Boaters wait decades for berths on Swiss lakes

Some boat owners in Switzerland wait up to 40 years for a berth, while many boats are rarely used, SRF reports. Bujar Salihu has owned a motorboat for six years but still has no permanent berth.

Salihu keeps the boat in an underground garage in Dietlikon. For every outing, he attaches the trailer to his car and drives for more than an hour on the motorway and through Zurich to reach a launching point. A friend helps him, as he no longer launches the boat alone after damaging it during an earlier attempt.

Salihu has been on three waiting lists on Lake Zurich for six years and pays about 100 Swiss francs a year to remain on them. Without the payment, he would lose his place.

He says the situation is unfair because some boats in the harbours appear to be used very little. “If someone owns a boat and does not use it at all, or only once or twice a year, while I have to launch mine 30 times myself, that is not fair,” he says.

Public and private berths

Berths are scarce on practically all Swiss lakes. Switzerland has an estimated 300 or more harbours with between 50,000 and 75,000 water berths, operated by municipalities, clubs and private owners. There are also dry berths.

Public berths are generally allocated through waiting lists. Depending on the location and the size of the boat, the wait can last between 20 and 40 years. Many operators charge an annual fee to remain on the list. Rents usually range from about 300 to 3,000 Swiss francs a year.

Public berths generally cannot be sublet. If a berth remains unused for an extended period, it can be withdrawn.

Private marinas and boatyards also offer berths, sometimes together with the purchase of a boat. Prices are considerably higher, usually more than 10,000 Swiss francs a year, but waiting times are much shorter. Depending on the provider, a berth may be available within a few weeks.

Boats that rarely move

Boats that spend most of their time in the harbour are known in boating circles as “ghost boats”. It is difficult to determine how common they are because harbour regulations do not require owners to move their boats a certain number of times a year.

A long-time observer of Lake Zurich told SRF that many boats spend more time in the harbour than on the lake. The source, who requested anonymity, said a duck was even nesting on one apparently neglected boat.