2014 Summer Cruise to Maine

[Fuujin]

I'm afraid that is based on my experience of a few years ago in Camden but I think it is still true. Rockland has no wait list, you just get permission from the harbor master, pay as I said about $1500 for a diver to put one in and then pay the yearly excise tax (I pay $80/yr. on a 34' boat). You see a lot of Camden boats moored there. I don't know of any other harbors with a list that long but I would guess Rockport might as well, very pretty harbor. Not sure about Belfast but would check it out. Cheers S/V Fuujin

[Seagull111]

Belfast has no waiting period for moorings. If you reside in Belfast your mooring is $60 a year to the city. You supply your own mooring built to town standards and place chosen by the harbormaster. There are at least 4 mooring service folks who will build, service and place your mooring. Moorings must be inspected every 2 years. We use granite blocks ( usually 2000-4000 pounds) and chain. Cost is around $1500 for all new parts. Resident mooring owners get free dinghy dock, non res pay a fee. Contact the Harbormaster first and she will guide you through the whole process. There are some seasonal docks available from the city, Front Street Shipyard, and Consumers Fuel Co. Most city dockage is for transient use.

[Tim R.]

That is not common in most Maine harbors. Camden is a yachting magnet and has limited space. You should have no problem finding something near where you plan to locate. Any specifics on location and I can give you more info.

[TOYoung]

Originally Posted by Laffangurl

Thanks seagull and toyoung! We've looked in Belfast and Camden, as noted different personalities! Walked all over Belfast, one house was tempting and close enough to walk to water and few in Camden also. Still have one in school so that's a differentiator also.
How hard is it to get space for boat? I understand is moorings only, only brief docking. I'm more used to marina docks, will take getting used to!
What's the biggest differences in the harbours?
Thanks!

Schools; Rockland, Belfast and Camden/Rockport are each separate school systems. All three systems are good, you'll want to check out each yourself to decide what looks best to you.

We put our 2 kids through the Camden/Rockport system and were very pleased. There are many leading programs in the CRS system that we wanted available.

Schools and strong realestate values(I'm a design builder-don't worry, I don't need anymore work ), were primary reasons for us to choose this area of the coast.

Realestate is tricky! The good news is, this is a good time to buy(I believe). Have a long term plan in mind.

Harbors; The info here is accurate. Rockland is the better protected of the three(Camden Rockport)harbors that are fairly close. Waiting lists vary and you'll want to update each. An important thing to know, if you're considering Camden or Rockport Harbor, you can put yourself on the waiting list now for about 15.00 /year. You don't need to be a resident to be on the waiting list(or to have a mooring in our harbors). Depending upon many factors, you may get a mooring sooner than you think.

Rockport is sleepy! We get a handful of transient boats each season(I walk to the harbor several times a day, all year round). Getting dockspace to load-unload is still no problem.

Our mooring fees are around 150/ season. I store my boat right on the public landing(38' storage 400.00). We have a strong lobstering side which keeps public costs and access affordable. "We" own most of the land around Rockport Harbor and enjoy the parks, beach, trails,picnic tables(we locals have regular "Harborques,...), and the best scenic walks around(I'm partial, of course).

I personally think the benefit to keeping your boat in this area, are the prevailing winds and the lay of Penobscot Bay.

That is what is unique. It's no secret why there is a strong historic Schooner trade out of this area that continues today. Wind power. Many of these boats are engineless and use the prevailing winds to make circuitous week long treks out of here, mostly under sail. That's not easy to do out of most coastal harbors and we have sailed the entire east coast a couple of times.

It's a tough choice to those looking to relocate in this area. In my biz and life, I meet a lot of people that go through that. I caution anyone to get a real sense of each choice and not make a quick decision. It's not unusual to move to this area and soon find out you want to move to someplace nearby(for instance, do you want to walk to most everything or spend a lot of time driving).

One more thing, if you don't enjoy winter recreation(we have the local town owned Camden Snowbowl that our kids grew up at), consider what winter will mean to you. Winter on the coast of Maine is great or miserable, it just depends on the person.

[TOYoung]

Originally Posted by MooGroc

You mentioned a 10 year wait for a mooring. Is that common at other harbors in Maine? We're thinking of retiring somewhere in mid-coast
Maine and wonder how hard/expensive it will be to find a place to moor.

It depends on where. Many have no lists, some do. I would say compared to points south, overall, you're much more likely to find affordable space for your boat nearby. There are always areas in the midcoast to keep your boat or even have a mooring installed, you may have to drive there if you don't locate nearby.

Many relocating to this area will rent space from a commercial marina/boat service for a season or two until they get a mooring or decide where they want to keep their boat.