Marina in Maine - suggestions?

[brwells]

We currently have our GB32 "Amadon Light" in the Merrimack River near Newburyport MA, and after a couple years of dealing with the "Big Mac's" current and mouth, we are going to move her to Maine.

Any one have any experiences (bad and good) or recommendations for full service marinas? In particular we are looking at the Portland to Freeport area.

[thugger]

If you'd like to be in Portland proper, DiMillo's Marina & Restuarant is a good place. It's located on Commercial Street in the middle of the Old Port. Walking distance to a million great restaurants, pubs, shops, etc. Other "full service" yards in Portland would include Portland Yacht Services, Maine Yachting Center, and Southport Marine (actually South Portland).

But if you'd like to be a little further up Casco Bay, consider Handy Boat Yard in Falmouth, or Strouts Point Wharf and Brewers, both in South Freeport. Both have great reputations for service work. We kept Seguin at Strouts Point for 4-5 years, and had a lot of work done by them. Brewers and Strouts Point both offer slips and moorings.

We used to keep our boat in Portland, but found that every time we left the dock, we headed up into Casco Bay. It just made sense for us to keep the boat in that area. Incredible cruising and gunk-holing in Casco Bay.

Cheers,

[brwells]

Thanks for the info. We just spent the day at Handy's and what we saw and heard all seemed good. We also agree that anything further south would not be useful.

We will be trading a 10 minute drive to the boat on the Merrimack (with at least an hour and a half cruise to get out the mouth - then what?) with an hour and a half drive to a place where the cruising will be beautiful and varied almost as soon as we get underway.

Brian

[brwells]

Forgot to add: I see you have the same boat! Have you ever used a marine shop on this coast for teak work?

[thugger]

Strout's Point Wharf in South Freeport is an excellent repair yard. I've had quite a bit of work done on Seguin by Strouts, including rebuilding a portion of the teak deck and a large portion of the bulkhead between the engine room and the lazarette. It was a pretty complicated repair...replacing the plywood underlayment, plus about a foot of teak parkay flooring in the cabin and another 18" or so of teak deck athwartship in the cockpit along the cabin. You can't even tell it was ever repaired!

They specialize in wooden boat repair and maintenance...excellent craftsmen and reasonably priced. On top of that, the whole crew is really great to work with. Ask for Cym Hughes, the general manager.

www.stroutspoint.com

Good luck!

[FrugalWife]

Ahoy, I'm going to throw a monkey wrench into the discussion. I live & keep my boat south of Portland but have spent plenty of time in Casco Bay. Casco Bay is definitely a nice area but busy & congested on summer weekends. When you want to cruise you will almost always head east and go around the corner towards Boothbay & beyond. I would like to suggest you add a little bit more of a drive and position your boat closer to real cruising grounds - Robinhood Marine http://www.robinhoodmarinecenter.com/ It's just off the west side of the Sheepscot River in Riggs Cove. It's a beautiful quiet spot, full service, moorings & slips, lots of parking, and includes a decent restaurant. You are then available to three big rivers, great day trips, easy overnight trips, and only 90 min to the next big bay, Muscongus Bay, and only 3 hours to Penobscot Bay. Plus you can always go right and pop down into Casco Bay for an overnight.

Find yourself a copy of the Maine Cruising Guide. This is the bible for cruising in ME. http://www.mainecoastguide.com/guides.html


Have fun and hope to see you around next season.

[thugger]

Excellent suggestion! Robinhood is a great facility.

As long as you're looking at the Sheepscot region, you might also consider Hodgdon Yacht Services (ex-Boothbay Region Boatyard) in Ebenecook Harbor on Southport Island. We've kept Seguin there for the last two seasons. Very protected harbor that isn't overcrowded in the summer. But if you want crowded, Boothbay Harbor is 40 minutes away via Townsend Gut. Full service yard...slips, moorings, fuel, pumpout, showers, launch service, etc.

www.hodgdonyachtservices.com. Ask for John Vinal, service manager.

Frugalwife's right about the Maine Cruising Guide, too. A must-have!

[brwells]

Thanks for all the suggestions! I ordered the Maine Cruising Guide also.

My wife and I are new (1 year) to the trawler - and boating, unless kayaks count. We have had a nice education being in the Merrimack with its 3+ knot current and "interesting" mouth. We look forward to having only vertical movement of water be the substantial worry. Plus we are not just weekend cruisers and want to be able to get to the boat if only to sit and enjoy the water.

So... we will most likely get it up to Handy before the season ends in a few weeks, enjoy the area next year and then re-evaluate at the end of the season again. It looks like the coast from Portland north has enough interest for a lifetime. We also look forward to cruising down the ICW in a few years.

Hope to see all of you on the water...

[FrugalWife]

Just to note, sitting on board @ Handy's is not always the most pleasant experience ... tends to be a little bit roly.