Dockage in Baltimore

[holtcl]

Dear Folks,

Does anyone have ideas on a good place to keep the boat in Baltimore inner harbor? I am thinking about the possibility of moving Cinderella there for a few months this winter. Areas of priority for me are security, parking, availability of winter water, and reasonably close distance to Federal Hill area. Thanks in advance for your ideas.

Cheryl
Cinderella
1971 53MY

 

[GJH]

I know a couple of liveaboards who have been very happy at Anchorage Marina in the Canton district. We visited one set of them there and it is a nice neighborhood. Worth checking out.

 

[utspak]

Might check activecaptain.com and read the reviews.

Stuart

 

[jim rosenthal]

Anchorage is nice. Not cheap, but nice facilities and not too far from UMD. I lived there in the eighties, in my pre-Hatteras days....

 

[bobk]

Henderson's Wharf will be among the cheaper ones and has liveaboards in the summer... not sure about the winter. But their power is 208V and it will drop to 195V when there are loads on the system.

Bobk

 

[SeaEric]

Availability of Winter water will be the variable. I'd get on the horn and find out who has that, and go from there.

 

[holtcl]

Thanks all- this is helpful. Anchorage said they had filled their "quota" of liveaboards and were not accepting any more at this time. This was in response to my statement that I "like to stay on my boat sometimes"-

BMC Inner Harbor is nice but the rates are more than I believe I am willing to go.

The gentleman I spoke with at Tidewater was very nice on the phone and sent me some info by email. I plan to ride up for a visit in the next few days.

Winter water is key. I generally fill 1-2 times per week depending on how much laundry I am doing. The other biggie is getting Diesel the Doberman on and off the boat and I have to situate the ladder for him.

Cheryl
Cinderella
1971 53 MY

 

[GJH]

Do you have to be in the inner harbor?

 

[holtcl]

Thanks- I'd prefer to be, but am open minded- are there other options that you are thinking of?

Thanks,

Cheryl
Cinderella
1971 53 MY

 

[GJH]

Thanks- I'd prefer to be, but am open minded- are there other options that you are thinking of?

Thanks,

Cheryl
Cinderella
1971 53 MY

The first couple of years i had the boat, we spent a lot of time at Anchor Bay East in Dundalk. That's where the boat was when we bought it and I and the PO had a variety of work done on it there. I lived on the boat for a month or so there after I bought it and we always returned there on our trips north and south. The marina and town are pretty solidly blue collar middle class. There is a nice little cafe on site and plenty of stores and services nearby. It is easy to get into Baltimore proper and the more upscale suburbs; in that respect we really liked the location. We considered keeping the boat there one winter but decided to come on down to NC.

Anyway, go check it out and see if you like it or they have a place; it is a family owned run operation by the Cox's. The only drawback is that it is hard by a railroad that has slow trains twice a day to the nearby Sparrows Point steel mill, and when the wind is blowing the wrong way, you get can some soot from the mill a mile or two away, so you have to wash the boat a little more frequently (not as bad as I have made it sound). Just a consideration, I have to admit we have a soft spot for them.

 

[holtcl]

George,

Thanks- that's helpful. It looks nice on the web site. I went to visit Tidewater. It looks like a reasonable facility and the floating docks are nice. Amazing how much more dockage runs in Baltimore than around Kent Island. Perhaps I'll pay them a visit. I kind of had my mind set on walking to the hip areas but we'll see.

Cheryl
Cinderella
1971 53 MY

 

[wndsr]

Cheryl,
We are at Anchorage as well. I wish I would have known you were going to inquire there. There seems to be certain ways to word "staying on your boat". We are not live-aboards but leave it in the water year round and stay on the boat weekends and while doing winter projects. If you are still interested in Anchorage, you may be able to rent directly from a slip holder and get around the live-aboard issue. Unless of course you truly do plan on living on the boat full time. Water is addressed by slip holders stretching a hose from the bulkhead to fill tanks. It isnt too bad because unlike BMC and Tidewater, the slips are a reasonable distance from the water supply.
Hope this helps. You can email me ben@skippersmarine.com if you want any more info.
Ben
"Size Matters"

 

[holtcl]

Thanks Ben- this is helpful. I thought I might come up and poke around a few of these places, figuring there may be the possibility of a winter "sub-lease". Someone who has gone south for the winter would maybe like a few bucks in their pocket rather than paying full for a slip they are not using.

The other one I'm going to check out is Inner Harbor East.

Going for a visit and stomping around is more informative than just taking the person on the phone at face value, but at least on the phone I can get my most basic questions answered.

Cheryl
Cinderella
1971 53 MY

 

[SeaEric]

I kept a boat at Inner Harbor East for several months a few years ago. I really enjoyed my time there. It's a convenient location and the management was top-notch. A good friend of mine lived aboard there for a Winter or two and he liked it a lot.

 

[holtcl]

Eric- outstanding, I'll check it out and report back. Thanks,

Cheryl
Cinderella
1971 53 MY

 

[holtcl]

ok here's the report- talked with Inner Harbor East. They were willing to put me in a 50' slip (for winter) at a very reasonable rate. However, I was told that I "HAD TO" winterize the boat, including engines. When I probed into that, I was told that if I'm not present on the boat, how could I run heat, and if it freezes there would be damage. And if there is a power loss, I would not be allowed to turn on my generator to keep heat on even if I was running heat. I told her it didn't sound like this was going to be a good fit.

And apparently Tidewater doesn't bubble or de-ice (other than the docks) when it freezes.

Sounds like I may be best off staying put...

Cheryl
Cinderella
1971 53 MY

 

[hromberg]

There's also Baltimore Marine Center, just east of the Anchorage. They do winter water via a golf cart with a tank on the back, and make at least some effort to keep the docks clear of ice. Parking is covered in the garage under the condos, and you're a block away from Canton Square. Everything in walking distance and nice facilities. Great little Thai restaurant on the property.

 

[jim rosenthal]

Funny how things haven't changed. The Anchorage wasn't real user-friendly years ago, either. I spent a few decades there, one year.

 

[partgypsy]

We go up there a fair bit as transients.
Anchorage is OK, some of the fairways are a bit tight esp. as there seems to be a strong prevailing breeze. Parking in summer is bad. It is a co-op and you can often find a slip through the Craigslist ads.
Henderson's was recently taken over by Epic. I don't know if what they plan to do with the services and rates. They are a good outfit and that is a great spot.
All the Baltimore Marine Centers offer good amenities. We like Lighthouse Point the best. BMC has packages where you can move the boat around among their various marinas. They are not cheap.
Most of these place are not fully occupied and it is in their best interest to accommodate paying customers.
The Crescent is very cool if you have a smaller boat. It's attached to a nice condo and is not really a "public" marina but they do rent to outsiders. It is very secure and has good parking. It is situated close to Hendersons.
If you go to Baltimore, I believe you will find liveaboards at all the marinas.

 

[holtcl]

"If you go to Baltimore, I believe you will find liveaboards at all the marinas."

That's helpful information- however I did notice that when I did my initial research by phone, when I asked about things like winter water, or mentioned something like "I occasionally stay overnight on the boat", I was immediately told in a couple of cases either that 'we don't accept liveaboards' or they already had their 'quota'. Then when you get up there poking around, the situation is as you state.

Cheryl
Cinderella
1971 53 MY