deeceem said..
Hi all
I'm bringing my '64 Chris Craft Cavalier across from SA in the next month or so and am looking for a mooring as close to Birchgrove as possible that has good dinghy access. I've looked at the various waiting lists and there seem to be a few options around Drummoyne, Leihhardt Bay and Greenwich Baths (via ferry) but with our creaky knees good access is important.
Any suggestions very welcome!
Birchgrove itself has a huge waiting list that's literally years long at this point. If needing to be near Birchgrove is the main thing, you don't want Greenwich. No idea when that ferry runs, but it's not often. Another thing to consider with the dinghy is the council that owns the land on which you'll store it.
* The council that covers Drummoyne itself, Canada Bay (basically covers the whole headland Drummoyne is on), charges nothing to store your dinghy...but also provides nothing.
* Around Leichhardt, the council doesn't charge where there's no storage available, but where there is, it's $86 for residents, $128 for non residents. The Leichhardt Bay area is right near one of these, complete with a little dock to get on and off, so it might be worth the price. On the other hand, if you have a look around other areas which don't have proper racks, you can store it for nothing.
* Finally, on the other side of Drummoyne you have Hunters Hill council. I was moored in Betts Bay, which is a beautiful protected little place, but moved when they introduced their dinghy storage fees, which they charge even in parks with zero infrastructure. They charge $170 for residents, or a whopping $480 for non residents. It was literally cheaper for me to apply for a new mooring, and have my mooring and boat moved & professionally serviced than it was to store my dinghy there for one year.
Given you're not sailing, I actually think probably one of the better spots would be Five Dock Bay North or South. There are small areas to get down onto dinghies around the bay, and in between, there's the boatramp with a big floating pontoon - if you've got an outboard on your dinghy, that'd definitely be the place to easily get on and off.