We purchased a new Catalina Morgan 440 in April. We searched for a marina in the Muskegon area to accommodate our boat and found Terrace Point Marina via the internet. We went and checked it out, and it seemed small, quiet, and in a good location.
We were told we could move our boat there the last week in April, when our boat was delivered. While shopping at West Marine in Muskegon, we were asked if we knew about the BOAT SHOW that was going to be at Terrace Point Marina the first of May. We did not. When we contacted the management, they told us that we could move in, however we had to move to a different slip, as the marina was being dredged.
After a few weeks, the water to our dock did not work. The pipe that brought the water to the dock had formed a leak, and supposedly they could not find a similar pipe to replace it. They rigged up a garden hose from Rafferty's Restaurant (also on site, don't go there, the service is terrible and so is the food), which also eventually blew and we had no water to wash the boat or to fill our tanks.
The pump out service that was supposed to be available to the boats in the marina never worked.
The biggest problem was the garbage that blew into the marina, as well as dead fish and vegetation. Over the last weeks in June and the first weeks of July, the algae, garbage, dead fish, and who knows what else that was in the water began to ferment and caused a smell that was worse than raw sewage.
We complained repeatedly to management and to the owners. The management was sympathetic, but said they were getting no help from the owners. When we spoke to the owners, we were told that we didn't bring enough money into their coffers for us to be important to them, and they didn't care whether we stayed or left. They used the words, WE DON'T CARE.
We finally decided 4 days ago that we had to move our boat, because of the sludge that was all around it. The smell made us physically sick. We were worried that it would affect our engine, generator, and air conditioning. We asked for our money back and went to another marina. We were told we would only get back the money for the remainder of the season, and they refused to give all of our money back. We are taking them to court.
We complained to the Department of Environmental Quality, to the Health Department, and to the City of Muskegon. They all told us there were no violations that they could site the marina for, and suggested we move to another marina. We did so, as have some other boaters who were there, according to the management.
Our advice: Don't go there. Don't eat at Rafferty's Restaurant, which is right next to the marina. Don't go to the Shoreline Inn, which is also on the property; they could care less about customer satisfaction there also and it is very much overpriced. Their staff and general manager agrees with us.
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