How To Get A Liveaboard Slip In Long Beach

By Drew | Alamitos Bay Marina , Rainbow Harbor , Shoreline Marina

Liveaboard slips are very popular in Long Beach, as you could imagine. Boaters from all over Southern California come to Long Beach, and many love it so much they never want to leave! For boaters who want to live year-round on their vessel, a liveaboard slip is a great idea. Getting one though, is not as easy as it seems.

The Alamitos Bay Marina, Shoreline Marina, and Rainbow Harbor/Marina all have a very limited number of liveaboard slips available. The Long Beach marinas are not zoned as a residential area, and the power and water supplies on the docks are not meant to serve a residential community, so the number of liveaboard slips at each marina is capped at 10% of the slips. This means that there are very few slips to go around, and the marinas are almost always at their capacity, so getting a liveaboard slip can be a tricky process. If you are ready to make the leap, or just making plans for the future, here’s a quick guide on how to do it.

What A Liveaboard Slip Is

Liveaboard slips in Long Beach grant you the right to use your boat as a “place of abode”; that is, use it as you would an apartment. Boaters with non-liveaboard slips are only allowed to stay aboard their vessel up to 12 nights per month, while liveaboard slips can stay aboard 24/7 if they wished. Liveaboard boaters can also get a special parking sticker for their vehicles, and are given free tickets to the Long Beach Grand Prix if they are in the Shoreline Marina or Rainbow Harbor/Marina. They are also able to request telephone line installations at their dock, and Shoreline Marina and Alamitos Bay Marina tenants can also get a mailbox at the marina.

How To Get A Liveaboard Slip

The process to get a liveaboard slip can be a little complicated, so here’s a step-by-step guide to make everything simpler for you.

1. Sign up on the waiting list for a permanent slip. If you already have a permanent slip, skip to the next step.

To get a liveaboard slip, you must have a permanent slip in the marinas. Temporary assignments and subleases are not allowed to stay aboard more than 12 nights per month. Guest slips are the only exception, as they are allowed 15 days per calendar month.

2. Once you get your permanent slip, request and fill out the “Liveaboard Request” card.

Since the marinas are almost always at their liveaboard slip capacity, there is usually a waiting list to get liveaboard status (this wait can vary depending on what size your vessel is). Filling out the “Liveaboard Request” card gets you on the waiting list. There is no fee for this.

3. Play the waiting game…again.

The wait for liveaboard status can vary wildly between docks and vessel sizes. Not only are the liveaboard slips capped at 10% of the marina, but the marina only has certain areas where a liveaboard slip can be. Liveaboard slips cannot be next to each other, across from each other, or diagonally from each other on the dock; this is to ensure some modicum of privacy for the tenants.

There really is no way of telling how long it might take to get a liveaboard slip. Some very lucky people can get liveaboard status within days of putting in their request, for others it might take years.

4. Once you are called off of the list, schedule an inspection.

When your name comes up on the waiting list, the marina office will notify you and schedule a liveaboard inspection. This is different from the seaworthiness inspection when you got when you first came in, and is designed to make sure that you will be able to be self-reliant in case of a marina wide emergency, such as power or water outages.

5. Move on in!

Congratulations! You’re part of a club only 10% of the people in the marinas are in!

Liveaboard Vessel Inspection Requirements

The vessel inspection to get a liveaboard slip is a simple process, and almost all vessels pass on the first time. To get a liveaboard slip, a vessel must:

• Be at least 25′ in length
• Be currently registered or documented
• Cannot have any partners on the registration/documentation or on file with the marina office
• Have a holding tank
• Have a fire extinguisher
• Have a source of heating and cooking
• Have a fully functioning electrical system. An inverter is recommended, but not required.

The marina will also need the names of your spouse and any children living on the vessel, as well as a list of any pets.

Some Things To Keep In Mind

Liveaboard slips can be a bit inconvenient to have. When you get called off of the waiting list, it will be for the first liveaboard eligible slip that opens up in your size, you might have to switch docks. Once you do accept liveaboard status, it might be difficult to transfer slips, since you would need to transfer to another one that is eligible to be a liveaboard slip. The roads around the Shoreline Marina and Rainbow Harbor/Marina are also periodically closed for special events-such as the Long Beach Grand Prix and Long Beach Marathon-which makes getting to and from your home tricky.

If you are interested in getting a liveaboard slip, call each marina office get on the waiting list today!

Insurance and Proof of Ownership

By Drew | Alamitos Bay Marina , General Info , Rainbow Harbor , Shoreline Marina

The City of Long Beach Marine Bureau has very strict requirements for vessel insurance and proof of ownership for boat owners. These requirements are easy to follow, however, and most boat owners already meet them.

Insurance Requirements

Even thought it is not a state law, the Long Beach Marine Bureau requires all vessels renting city docks to have liability insurance. Liability insurance, sometimes written as “Protection and Indemnity”, “P&I”, or “Property Damage”, covers you in the event that your vessel damages city property, or another vessel in the city marinas.

The insurance needs to be current, written in the permittee’s name, and the limits of liability must be at least $100,000. Along with that, anyone with a permanent slip, or looking to get a permanent slip, must add the City of Long Beach as “Additionally Insured”. This can be done at no extra cost by calling your agent and requesting it. The official wording must be:

The City of Long Beach

Its Officials, Employees, and Volunteers

200 B Aquarium Way

Long Beach, CA 90802

The City of Long Beach Marine Bureau requires this so that renewals are sent in automatically by your insurance company, and also to be notified in case of any changes, ie sale of the vessel. This does not mean the city has any ownership interest in the vessel, or the city is in any way a loss payee. In fact, if the city is listed as “Loss Payee” instead of “Additionally Insured”, the Marine Bureau will not accept the insurance.

