How it works
A marina is a sheltered basin where boats are kept. A breakwater calms the water, and boats come in by the entrance channel and fairways. Main piers with finger piers make slips; services line the shore.
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On the water
Each dock is a main pier from the shore with finger piers either side; the space between two fingers is a slip. Pilings hold the docks in place. Boats reach their slips along the fairway, and some tie to buoys in the mooring field.
Services
Visiting boats stop at the transient dock. The fuel dock sells fuel, and its pump-out station empties holding tanks. Ashore, trailered boats use the boat ramp, a travel lift hauls bigger ones out, and dry stack storage keeps boats on racks indoors.
Questions and answers
What are the parts of a marina called?
The breakwater, entrance channel and fairways; main piers with finger piers making slips; pilings; a mooring field; and services: a fuel dock with a pump-out station, a transient dock, a boat ramp, a travel lift and dry stack storage.
What is the difference between a slip and a finger pier?
A finger pier is the narrow walkway; the slip is the water space beside it where one boat is kept. Fingers run off the main pier, one on each side of a slip or shared between two.
What is a fairway in a marina?
The open water lane between rows of docks that boats use to reach their slips. It is kept wider than the longest boats beside it, at least one and a half boat lengths, so they can turn in.