Recommend a parking place for a trip to Block Island?

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Joe A

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Feb 4, 2008
117
Macgregor 26S Lake Wallenpaupack / EastCoast
Can anyone recommend a safe place to park a truck and trailer near Stonington CT, or anywhere within a day's sailing distance to Block Island? I am hoping to trailer up from the Philadelphia area for a visit later this summer. Any advise would be appreciated.
 
Dec 3, 2003
2,101
Hunter Legend 37 Portsmouth, RI
Use a Boat Yard and they won't charge you.

In fact they may let you launch it anway. I good place in Stonington is Dodson's Boat Yard.
 

BarryL

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May 21, 2004
1,067
Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 409 Mt. Sinai, NY
Spicer's

Hello, You should give Spicer's Marina in Noank a try. http://www.spicersmarina.com/ good luck, Barry
 

Joe A

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Feb 4, 2008
117
Macgregor 26S Lake Wallenpaupack / EastCoast
Thank you

Thanks very much Barry and Paul. I'll start planning and I hope the trip becomes a reality.
 
Feb 26, 2007
15
Beneteau 361 Punta Gorda, FL
Barn Island might work too

Another possibility is the Barn Island State Boat Launch between Stonington and Pawcatuck in Connecticut. When we owned a MacGregor 26X, we used that ramp frequently and it is excellent. We left the vehicle and trailer there overnight several times with no problem. Only problems: - On the weekends, get there really early or later in the day. As one of the nicest ramps in the area, it gets *really* crowded, so you want to get there before everybody else or after the fishermen are pulling out and space opens up. We screwed up once and got there at 10am and there was no space at all. Ended up launching from downtown Westerly and going down the Pawcatuck to the ocean (a beautiful, but long, trip, by the way). - Really skinny water (3ft - 5ft). We had no problems with the MacGregor whatsoever, but I've never had the nerve to go near there with the Beneteau. - A lot of traffic from people launching and retrieving, so don't spend a lot of time in one of the three launch ramps. In other words, rig the boat up the parking lot and then back down to launch. And be prepared to move while you are rigging, since you'll be blocking several other people in (who invariably arrive while you are raising your mast!). Other than that, it is a great jumping off point for going anywhere in that area - Mystic, up the Pawcatuck, Fisher Island, Block Island - they are all pretty close.
 

jviss

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Feb 5, 2004
7,089
Tartan 3800 20 Westport, MA
Really?

"Use a Boat Yard and they won't charge you. In fact they may let you launch it anway. I good place in Stonington is Dodson's Boat Yard." I find this response puzzling. When I was in Stonnington two years ago, having sailed in, we landed our dinghy at Dodsons, I think - the boat yard had a restaurant called the Boom, I think. Anyway, it seemed to me that parking for anything, never mind a car with a trailer attached, was tough. What makes you think they will launch it "anyway" (whatever that means), and not charge you?
 
Feb 26, 2007
15
Beneteau 361 Punta Gorda, FL
re: Really?

""Use a Boat Yard and they won't charge you. In fact they may let you launch it anway. I good place in Stonington is Dodson's Boat Yard." I find this response puzzling. When I was in Stonnington two years ago, having sailed in, we landed our dinghy at Dodsons, I think - the boat yard had a restaurant called the Boom, I think. Anyway, it seemed to me that parking for anything, never mind a car with a trailer attached, was tough. What makes you think they will launch it "anyway" (whatever that means), and not charge you?" Yeah, I thought that was odd too. My experience has been that boat yard's charge for *everything*, lol. Also, many of the boat yards I'm familiar with don't have traditional launch ramps anyway - they have a travel lift or railway and you'll almost certainly get charged a short-haul fee. One marina that did have a regular boat ramp is Greenhaven in Pawcatuck, but I don't know if they are willing to let non-members park overnight. By the way, my Barn Island link above got mangled somehow - just search for "Barn Island Boat Launch Connecticut" and you'll find the official state site.
 
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