Charges for keeping a boat in Port St Mary are at a ’prohibitive’ and ’unfair’ level, says a boat owner who asked that the commissioners do not apply further increases.

The local authority said at a recent meeting that its charges for the boat park at Kallow Point were lower than those in areas in the port for boats owned by the Department of Infrastructure and its fees have not increased for several years.

Commissioners chairman Michelle Haywood said: ’We have plans to improve the boat park and fees will go up. Quite a few of the boats are not seaworthy - which is not part of the agreement for keeping them there - and it may encourage boat owners to decide not to keep their unsightly boats in a picturesque part of the village.’

The boat owner said that use of a small boat is seasonal and affected by factors including tide, time available, wind direction and sea state among other things.

Accordingly, few small boat owners manage to get out more than 10 times a year as a leisure activity.

He said costs have risen to a ’prohibitive level and unfair level’, saying annual costs for a 12’6" dinghy are £104 for park rent. Compulsory third-party insurance is £70 to £100 per year basic ’for wheeling it down by hand.’ The slipway charge is about £40.

He added: ’If we assume about 10 trips per year the basic cost is about £25 to £30 per trip. Plus, at least £5 to £10 for fuel and maintenance of the engine’s safety gear.

’This expensive package will put using a small boat out of reach of the youth who would benefit immensely from learning about the sea and the coast and possibly joining the local lifeboat crew, as I did, knowing something about tides, tidal flows on the rocks along the coast,’ he said.

’It will make others wonder if it is worth having a boat at all.’