form. The values shown are example choices, not industry standards.

1. Order. First come, first served by sign-up date, or seniority for existing tenants who want to move. If you use both, say which list goes first.
2. Fit. A boat is offered only slips it fits, using limits your dockmaster sets for each slip: maximum length overall, maximum beam and maximum draft. Depth, tide and maneuvering are site-specific, so set those limits from your own soundings, your tide range, the approach and fairway, finger pier length and local knowledge, and review them when conditions change. Do not use one generic safety margin across the marina.
3. Offer window. How long a boater has to accept. Example: 48 hours.
4. Passing. What a "no" costs. Example: the first pass keeps your place; the second moves you to the bottom.
5. Reconfirmation. How often entries must be confirmed. Example: once a year, with removal after no reply to two messages.
6. Transfers. Whether a place on the list can be sold or handed to someone else. Decide, and write it down.
7. Exceptions. Who can approve one, and that every exception is logged with a reason.

How to offer an open slip

Step	Owner	What	Output
1. Slip opens	Dockmaster	Confirm slip length, width, current depth and approach conditions, power and start date; update the slip's fit limits if conditions changed	Open slip record
2. Match	Office	Filter the list to boats that fit; take the earliest in order	Ranked candidates
3. Offer	Office	Send a written offer: slip, rate from your rate sheet, start date, deadline	Offer logged with date and time
4. Remind	Office	Send one reminder before the deadline	Reminder logged
5. Answer	Boater	Accept (sign the agreement and pay) or pass	Status updated
6. Next	Office	If the boater passes or the deadline lapses, offer the next boat that fits	Next offer logged
7. Review	Manager	Check the offer log monthly for skipped steps and exceptions	Audit note

Waitlist checklist

• Order rule written and published (required)
• Fit limits for length, beam and draft set per slip by the dockmaster (required)
• Offer deadline and pass rule written (required)
• Every offer logged with date, time, slip and answer (required)
• The reason recorded whenever a boat is skipped (required)
• Annual reconfirmation message scheduled (recommended)
• Exception log with manager approval (recommended)
• Deposit and refund terms, if you charge a list fee (optional)

Example (hypothetical)

Slip C-14 opens. The dockmaster has recorded its limits from the marina's own measurements and local conditions: length up to 40 feet, beam up to 12 feet and draft up to 6 feet. These limits are invented for the example. They are not a recommended margin for any real slip.

Order	Boat	Length	Beam	Draft	Fits C-14?
1	Sportfisher	42 ft	15 ft	4 ft	No. Over the 40 ft length and 12 ft beam limits.
2	Sailboat	36 ft	12 ft	6.5 ft	No. Draft is over the 6 ft limit.
3	Cruiser	34 ft	12 ft	3 ft	Yes. All three are within the limits.
4	Trawler	38 ft	13.5 ft	4 ft	No. Over the 12 ft beam limit.

The offer goes to boat 3, even though boats 1 and 2 signed up earlier, because the slip's written limits say so. Record the reason for each skip. When the sailboat owner calls to ask why someone behind them got a slip, you can point to the slip's draft limit instead of an apology.

Common problems

Problem	Likely cause	Fix
Boaters say the order is unfair	Rules are not visible	Publish the order and fit rules, and send the reason with every skip
Offers go unanswered	Old phone numbers and emails	Reconfirm yearly and ask for current contact details at every offer
The same slip is offered to two boaters	Offers made by different staff without a shared log	Keep one offer log and make step 3 the only way an offer goes out
Side deals for friends or long-time boaters	Exceptions are not recorded	Manager approval and a written reason for every exception
Slips sit empty in peak season	Offer window is too long	Use a shorter window in season, written into the policy
A boat no longer fits	The boater bought a different boat	Ask for current dimensions at reconfirmation and at every offer

What to track

Track one number: days from a slip opening to a signed agreement. If it climbs, look at the offer log for the step where time is lost, such as unanswered offers or stale entries.

Where Propty fits

Propty's What you get page describes a seniority waitlist that offers open slips every hour, and haul-out requests. Its marina page describes answering slip calls 24/7 with an approved greeting, quoting only from your rate sheet, collecting vessel length, beam and draft, and texting back missed callers. Neither page shows how slip fit is decided, so keep the dockmaster's per-slip limits as the rule every offer follows. These descriptions come from Propty's public pages as checked on 2026-10-14. They are not a test of the live product. What is available for a property depends on setup and connected services, so confirm current behavior in a demo before relying on it.

For transient boaters calling at night, see how a marina should handle transient slip requests after hours. For pricing the slips you offer, see how marina slip rates get set each season. More guides are in marina answers, or hear the marina demo.

Sources

• Propty, What you get: seniority waitlist with hourly slip offers and haul-out requests. Checked 2026-10-14.
• Propty for marinas: 24/7 answering, rate-sheet quoting, vessel length, beam and draft collection, missed-call text back. Checked 2026-10-14.
• No outside statistics are used. All slip dimensions and policy values are labeled examples.