For those of you keeping score at home, the answer is – four times as much. Boat-slip rental at the Coeur d’Alene Resort marina has increased that much since Duane and Jerry, ahem, took over Bob Templin’s hospitality empire in the mid-1980s. Usually, I don’t run with resort marina boaters. But one of them hangs out at Huckleberries Online when he’s slumming. He told Huckleberries that he paid $650 per season for slip rentals when the resort opened, April though October. Last year, the Berry Picker paid $2,400 for that same slip. But there’s a catch, he said: “In order to maintain a slip at the Resort, you now must also store your boat with The Boat Shop for the off months. For the winter. If you want to store your own boat, you can, but you still pay the 12-month fee.” So, out the door last year, the Berry Picker paid about 3 grand for moorage. He feels privileged, too. Sorta. Kinda. Seems there’s a long waiting list at the resort, what with developers making formerly public resorts private at Arrow Point, Squaw Bay, Black Rock and even Carlin Bay now. By comparison, the Berry Picker said, North Idaho Marine charges him $1,750 per slip per season. When it comes to private moorage on Lake Coeur d’Alene, it appears the adage holds: If you have to ask, you can’t afford it. Noisy minority
