Marina service
d'Albora Marinas Pier 35
About
d'Albora Marinas Pier 35 at a glance
Full-service d'Albora marina at 263-329 Lorimer Street, Port Melbourne, minutes from the CBD, with 77 wet berths for boats up to 38m and 304 dry-stack spaces. Offers 24/7 fuel, dockmaster assistance seven days, marine services and waterfront dining.
Service area: Port Phillip Bay (Melbourne)
- Marina type
- full-service marina
- Operator
- d'Albora Marinas
- Region
- Port Phillip Bay (Melbourne)
- Water body
- Yarra River / Port Phillip Bay
- Wet berths
- 77
- Dry storage
- 304-space dry stack storage (boats to 10m)
- Maximum vessel
- 38 m
- Berth types
- casual berthing, permanent berthing
Facilities and services
- fuel
- pump-out
- travel lift
- dry stack storage
- repairs & maintenance
- 24/7 security
- power & water
- showers & laundry
- restaurant/cafe
- concierge
- boatyard with 27t travel lift
- hardstand
- antifouling
- boat sales & brokerage (Azimut, Bertram, Monterey)
- detailing
- dockmaster rope assistance
- courtesy trolleys
- discounted member fuel
- d'Albora app dry-stack launch booking
- reciprocal berthing across d'Albora network
About d'Albora Marinas Pier 35
Pier 35 occupies a long working frontage at 263-329 Lorimer Street, Port Melbourne, on the south bank of the Yarra River near its mouth, and it functions as the closest full-service marina to the Melbourne CBD. Run by d'Albora Marinas, the country's largest marina group, the property mixes 77 wet berths for vessels up to 38 metres with a 304-space dry-stack operation handling trailerable boats to about 10 metres, so the clientele ranges from weekender runabout owners to skippers of sizeable motor yachts bound for Port Phillip and beyond. The setting is industrial-maritime rather than resort-like: container terminals and the West Gate Bridge frame the skyline, and commercial shipping passes within earshot, which gives the place a working-harbour energy that most city marinas lack. d'Albora has layered hospitality over that base, with the Pier 35 Bar and Grill, a Japanese bakery cafe and a members' lounge softening the shed-and-pontoon architecture. The marina also carries a quiet civic role: the City of Melbourne identifies it as the nearest marine refuelling point for the whole Yarra River precinct, so river cruisers, water taxis and tour boats treat it as a waypoint. Its position minutes from the CBD, the Grand Prix circuit and the Docklands stadiums means berths here attract owners who use their boats as much for city entertaining as for bay cruising, and the dry stack keeps a steady churn of fishing boats launching into the bay at first light. The site's dry stack, one of only a handful in the d'Albora network, effectively doubles as the city's small-boat harbour, and on summer mornings the forklift ballet at the launch dock is its own spectacle.
Marina facilities
Berthing splits into two streams: 77 wet berths taking boats up to 38 metres with power and water at the pontoon, and a 304-space dry stacker where boats to roughly 10 metres are racked in a shed and forklift-launched on demand through the d'Albora app or by calling the dockmasters, who work seven days a week and handle ropes on arrival and departure. Casual and permanent berthing are both offered, and members get reciprocal rights across the d'Albora network. The fuel wharf dispenses diesel and unleaded petrol around the clock, seven days, with discounted member pricing, and it doubles as the de facto refuelling stop for Yarra River traffic. Ashore, Boatyard by d'Albora runs a full-service yard with a 27-tonne travel lift and hardstand, quoting lifting, antifouling, mechanical servicing, washes and topside polishing for marina customers and the general boating public. On-site tenants extend the trade coverage: Doug Johns Marine Services does detailing from wash-downs to full details, and the d'Albora Marine office sells new and used boats as the Australian representative for Azimut, Bertram and Monterey, with brokerage commission benefits for members. Sewage pump-out is available, and the amenity block covers showers, toilets, laundry and a members' lounge. Security runs 24 hours with CCTV and swipe-card access to the arms. Parking mixes free and metered spaces close to the marina, with courtesy trolleys for hauling gear. Food options on site include the Pier 35 Bar and Grill and the Fuumi Fuumi bakery cafe, and the member and guest services desk (1800 DALBORA) books everything from casual berths to boatyard quotes.
Local sailing knowledge
Approaching Pier 35 is straightforward bay work: enter the Yarra entrance channel between the breakwaters at Port Melbourne, keep clear of ship traffic bound for Swanson and Appleton Docks, and the marina appears on the southern bank just inside the river mouth. Depths alongside run about two to three metres, tidal flow is negligible by ocean standards, and the main hazard is wash and traffic rather than water depth. The position makes the whole of Port Phillip a day trip: snapper grounds off Williamstown and St Kilda lie within a short run, the sunken HMVS Cerberus at Black Rock and the bay's northern reefs suit a picnic cruise, and a slow run upriver puts the boat among the Southbank restaurants, past Crown and under the city bridges to the Docklands precinct. For dry-stack customers the routine is simple: phone or app ahead, and the boat is in the water by the time the car is parked. Provisioning is easy, with Port Melbourne's Bay Street shops a few minutes away and the CBD close enough that crews often taxi in for dinner. Fuel at any hour matters here more than at suburban marinas, because boats returning late from the Heads or the southern bay can top up before berthing. Winter sees regulars raft up for footy trips to the nearby stadiums, and the marina fills with visiting boats during the Grand Prix and New Year's fireworks, when the Yarra becomes Melbourne's front row. Berth holders heading for the Heads pick up the shipping forecasts as carefully as any coastal skipper, because the run south can turn lumpy against a flooding tide.