Docking in Duluth.
- Thread starter Capt Strapfoots
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For how long? A season, a week, a night?
Assuming a short term stay, your best bet is Barkers Marina. They welcome transients. Its on the Superior side. Full service joint with store, showers, restaurant, and bar. In Duluth proper, Harbor Cove and Lakehead often do not have staff there every day to receive you. Lakehead DOES have a long dock you might be able to tie to.
Up the St Louis river, Spirit Lake Marina will often have slips, but its an hour motor.
Up the coast is McQuade harbor, run by the state. Not sure if you can spend the night.
We do this all the time; its actually rather HARD to moor in Duluth and not have a $50 taxi ride into town. We time our visits so we can use the slip of a friend in the Duluth Slip Harbor, a private marina right downtown.
Assuming a short term stay, your best bet is Barkers Marina. They welcome transients. Its on the Superior side. Full service joint with store, showers, restaurant, and bar. In Duluth proper, Harbor Cove and Lakehead often do not have staff there every day to receive you. Lakehead DOES have a long dock you might be able to tie to.
Up the St Louis river, Spirit Lake Marina will often have slips, but its an hour motor.
Up the coast is McQuade harbor, run by the state. Not sure if you can spend the night.
We do this all the time; its actually rather HARD to moor in Duluth and not have a $50 taxi ride into town. We time our visits so we can use the slip of a friend in the Duluth Slip Harbor, a private marina right downtown.
Looking at staying anywhere from a month to three total. And it would of course be next summer. Thanks so much for all the great info .
Strap,
Nice! That's a long visit. Lots of people on Superior think three months (Memorial Day to Labor Day) is the WHOLE season! You should call early and work on a rate once your plans firm up. You for sure do not want to pay a day rate for all that time.
Now on to the bigger question; why Duluth? Do you have family, work, or friends there? If so great. But the not-so-secret fact about Duluth is it really NOT a great place to sail. The wind is either full on or full off, and there is nowhere to go. And the 95% of the inner harbor is old and broken down. No where to go means that its 30 miles to another place to spend the night, with nothing but lee shore between. So lots of day sails and then back to the slip. Maybe thats what you had in mind.
An interesting idea is to keep the boat in Washburn, near the Apostle Islands. About an hour from Duluth by car. They have a GREAT program to store trailer boats stick up near the docks and ramp. Cost is like $75/month. You launch, or they have a call-ahead valet service. I mentioned this to Squidd (from this board) and he uses it now. Plus the sailing is much better in the Apostiles; lots of Duluth sailors keep their boats there and not near home.
Nice! That's a long visit. Lots of people on Superior think three months (Memorial Day to Labor Day) is the WHOLE season! You should call early and work on a rate once your plans firm up. You for sure do not want to pay a day rate for all that time.
Now on to the bigger question; why Duluth? Do you have family, work, or friends there? If so great. But the not-so-secret fact about Duluth is it really NOT a great place to sail. The wind is either full on or full off, and there is nowhere to go. And the 95% of the inner harbor is old and broken down. No where to go means that its 30 miles to another place to spend the night, with nothing but lee shore between. So lots of day sails and then back to the slip. Maybe thats what you had in mind.
An interesting idea is to keep the boat in Washburn, near the Apostle Islands. About an hour from Duluth by car. They have a GREAT program to store trailer boats stick up near the docks and ramp. Cost is like $75/month. You launch, or they have a call-ahead valet service. I mentioned this to Squidd (from this board) and he uses it now. Plus the sailing is much better in the Apostiles; lots of Duluth sailors keep their boats there and not near home.
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Well actually I am asking for my son. He is 22 and wants an adventure so he wants to sail and play music along the way. Were not sure how long and where but trying to plot out a trip for him. I know he wants to hit some big cities and stay for a week or more in some ..I want him to do the whole shoreline in a giant loop (we live near Houghton Michigan).
Your son? adventure?? this just got real easy.
Make sure he has a decent dinghy with him, and ANCHOR out. Huge parts of the inner harbor are dedicated anchor areas, rather shallow, protected, and close to town. He could row to shore, tie up, and spend a month there for next to nothing.
That anchorage area is adjacent to the two Duluth marinas. Just up and to the left is the lift bridge. Behind that, the very fun canal district.
make sure he has good LED lighting, and a solar panel to charge the battery.
Inside the Duluth Harbor, away from the entrances, you can go to the Spirit River Marina, where it will probably be the cheapest. Otherwise, there is Lakehead Boat Basin right at the areal bridge on Park Point or the marina next to it, Harbor Cove. Barker's Island is in Superior WI and probably more expensive, but you can ask to be sure. They share the same harbor, basically.
He can also go up the North Shore and find marinas at Knife River, Silver Bay, Two Harbors or catch a buoy at Grand Marais (no marina there). Or along the south shore of Lake Superior towards Bayfield and maybe catch a slip in Port Wing or Cornucopia, although I understand the Siskiwit Bay Marina in Corny is full.
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