Boaters have a new way to dock and reserve space for their vessels at the Inner Harbor and in Fells Point through a streamlined platform that launched Thursday, Baltimore City transportation officials from the Harbormaster Office announced in a news release.
The new reservation system, called Dockwa, allows users to view availability, reserve a space, pay all associated fees and manage their spot in real time, the release stated.
“Our goal is to provide boaters with a modern and navigable digital platform for reserving a spot at Baltimore’s municipal piers,” Baltimore City Harbormaster Mike McGeady said in the release.
Dockwa’s platform is used by over 200 municipal marinas nationwide. Its user-friendly system works by showing boaters a map of where they can make docking requests and then showing the associated pricing rates based on the type of boat and the length of stay.
Once a docking request is confirmed by the Harbormaster, users can pay directly through Dockwa. The system “enforces strict controls for handling credit and debit card data,” according to the release, and it does not sell or share personal information. After a deposit payment, users will receive a confirmation email of their reservation. Boaters will get their final billing once they leave their reserved spot.
“We’re offering greater levels of access, flexibility, communication and professionalism to boaters and visitors while generating much-needed funds to support maritime infrastructure,” McGeady added.
To begin using Dockwa, boaters can download the mobile app or go to dockwa.com. Then, they must create an account with their boat, insurance and payment information. Users should then search for “Baltimore City Municipal Piers” to put in a reservation request. Lastly, the Harbormaster will confirm the request and process the deposit. Once boaters arrive at their spot, they should check in with the Harbormaster via email, phone or transmission radio VHF Channel 72.
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