Getting there by land you may think it is tucked away in the backblocks of Balmain. Truth is this location provides Sydney Harbour Boat Storage two advantages: security and close access to Sydney Harbour.
Down the end of James Craig Road, past the cruise ship terminal, Sydney Harbour Boat Storage is a converted container terminal now with excellent facilities for small boats and yachts. Use the facility for either dry racking your runabout or taking your yacht onto hard stand for some maintenance work. It is also useful as a crew pick-up point with lounge and catering facilities; also as a refueling point.
Congratulations are now due to SHBS for being awarded two gongs at the recent Marine Industries Association industry awards. The marine facility received the best dry stacking facility for New South Wales and staff member Ludovica Perna was recognised in the people’s choice awards as one of the best employees.
If you are needing some work done on your boat all the trades are available at SHBS. There is no DIY permitted. The lounge, however, includes a barbecue, showers, coffee and vending machines; or even catering delivery while you wait.
Sitting just opposite the growing Barangaroo development and looking out over the towering central business district, it is a perfect stop-off point if travelling up-river or heading east from Darling Harbour or Rozelle Bay to the harbour.
Security is not an issue; besides being at the end of James Craig Road, there is 24 hour closed circuit television as well as mobile security patrols. Right next door is the Sydney Water Police headquarters.
If you are looking to store your runabout rather than having the trailer sitting out your front door, Sydney Harbour Boat Storage provides a choice of uncovered or covered storage. Rates range from $488 per month for uncovered and $612 for covered, with contracts available on a casual, six or twelve month basis. All storage includes unlimited launch and retrievals and a wash down of a boat before it is placed back on the storage racks. Engine flush is also available.
Trailer storage on the hardstand is available for $55.00 per month.
To make it easy and quick a simple online booking app for mobile devices makes booking a boat in for a launch, simple. Follow the prompts and SHBS will have the boat ready to go by the time you arrive. At the end of the day they will be waiting to welcome you back, wash down your boat and put it safely away.
Two travellifts can lift large boats out from the well and several forklifts transfer boats out of the dry racks. The travellifts can be remotely controlled so, when dropping the boat in the well, the driver can walk around the boardwalk to check it is being lowered correctly.
SHBS has the capacity to move up to 40 foot vessels and stack and retrieve everything from personal boats to commercial cruisers.
All the facilities are linked to Boat Cloud a mobile device app which enables boat owners to book launch times through their phones.
Customers simply log-in via the app and make reservations for the times they want to go out and return. The app only shows the launch dates and times that are currently available so a time already booked cannot be selected. Extra services may also be ordered, such as food and drink.
For the customer, the appeal of the app is that it enables confirmed reservations to be made 24/7; there is no need for phone callbacks or waiting for e-mail confirmations. There are no double bookings or confusion over what time was booked.
For SHBS, staff can use the app to get a live picture of what is scheduled and the valet services required for each launch. The forklift driver can have a tablet version out on the dock and update the launch schedule as each boat is put in the water or retrieved.
The system also generates reports to show how efficient is the yard and when are its busy periods.
According to Jeremy Rose at Sydney Harbour Boat Storage, another key advantage of Boat Cloud is that it integrates with the MyTaskit marina management software which the company is planning to implement. MyTaskit is another US-based software platform designed to manage marina and service yard operations.
While Sydney Harbour Boat Storage is not a full marina berthing facility, it does provide services that are easy to access yet usually fully booked in other Sydney Harbour marinas. ≈
