I agree 100%. Based on our experience this week, I think the only way to ensure a ball at Cooper is to pay Boatyball the $400 advance fee. If you do that, you can reserve the day before. Otherwise it’s try to snag one at 6:59:59. We were able to do so exactly once. We got a fcfs ball at Cooper but only because we arrived early. BB has most of the balls at Cooper and we watched many boats all day leaving in frustration, while the BB moorings stayed open.

I think BB would work if they only had 25% of available moorings. That way people who really want to reserve in advance could pony up the $400 fee. Everyone else could continue to use the 75% of moorings that are fcfs. Right now, BB’s disproportionate share of available balls leads to a crappy experience for everyone.