How to write a fair boat slip waitlist policy

Why slip waitlists cause arguments

Slips can be scarce. Cape St. Claire Improvement Association in Maryland has about 200 usable slips for more than 2,250 homeowners, and Lakewood POA in Missouri says its waiting list runs around 10 to 12 years. With waits that long, members want to know exactly where they stand, and why someone else got a slip first.

In January 2026 Santa Barbara replaced its harbor slip waitlist with a yearly lottery, after a staff report called the old policy “a source of public frustration for decades” and slips from the list were being resold. Most associations don’t need a lottery. They need a written policy and a list members can check.

One list, in date order

• Who can join. One entry per lot or household, by owners in good standing. Say whether renters can join.
• The order. First come, first served by the date someone joined. Lakewood POA sets priority by who was “first in time of signing up.”
• Staying on the list. Whether people confirm their place each year to keep it. Bear Lake State Park in Utah requires waiting-list applicants to renew every year, by April 30.
• Who can see it. Each member should be able to see their own place in line and the date they joined.

Match boats to slips

A 26-foot pontoon doesn’t fit a 20-foot slip, so the policy needs a rule for size. Two approaches work:

• Separate lists by slip size. Bear Lake State Park keeps separate lists for 20-foot slips, 26-foot slips with and without utilities, and 32-foot slips.
• One list, offered to the first boat that fits. Cape St. Claire’s pier committee offers an open slip to “the first vessel on the list which will realistically fit in that slip,” matching draft as well as length.

Record each boat’s length (and beam or draft, if your slips vary) when people join, so the match is a lookup rather than a judgment call.

Make offers the same way every time

1. Offer the open slip to the next eligible name, in writing (email is fine), with the slip number, the fee and a date to answer by.
2. Give a fixed time to answer. Lakewood POA tries by phone for three working days, then sends a certified letter allowing three days to respond.
3. If they accept, assign the slip and record the date.
4. If they pass or don’t answer, offer it to the next name, and log what happened.

Decide in advance what passing costs. At Lakewood, refusing an offer takes the name off the list, and it can be added back at the bottom. You could instead allow one pass without losing a place. Either is defensible; what matters is that it’s written down before the first offer.

Moves, upgrades and transfers

• Moves. Cape St. Claire keeps a move list for slip holders who want a different slip, and people on the move list have priority over the waiting list.
• Upgrades. Lakewood keeps a separate upgrade list and reassigns vacated slips at an annual event each February.
• Transfers. Decide whether a slip can pass to a buyer of the house, a relative or a co-lessee, or goes back to the list. Santa Barbara now bans private sales of slip permits.

Bringing a paper list online

If your waitlist lives on paper or in a spreadsheet, keep each person’s original join date when you move it, so nobody loses their place. Publish the policy next to the list, and let people check their own position instead of calling the office. Moving a paper registry online covers the rest of the move.

Doing this in Baybook

In Baybook™ for lake associations members see their own place in line and the date they joined. The office adds people with their original join date or imports a paper list, and anyone can ask to join from a waitlist form link you share, with no account: they confirm their email, the office approves them, and places go by date. When a slip opens, it’s offered to the next name with a date to answer by, and every move is logged. You can upload your own dock layout and place each slip on it. See pricing.

Template: slip waitlist policy

A starting point for your board. Where there’s a choice, keep one option and delete the other.

{Association name}: boat slip waitlist policy
Adopted {date}

1. Who can join
One entry per lot. The owner of record must be a member in good standing.
Choose one: Renters may join. / Renters may not join.

2. Order
The list is first come, first served by the date each entry was added. Entries carried over from the paper list keep their original dates.

3. Staying on the list
Choose one: Confirm your place each year by {date}, or the entry is removed. / An entry stays until its owner takes a slip or leaves the list.

4. Matching boats to slips
Each entry records the boat’s length, beam and draft. An open slip is offered to the first entry whose boat fits it.

5. Offers
Offers are made by email{ and by phone}, with the slip number, the fee and a date to answer by, {number} days after the offer. If there is no answer by that date, the offer passes to the next entry.

6. Passing on an offer
Choose one: Passing once keeps your place; passing a second time moves you to the bottom of the list. / Passing moves you to the bottom of the list.

7. Moves and upgrades
Slip holders who want a different slip join the move list. Open slips are offered to the move list before the waitlist.

8. Transfers
Choose one: A slip doesn’t transfer with the sale of a lot. / A slip may transfer to a co-owner named on the slip agreement.
A slip that is given up returns to the list.

9. The record
The office logs every offer, answer and assignment with its date. Members can see their own place in line at any time.

Questions

Sources

The published rules and articles this guide quotes, as we read them in October 2026. Each community’s own documents are the final word on its rules.

• Cape St. Claire Improvement Association: waiting and move list policies
• Lakewood Property Owners Association: boating
• Lakewood Property Owners Association: Policy No. 5, boat slips
• Utah State Parks: Bear Lake long-term boat slips
• Noozhawk: Santa Barbara moving to lottery waitlist system for harbor boat slips