Chesapeake Bay yard

[hildegard78]

Hello,

I was thinking to leave my boat in the Chesapeake for 4/6 months.
What is your favourite yard over there?
Thanks!!!!

[T37Chef]

There are hundreds of marinas to choose from so more details would help in making a good recommendation For example, are you looking for a resort type marine, a DIY marina, yacht club, close to ___, in MD or VA, small town or big city, budget, etc etc etc...

That said Herrington Harbor Marina, both South and North are two of the "best of the bay" and well known (Good PR) and pretty different in themselves.

Good luck

[PalmettoSailor]

Originally Posted by hildegard78

Hello,

I was thinking to leave my boat in the Chesapeake for 4/6 months.
What is your favourite yard over there?
Thanks!!!!

There will be no shortage of opinon on this topic, but if proximity to the boat is not an issue I'd strongly recommend, looking in to boat yards in the area of Deltaville, VA.

It seems rates go up both further up or down the bay from Deltaville. There are several boat yards in the area to consider including Schroders Yacht Systems, Deltaville Boatyard, Zimmerman Marine, Chesapeake Marine Railway and several others.

I've used Schroders and Deltaville boat yard. I had some issues with Deltaville boat yard regarding doing work I hadn't discussed with them and billing me for "planning" and lack of planning (like a hour to drive 15 minutes to fetch a halyard they should have known they'd need since the plan was formed while I was paying them for anothe job). Anyway, others have had better experinces with them. I've never really had an issue with Schroeders the times I've used them. Don't really have experience with the others but wanted to let you know they were there so you could do your own due diligence.

Good Luck,

Bill
s/v Palmetto Moon
Herrington Harbor South, MD
formerly Stingray Point, VA

[Ulladh]

From previous posts, I understand you will be leaving the boat to return to Italy for a while.
Perhaps base the search for a marina on proximity and ease of access by airport limo to an international airport. Baltimore and Annapolis are both close to Baltimore Washington International (BWI).

[hildegard78]

thanks Midlifesailor, T37chef, Ulladh.
i want to leave my boat in chesapeake to go back in Italy for 4/6 months.
I was thinking about have the boat on the ground, but also a marina if is safe can be an alternative.
my boat is a 33' steel sloop,i'm sailing on a budget but the boat's safety is my priority!
When i will be back i would like to paint the bottom and other small jobs (if is not to cold!!) and sail south.
for sure near an airport could be great, but i don't mind if another place is safer/cheaper.
i friend told me thath Annapolis is quite expensive and he suggested me to go to Solomon Island.
thanks again
Roberto

[T37Chef]

If you want to be close (less than 30 minutes) to an airport and plan to leave her on the hard I would suggest some places around Baltimore, more specifically in Pasadena on the Magothy or Patapsco rivers. There are several good marinas on Rock Creek off the Patapsco that allow DIY work, White Rocks Marina, Fairview Marina, and where we are...Oak Harbor. There are also several North of the Patapsco near North Point. There are few marinas for sailboats on the North Shore of the Magothy, one you might try is Atlantic Marina (formally called Gibson Island Marina and before that it was Pleasure Cove Marina) on Grays Creek behind Dobbins Island...I know they are not full and would probably offer a good rate.

My $.02

[chef2sail]

Oak Harbor if you are doing it by yourself...Harbor Haven is the cheapest, but on the other side of the bay not near an airport

[SaltyMonkey]

Generally, what are the best DIY yacht yards in the Chesapeake area - balance price w/ location to parts? I've used Jabin's in the past - 15 or so years ago.

[T37Chef]

I don't know what the "best" is but within 5 minutes of Oak Harbor Marina in Pasadena is:

• Cobe Marine: good for engine parts. I recently went in a found they had a 1980 era W50 bent hose in stock
• West Marine: not a big store but has the usual stuff you forget to order, a small sailing section, and decent staff, very friendly
• ACE Hardware: amazing selection of stainless nuts & bolts, cheap propane refill, paint stuff, etc.
• Machine Shop: about two miles down mountain road

I can pretty much find anything I need at those places and whatever else I need I can order through Ken Browman, Oak Harbor Marina Owner with over 40 years in the business, "if he doesn't know who to get it from he knows someones who does" Oak Harbor has an excellent mechanic on site, Nelson Anderson of Anderson Marine, Kens son does rigging. All the guys and Ken at Oak Harbor are sailors, a big plus IMO.

Herrington Harbor North has great facilities for DIY with a West Marine on site and pretty much any other marine repair shop that one would need, but I have never had any work done there except launching our new to us boat (we purchased it from a broker at HHN)

[hildegard78]

thanks a lot everybody.
i sent few (a lot of) mail.

chef you live a board of your Tartan in Oak Harbor??