Marinas in Portland, Maine

Otto Clave · Sep 5, 2010

Sunset marina and Aspasia rent slips and Portland Yacht services has some moorings, but I wouldn't want to keep my boat at PYS because it's pretty exposed. Aspasia is fairly bare bones, but cheap. Sunset is a nice spot.

Mark

Tim R. · Sep 6, 2010

Handyboat in Falmouth is probably the best place for a seasonal mooring.

Aspasia is a waterfront eyesore(but cheap for a slip). No shoreside facilities other than a port a potty. Handyboat also has no shoreside facilities other than a portapotty. Sunset is nice but the slips face NS instead of EW. Can be challenging to dock with the prevailing SW wind and EW current.

East end beach is good(and cheap) but you need to place you own gear. No launch here though. You must use your own dinghy.

chuckwayne · Sep 6, 2010

Maine Yacht Center has the best facilities in Portland but slips only, no moorings. We've got 4 Hunters there from the Maine Hunter Sailing Association and the staff and facilities are first rate.

Tim R. · Sep 7, 2010

I agree, MYC is very nice. They are cheaper than Dimillos which is where I am. But I can walk to work from Dimillos.

Roger Long · Sep 7, 2010

chinny said:
Freeport or York Harbor?

Never in the history of the forum, I would venture, has such a no-brainer question been asked. York Harbor is like cruising in CA, you go out, you're in the ocean; then where do you go? It's all exposed, open water sailing with a difficult entrance to return to. Unless your wife is a lot saltier than she sounds, she'll hate it. After the 10 th time to the Isles of Shoals or beating yourself up in the current fed chop off Portsmouth, you'll be a single hander.

Freeport: Breathtaking and protected places 10 minutes outside the harbor mouth. You could spend a lifetime cruising Casco Bay and not wear it out. You could spend months without seeing an ocean swell unless you wanted to. Portland and all its restaurants are an easy afternoon sail away and return. More interesting commercial traffic and other things to see than almost anywhere else in Maine.

Besides, I doubt you'll find a place in York according to a friend who keeps his boat there.

Maine Sail · Sep 7, 2010

Roger Long said:
Never in the history of the forum, I would venture, has such a no-brainer question been asked. York Harbor is like cruising in CA, you go out, you're in the ocean; then where do you go? It's all exposed, open water sailing with a difficult entrance to return to. Unless your wife is a lot saltier than she sounds, she'll hate it. After the 10 th time to the Isles of Shoals or beating yourself up in the current fed chop off Portsmouth, you'll be a single hander.

Freeport: Breathtaking and protected places 10 minutes outside the harbor mouth. You could spend a lifetime cruising Casco Bay and not wear it out. You could spend months without seeing an ocean swell unless you wanted to. Portland and all its restaurants are an easy afternoon sail away and return. More interesting commercial traffic and other things to see than almost anywhere else in Maine.

Besides, I doubt you'll find a place in York according to a friend who keeps his boat there.

Ditto! Grew up sailing and fishing out of Rye Harbor and Plaice Cove NH, pretty darn boring sailing and that was when you could actually land on Star Island and visit the hotel... We almost always came out of the harbor and turned East towards Maine.. Brewers in So. Freeport might have a rental mooring available but it would be a long shot major waiting list if you want to set your own mooring. Even Falmouth Foreside has a waiting list now for moorings but Handy Boat may likely have a seasonal rental available..

Tim R. · Sep 7, 2010

S. Freeport is a great place to keep a boat. Brewers does all my hauling each year and I store my mast with them. Shoreside facilities are great. You can dinghy across to Wolfe's Neck State Park for some great hiking. The other benefit of S. Freeport is that it is a natural hurricane hole so your boat will be safe.

The only downside is that nothing is within walking distance except for an overpriced tourist trap snack bar and a deli. But if you have a car there than it is a great place. Bow street market in Freeport is probably the best provisioning market I have ever been to.