Also, you will notice the address that needs to be listed is not Long Beach City Hall’s, and is probably different from the marina your vessel is at. This is because the Rainbow Harbor/Marina office handles the insurance for all of the permanent slips and commercial docks in the city.

The Long Beach Marine Bureau requires updated insurance every year for their permittees (those with permanent slips). As was mentioned earlier, if the city is listed as Additionally Insured, and the address is correct, the Rainbow Harbor office should get sent a renewal every year by your insurance company. However, sometimes there are mistakes, the insurance company does not send the renewal, or it gets sent to the wrong office. If the Marine Bureau does not get the renewal, they will contact you by phone, then by mail, and give you 30 days to provide the updated insurance before cancelling the slip.

Guest/transient boaters, subleasees, and temporary assignments do not need to add the city as Additionally Insured. You will only need to provide your insurance once, but it is up to you to keep your file up to date. Many boaters who frequent the marinas will add the city anyway. Keep in mind, though, that the insurance still needs to have $100,000 in liability coverage.

It is best to get your insurance through a dedicated marine insurance company, such as BoatUS ( click here for boat insurance quotes,) as they have the knowledge and resources to better help their customers.

Ownership Requirements

The Long Beach Marine Bureau has a few different requirements for proof of ownership.

To get a permanent slip, a sublease, or a temporary assignment, a current DMV registration (CF numbers) or Certificate of Documentation from the U.S. Coast Guard must be supplied. The vessel  must also be documented or registered in the applicant’s name; other names are allowed, but the person applying for the slip must own at least as much of the vessel as the others. If the vessel is owned by a corporation, then the applicant must provide the articles of incorporation, showing the applicant as an officer of the company. Out of state and foreign vessel documentation will be accepted initially, but, in accordance with California state law, the vessel will have to be registered in state or documented with the U.S. Coast Guard within 90 days, and the updated paperwork must be supplied to the marina office. Temporary DMV registration and travelling letters provided by the U.S. Coast Guard, or the Mary Conlin or Dona Jenkins companies are also accepted. Pink slips and transfers of ownership are accepted on a case by case basis.

For guest slips, the vessel merely needs to be currently documented or registered. Out of state registration and foreign certificates of documentation are accepted.

Vessel Partnerships

If you own a vessel with one or more partners, and have a permanent slip in the Long Beach Marinas, you might want to get them on file to give them some rights to the slip. If they are not on file, they will have no access to the vessel or the permit. As far as the Marine Bureau is concerned, they may as well not even exist. To give your partners limited rights to the permit, you will need to do a few things.

1. Request and fill out the “Partnership Agreement”. All partners you wish to have on file must fill out the paperwork. You can either have each partner come to the office in person and sign the form in front of the Marina Agent, or you can have the forms notarized.
2. Supply the marina office with the ownership forms showing all partners listed. This means each partner has to be on the registration or documentation.
3. Provide the marina office with a copy of the IDs for each partner.

Keep in mind, though, that partners only have a limited amount of rights to the permit. Partners can sleep on the boat (up to 12 nights per month), and get a parking pass or keys, but that’s it. A partner cannot cancel a permit, request a transfer or live aboard status, change any contact information, or request any billing information. The only person able to do those things is the person who originally signed up on the waiting list and got the permit.

These are the major points of the insurance and ownership policies at the Long Beach Marinas. For any more detailed or specific questions you can call the marina offices during normal business hours.

Important Phone Numbers

By Drew | Alamitos Bay Marina , General Info , Launch Ramps , Rainbow Harbor , Shoreline Marina

Here’s a list of important phone numbers for the Long Beach Marinas to keep on hand

 

After Hours Line: (562) 570-3101

Call this number anytime after normal business hours for the marinas, or during holidays. It will go to a 3rd party answering service, and they will be able to get a hold of the on-call person for the marinas.

 

Alamitos Bay Fuel Dock: (562) 594-0888

 

Aqua Bus/Aqua Link: (562) 591-2301

 

Aquarium of the Pacific: (562) 591-3100

 

Beach Parking Lots: (562) 570-8055

 

Launch Ramps: (562) 570-8636

 

Lifeguards: (562) 570-1360, VHF 16

 

Long Beach City Hall: (562) 570-6555

 

Long Beach Fire Department: (562) 436-8211

This is the number to call if you are on a cell phone. Landlines can still dial 911, and dock phones can dial 9-911. Please do not call the marina offices for emergencies.

 

Long Beach Police Department: (562) 435-6711

This is the number to call if you are on a cell phone. Landlines can still dial 911, and dock phones can dial 9-911. Please do not call the marina offices for emergencies.

 

Marina Maintenance: (562) 570-1582

 

Marine Patrol: (562) 435-6711

This is the number to call if you are on a cell phone. Landlines can still dial 911, and dock phones can dial 9-911. Please do not call the marina offices for emergencies.

 

Marine Stadium Recorded Information: (562) 570-3203

 

Marine Stadium Rentals: (562) 570-3236

 

Park Events and Rentals: (562) 570-5333

 

Parking Citations: (562) 570-6822

 

Parks, Recreation, and Marine Main Office: (562) 570-3100

 

Passport Bus: (562) 591-2301

 

Pierpoint Landing: (562) 983-9300

Sportfishing and multi-day fishing charters.

 

Rainbow Harbor/Marina: (562) 570-8636

 

Sea Tow: (562) 592-2808

 

Shoreline Marina: (562) 570-4950

 

Shoreline Marina Fuel Dock: (562) 491-4636

 

Vessel Assist: (562) 594-0888

Located at the Alamitos Bay Fuel Dock.

 

Whale Watching: (562) 432-4900

Harbor Breeze Cruises.