Members Only Area Updated

The Board of Directors Meeting Minutes and Newsletters are published to the Members Only area. The Marina Calendar is updated and available at the bottom of the News tab.

Monthly Board of Directors Meetings - to be held Online via Zoom

We will be holding our monthly Board of Directors meetings online using Zoom. These meetings are open to all slip owners. If you wish to attend any meeting, please sign into the Members Only section of this website for meeting sign-in instructions.

Boat Inspections

Per the Marina rules, all boats must be inspected before being brought into the marina. The Wharf Marina Vessel Inspection Form has been updated to be simpler, reduce the paperwork burden, and instructions and a checklist been added on the cover page. Fill out the form and gather the necessary paperwork/documentation you need for your inspection. When you're ready, use the "Contact Us" form to schedule your inspection. Inspections will not be scheduled until all documentation has been received.

Calendar

 

Hurricane Preparation

The U.S. Coast Guard and FEMA put together some tips to help us make sure your boat is hurricane-ready. They suggest:

• Have a storm strategy and implement it well before the hurricane hits.
• Designate a friend to prepare your boat if you are out of town.
• Remove non-secure items and excess gear and also remove important documents and valuables.
• Check openings to make sure they're watertight, close all thru-hull fittings and shut off your fuel tanks.
• Check that batteries are fully charged so you can run your bilge pumps during the storm.
• Know your legal obligations during a storm

Progressive Insurance has several storm prep videos.

Members Only information

Meeting minutes, financial data, and the current electric rates are available here. As of October 2019, there's a new feature. The monthly newsletter has the meeting agenda, minutes, and news, all in one place. You'll find it in the "Newsletters" folder. The current password is printed on your last invoice.

Our Marina

The Wharf Marina is located at the west end of Clear Lake, off Davis Road in League City, Texas (see Google map). The Marina location on Clear Lake provides easy access to Clear Lake, Galveston Bay, and the Gulf of Mexico. The Marina is comprised of 57 liveaboard slips and 148 non-liveaboard slips. Amenities include bathrooms with showers, coin laundry, pool, and limited gated parking for some slips. A holding tank pump-out station is located in the marina and is open to all Slip Owners. An 82 space parking lot is available for all Slip Owners and guests outside the gated area. Boat trailer parking for Slip Owners is available on property for an additional fee.

The Slips

The Wharf Marina is one of the few marinas in Texas where slips can be purchased and individually owned. Each slip is real property and is deeded to the slip owner with Galveston County. As with any real property, the property taxes for each slip are the responsibility of the individual slip owner. (Galveston County, League City, and Clear Creek ISD)

All main docks, finger piers, pilings, parking lot and other marina property is Common Area owned and maintained by the Marina Association for the use of the Slip Owners. Common Area maintenance is supported by Maintenance Fees ($89/mo for liveabaord, $43.10/mo for non liveaboard) from each slip. Maintenance Fees are invoiced monthly by the Marina Manager along with charges for electricity.

Maintenance fees provide Common Area maintenance and support including, city water, main dock and finger pier repair, trash dumpster, bathroom cleaning and upkeep, dock and parking lot lighting, pool maintenance, holding tank pump-out station, and more.

Each slip has an individually metered shore power connection. Meters are read monthly and electricity use is billed by the Association to the slip Owner at cost.

For History Buffs

In 1979 there was only other marina on our side of Clear Lake - Watergate Yachting Center, which was about half its present size.. Seabrook Shipyard (somewhat smaller than today), Blue Dolphin marina and Lakewood Yacht Club (also smaller) were on the Harris County side of the lake. There was a moratorium on slip building in Clear Lake.

The Wharf Marina was nearly full. All the town homes had slips and nearly everyone kept a boat. Where Marina Pointe Condos are today was just a driveway and a parking lot. Davis Road was well wooded and between here and Kemah were mostly woods and cow pastures. Road access to this side of Clear Lake was poor - we were out in the country. Boat slips were scarce on Clear Lake owing to the moratorium.

Since that time, Boardwalk Marina, Portofino, Legend Point, Waterford, Marina Del Sol and South Shore Harbor have been built on our side of the lake and other marinas expanded, creating well over a thousand new slips. With so many new slips being made available, many with floating docks and all closer to the bay, the Wharf Marina began to empty out. The big oil crash in the early eighties left the marina fairly vacant and in increasingly poor condition - physically and economically. Only in the last few years has it begun to recover and rebuild itself. As League City expands, it is almost certain that there will be another shortage of boat slips in Clear Lake. Waterford is expanding in its existing basin and Constellation Pointe is building slips for it homeowners, but there's no room for another marina in Clear Lake. Dredging is unlikely to ever be allowed again.

