This is the most common question we get asked as a yacht brokerage and there are a lot of nuances to the answer or solution. First, we ask folks to choose their desired location. Which island do you reside and what part of the island would you like to be located, based on boating conditions and proximity to your home? From there you will have to decide if you would like to be in a public or private harbor and weigh the pros and cons of both. Private usually being a little more expensive with longer waitlists, but with less bureaucracy and hoops to jump through. The Yacht Clubs as well as a few marinas on Oahu are marked as private. These include WYC, HYC, KYC, Kewalo, Koolina, Makani Kai, Keehi Marine Center, and Koko Marina. The way each harbor manages the slips and transfers are all very different. For example, in Makani Kai you would be renting your slip directly from a condo owner. The public harbors can be less expensive, with a larger abundance of slips, but can have many requirements for insurance and slip application paperwork. The public harbors will allow you to get on a permanent slip waitlist with basic supporting paperwork such as a Hawaii State voter’s certificate or Tax Form N-11. Some of the private harbors may require you to submit a photo and documentation or evidence of vessel ownership in order to get on a waitlist. Slip transfers are usually not allowed in most of the harbors, but there can be ways to structure the vessel sale to comply with the rules. As a brokerage, we educate our clients on the process and often times have slips on hand that can be bought, rented or leased for a prospective boat buyer.