Call Brewers and ask for Kristen. Tell her I sent you.

And I totally agree about Yorlk. Don't even bother.

dscribner · Sep 7, 2010

How about on the Saco River? Marsden's Marina is about 20 minutes up river. We launch from Marblehead, just a couple of minutes closer to open water. It's enough time to batten the hatches or fluff the pillows, as the mood dictates.

chuckwayne · Sep 7, 2010

I'll second what Roger said-Casco is fantastic for exploring, and there's really no place to go from York. In any case, you won't get a spot in York-we live there, and the waiting list is forever. In the past 10 years, I've moved from #73 to #56-and other residents will their spots to their kids.
S. Freeport would be a better spot to try.
Also, talk to your wife about the slip-mine loves it!
Chuck

Roger Long · Sep 8, 2010

I just read your OP more carefully. Are you going to be in Newburyport next summer and are trying to get in one more season of being based in Maine? If you can't find anything in Casco Bay or the Saco River (an excellent suggestion BTW), Cape Elizabeth has no waiting lists. It's far from ideal, you have to car top your dinghy and park on a beach that you need to vacate before nightfall. Protection is poor and you would need to move your boat into a protected area of Casco Bay in storms and stay on it. About all it has to offer is availability. The moorings are off a great swimming beach and state park and all of Casco Bay and Portland are just around the corner.

I happen to know the harbormaster, he's my alter ego, at least until the end of the year or next spring when I have to give up the job to start more serious cruising.

If it's just for one season, you won't save much having a mooring installed vs. a marina. I was at Aspasia for three seasons and it's OK if you just want a dock and power and don't care about things like showers and heads ashore. You can get fuel, water, and ice right next door. It's pretty embarrassing to bring guests to though.

Maine Sail · Sep 8, 2010

chuckwayne said:
I'll second what Roger said-Casco is fantastic for exploring, and there's really no place to go from York. In any case, you won't get a spot in York-we live there, and the waiting list is forever. In the past 10 years, I've moved from #73 to #56-and other residents will their spots to their kids.
S. Freeport would be a better spot to try.
Also, talk to your wife about the slip-mine loves it!
Chuck

Chuck,

A very good friend of mine owns a large chunk of Bragdon Island smack dab in the middle of York Harbor, tons of waterfront, and even he can't get another mooring despite having plenty of swing room just off his own dock for one. Oh and he used to keep & sail his Niagra 35 in Rockport Harbor not York...

chuckwayne · Sep 8, 2010

Wow! and it's even worse in Pepperill cove in Portsmouth, where fishermen have priority-people there actually move backwards on the list if more fishermen get added to the list!

chuckwayne · Sep 9, 2010

Hi Christian,
I didn't mean to scare you away from York! It's a beautiful harbor-If I'm heading south I always try to stopover-but you have to radio the harbormaster from the entrance bouy to see if they have a transient space. I'm guessing it would take you about an hour to an hour and a quarter to get to Portland from newburyport-when I had my Hunter 29.5 at Windward it could take almost that long to get out of the river! While moorings may seem expensive in Portland the slips aren't that much more-and you can be under sail in less than 5 minutes. We actually live in Reading, MA and find the commute is worth it-1 3/4 hours door to door.
Chuck

Gail R · Sep 14, 2010

I'm coming into this wicked late, but will pipe in anyway.

Grew up in York, still have family there. I wasn't a sailor growing up, but will still echo what others have said: York is no place to keep a boat. The sailors there keep their boats in Casco and Penobscot Bays.

We keep our boat in Freeport. In addition to Brewers, Strouts Point also rents both slips and moorings. If you live in town long enough you get a mooring permit and can set your own (took us six years, I'm told the wait is even longer now for residents, and infinity for non-residents).

Last I heard, both Brewers and Strouts moorings were full up with wait lists, but that may have changed in the past couple years in this economy. But call them both. Now is NOT too early to be doing that.