The Wharf Marina was probably the first dockominium on the Texas Coast. Years after it was built, Portofino (in Kemah) was built and it is also a dockominium - but it's the only other one we know of. As such, the Wharf Marina presents a different set of management (or governance) problems since there are nearly 200 slip owners, an Association, and a Board of Directors (who are volunteers). Because of this, the marina can't be run exactly like commercial marinas are, where their owners, their economics and legal constraints have to be satisfied. On the other hand, we have no businesses, fuel docks or beer joints here - just a beautiful marina site to be enhanced and enjoyed - and a level of privacy that few marinas can offer.

The Wharf (townhomes surrounding the marina) was conceived and created in 1978 in 5 construction phases. During and after construction of the Wharf complex, the Wharf Townhome Association was created along with three slip maintenance associations. Very poor planning went into the creation of these slip associations.

The Phase III Slip Association for the southwest section of our harbor was never functional. The two other slip associations which included the rest of the marina, including the live aboard section, merged into one slip association in 1990 and is the current Wharf Slip Maintenance Association.

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Our Association

The Wharf Slip Maintenance Association (WSMA) is a Texas non-profit corporation. Each Slip Owner is a voting member of the Association. A Board of Directors and a Marina Manager administer the operations of the marina. The 7 member Board of Directors are slip owners who are elected by the Association members and serve two year terms. The Marina Manager is an Association employee who handles the Association's day to day business at the direction of the Board of Directors. Any Slip Owner may run for a position on the Board of Directors and all Slip Owners are encouraged to participate.

The Board of Directors meet at 7:00PM on the 3rd Monday of each month to conduct the business of the Association. Slip Owners are welcome at all meetings. An annual meeting is held each year in July to elect the Board of Directors for the coming year. The Annual meeting is usually held nearby at the League City Civic Center and is open to all Slip Owners. Slip Owners are encouraged to attend to elect Board members, discuss the issues and concerns of the Association, and to meet other Slip Owners.

Wharf Manager

The Wharf Marina Manager can be contacted via the Contact Us tab. Please do not contact the Marina Manager regarding slip rentals or purchases. All slips for lease/sale are listed under Slips for Sale or Slips for Lease.

Board Members

There are 7 positions on the Board of Directors. Board members are elected by slip Owners and serve two year terms. Offices of President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer positions are elected annually from serving Board members. You can contact the Board members at the Contact Us tab or with this contact list.

		Claude Bowden, President
		Jim Beerstecher, Vice President
		Dennis Pelletier, Secretary
		Tony Lagera, Treasurer
		Jimmy Schlomach
		Jesse Salinas
		Tim Stebbins

Miscellany

Wharf Marina Plat

Finger Pier Overall.pdf

Finger Pier Details.pdf

S-1 Main Dock Overall.pdf

S-2 Main Dock Details.pdf

Electrical Service

Wharf Marina slips are individually owned and are offered for sale by the Owner. These listings are free to our members and the Wharf Marina is not responsible for their accuracy. Please verify that the depth and dimensions of the slip will meet your needs. (See Rules Tab documents: Wharf Marina Dock and Slip Layout; Slip Size from Marina Plats and Replats)

Slips for Sale

Before purchasing a slip, be sure to read the Marina Rules, Boat Inspection Requirements, DCCRs, and By Laws which are available on the Rules Tab of this website. Boat slips in the Wharf Marina are subject to these documents as well as local taxes and Association fees. All boats must pass an inspection before entering the marina. Please be sure to let us know when your slip has sold.

Wharf Marina slips are individually owned and are offered for Lease by the Owner. These listings are free to our members and the Wharf Marina is not responsible for their accuracy. Please verify that the depth and dimensions of the slip will meet your needs. (See Rules Tab documents: Wharf Marina Dock and Slip Layout; Slip Size from Marina Plats and Replats)

Slips for Lease

All boats and slips in the Wharf Marina are subject to the Marina Rules, Boat Inspection Requirements, DCCRs, and By Laws which are available on the Rules Tab of this website. All boats must pass an inspection before entering the marina.

You can use our lease form in either Word or PDF format for your agreement.

Please be sure to let us know when your slip has leased.

Boat trailer parking is available for slip owners for $30/month. Space is on an as-available basis. No other types of trailers or vehicles are allowed.

All trailers must have current license plates and be locked and secured. Only one trailer is allowed per slip. WSMA is not responsible for damage/theft which may occur in the trailer parking lot.

How Do I Get Trailer Parking?

Before you bring your trailer to the lot:

• Complete Trailer Parking Lot Registration and Lease Form - Slip Owner Lease and mail or email to WSMA.
• If you are an owner and have a slip renter who wants to rent space for their trailer you may rent space and sublet your space to your slip renter. Please use the Trailer Parking Lot Registration and Lease Form - Slip Renter Lease for your lease with your slip renter and mail or email both forms to WSMA.
• Once received, you'll be issued a parking sticker to be placed on the tongue of the trailer. You'll also receive the combination to get into the lot. Note: trailers without a parking sticker are towed without notice.
• Be sure to notify the manager when you permanently remove your trailer, or you will continue to be billed and liable for rent.

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