We would love to be able to welcome you and your boat here at Preston Marina – and we could be the perfect option for you…
.
- Our marina is very conveniently located for easy road and rail access, only 10 minutes from the M6 motorway and 1.5 miles from the station.
- Great faciltities including a 40 acre non-tidal basin available 24/7 – ideal for learning and practicing boat handling, and testing boats and equipment
- A warm social scene and community
- RYA training courses
- Very competitive marina pricing
- Low cost diesel fuel (discounted for larger quantities)
- Sheltered pontoon berths and yard hard-standing, making us an ideal winter lay-up option
- The Beach Hut cafe bar – great food and drink – and entertainment nights and events….(quizzes, music etc.)
- Other facilities include our chandlery (discounts for berth-holders), 24 hour toilets and showers and pump out.
- Boating destinations include North Wales, the Isle of Man, the Cumbria coast.
- The canal network can also be accessed by arrangement with the Canal & River Trust.
.
We want all our customers to have the best experience possible and therefore it is important that we provide some information to help you make an informed choice about keeping and using a boat at Preston Marina..
.
The dock basin…
.
The dock is 40 acres and has an average depth of around 5 metres at all times. It can be used by our berth-holders for boat handling and sailing practice. Please be aware that there is a 4 knot speed limit (other than for emergencies and official training). The wave-breaker chicane must be rounded to go between the marina and the main open area. Always keep a good look-out and be aware when the Preston Dragons club are training in the dock – and when RYA training courses are running. Please also be aware that there are often floating yellow bouys in the dock used by the dragon boat club and for sail racing.
.
The River Ribble…
.
The river immediately outside Preston Marina is OK for very short trips out in most kinds of boat and indeed can be great fun – but it is only navigable for about 2.5 hours around high tide, accessed via. lock gates during daylight hours.
Going west, downstream towards Lytham and the sea, is the most navigable stretch but in smaller motorboats it is possible to go upstream (east towards Preston) for around 3/4 mile but then there are low bridges and very shallow water.
The river is quite narrow and shallow, and the prevailing winds and tidal flow usually makes sailing in the river impractical. There are no places along the river bank to tie-up to, although anchoring is possible. Beware of a change in water conditions when the tide changes direction, and the river dries out at low tide. Attempting to going ashore onto the riverbank is not recommended.
There are no posted speed-limits in the river, but the standard rules of the sea apply – keep a good lookout at all times (including for floating debris in the water) and navigate at a safe speed.
Access to the canal network is possible either via. the locks at Tarleton to the Leeds/Liverpool Canal, or the Ribble Link to the Lancaster Canal – but this access must be pre-arranged with the Canal & River Trust and their licencing requirements must be met – and the boat’s dimensions must be suitable.
.
The sea…
.
The nature of the sea around our coastline, with a large tidal range, exposure to prevailing winds, shallow waters and relatively long distances between harbours and shelter means that a thorough understanding of tides, passage planning and navigation is essential. It is 15 miles from Preston Marina to the open sea – and the river is only navigable for around 3 hours per tide. So, once you are out to sea you won’t be able to come straight back to Preston Marina as the tide will have gone out – and the Irish Sea is rarely smooth. The nearest anchorage accessible at all states of the tide is Piel Island, about 35 miles to the north. All other marinas on our coast are also only accessible around high tide (and not always at night) – so passages must be planned accordingly.
.
Sailing Boats – because of the speed of sailing boats, the distances between destinations and the tidal constraints day sailing is not really possible, and weekend trips are difficult when sailing from and to Preston Marina. If you are considering using a sailing boat in this area then we would recommend it be a bilge (twin) keel boat so that there is the possibility of the boat remaining safely upright if stranded when the tide goes out. The draft of many sailing boats does mean that there will be some days when the water will not be deep enough because of the height of the tide to depart or enter Preston Marina.
.
If, however, you are not looking to make regular short trips in a sailing boat, and instead just need a home base from which to go sailing for longer periods – such as a few weeks or more at a time – or mile building – then Preston Marina could be an excellent home base for your boat. Preston Marina is also a good choice for winter lay-up and our 40 acre non-tidal dock basin is good for boat-handling practice and boat testing.
.
Motorboats – a motorboat designed for offshore (not inland or inshore) conditions is a better choice for those who want to make regular use of Preston Marina – a boat capable of reliably sustaining around 10 knots or more makes all the difference and does enable weekend boating to some good destinations. Motorboats usually have a shallower draft than sailing boats and so are less restricted by the depth of water due to tides. Good seamanship, passage planning and navigational skills are still essential – and the boat should be powered by diesel engines (not petrol) – as diesel is safer at sea, and no marinas between north Wales and southern Scotland sell petrol. Click here for more information about petrol powered boats at Preston Marina.
.
We do hope this information is helpful to you – and that we may able to welcome you and your boat to Preston Marina.
.
If you are interested in keeping a boat at Preston Marina then the application process is found on our website at this page CLICK HERE
.