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Old 18-03-2012, 20:03   #16
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Re: Heading to Washington DC area & need advice on liveaboards

Following is from personal experience 2005-2006. Fairfax County Marinas will not allow liveaboards. Most places stated no more than 3 nights a week. Quantico will allow you to stay aboard but you must have a shore side mailing address. Problem with Quantico is it is small and waiting list is fairly long. During the winter months a number of Quantico slips are empty due to the boats going south. If you get on the list it is sometimes possible to get a slip in quantico October until end of March but then you need to move. Quantic docks were rebuilt after Isabel but were built substandard for being on the Potomac river. With a 17 mile or so fetch up the river it can become very uncomfortable when the weather turns nasty. Most marinas in the area with no current or circulation have de-icing circulators which keep the water moving to prevent hard freezing but the water is cold enough that a reverse cycle A/C/Heat pump will not have any heat to exchnage. Need a number of either electric ceramic blocks or a diesel heater. Plus side to Quantico is it is only a 3 minute walk through Q-Town to the VRE/Amtrak if you work in DC. Another quiet and not too far from DC Marina is Fort Washington Marina in Maryland. Their docks just rebuilt a couple years ago and it is about 10 minutes from WW Bridge. I worked in Skyline and averaged 30 minutes drive going in around 0630 and 0700. Problem with Maryland is they want 5 or 6 % excise tax from you if you want to have your boat there more than 6 months out of the year. Actually if you have it there more than 30 days they try to collect it and then will issue you a decal. I also stayed in Woodbridge at the Belmont Bay Marina for 3 months but had to stay as a transient 30 days at a whack. I would trip up to Quantico and talk to dockmaster as early as possible for update information and getting on the waiting list. Oh and last important item is that up there they generally all want a lease and they pay the marina bill by season, ie winter and summer, so other than Quantico which is monthly, expect to shell out a couple thousand to move in. Good Luck
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Old 19-03-2012, 15:08   #17
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Re: Heading to Washington DC area & need advice on liveaboards

If you are going to liveaboard while working at Quantico, many of the places suggested thus far will be a horrible commute to the base. Now if you are talking about living aboard AFTER you leave the service, the Chesapeake has 5000 miles of coastline with plenty of marinas.
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Old 19-03-2012, 15:52   #18
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Reedville, Kinsale and areas of the Northern Neck are possibilities.
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Old 19-03-2012, 16:05   #19
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Re: Heading to Washington DC area & need advice on liveaboards

Welcome to the East Coast! I cant tell you much on the DC marinas, sounds like you're getting plenty of help there...but if you are looking after DC I second the comment above about the Chesapeake coast! Beautiful, lots of things to see and do, love this area!
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Old 05-06-2012, 12:57   #20
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Re: Heading to Washington DC area & need advice on liveaboards

Hi, Marine! There aren't, AFAIK, any liveaboard-friendly marinas within reasonable commuting distance of Quantico. (But, one place to check is just up the river at Rippon Landing, between Quantico and Woodbridge. The main drawback there is the low clearance railway bridge at the marina entrance. Power boats only.) The Kinsale and Reedville marinas are very nice, but IMO are too far from base. My advice would be to live on base (or in a small apartment nearby in Stafford) during your assignment. While stationed here, save as much as possible and search the area for boats and marinas to move into after your discharge. There is a wonderful annual boat show in October at Annapolis.
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Old 06-06-2012, 10:59   #21
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Re: Heading to Washington DC area & need advice on liveaboards

Quote:
Originally Posted by GeoPowers View Post
I don't think the marinas near Woodbridge or the Occoquan are live aboard friendly, plus I'm pretty sure they regularly freeze up for a good part of most winters ( but not this one).


Frank

I was in woodbridge checking out marinas and this one had people living aboard in November. I noticed that the washateria was inexpensive.



EZ Cruz Marina
16245 Neabsco Road
Woodbridge, VA 22191

(703) 670-8115

ezcruz.com

I think I checked and could put my boat 22 foot in for less than 200 month.
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Old 06-06-2012, 15:20   #22
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Re: Heading to Washington DC area & need advice on liveaboards

Maybe here? Home Page Tantallon Marina on the upper Potomac. They welcome liveaboards, and, you'd be commuting in the opposite direction from most traffic.

The only way to get into Gangplank is to buy a boat for sale that already has liveaboard priviledges; or wait forever for a slip. Or go to Annapolis and spend a lot of time commuting (a.k.a. looking at brake lights on the Beltway).
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Old 06-06-2012, 19:22   #23
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Do you plan on sail or power? Not sure where your coming from but commuting takes on a completely new definition up here. Plan where you live very careful....i/e reverse commute is good. Feel free to PM me if you want.
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Old 09-07-2012, 19:51   #24
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Re: Heading to Washington DC area & need advice on liveaboards

I know this is a couple of months old and don't know how you've done in your search but with lots of experience living in DC as a liveaboard I'll give you my two cents worth. EZ Cruz and Tantallon are dumps and I won't recommend them to anyone. Tantallon rebuilt their docks but no services and a really, really horrible commute to get in and out of there at rush hour. If you check Deale, Md there are several there, Shipwright being the most resonable, and with the new Wilson Bridge express routes the communte to Quantico isn't bad. The Gangplank in DC is quite nice but you'll have to buy a boat already qualified as a liveaboard. The best bet to do that is to contact Joe at Gladys Marine, he sells boats at the Gangplank and knows the ins and outs of getting in there.

If you get into the Gangplank you can leave an "old beater" of a car at the Springfield Metro station, walk the 1 and a 1/2 blocks to the metro, then take the metro to Springfield and have an easy drive to Quantico right down 95.

Any other questions PM me and I'll be glad to provide answers. I lived aboard in DC and Annapolis so know the ins and outs of the different marinas in the area.

If you are a sailor you definitely want to be on the Chesapeake, we had a 42 in Annapolis when the drive was horrible but the sailing was worth it. You have your priorities and need to adjust accordingly like we did.

Northern Virginia has a lot of rules against liveaboards and if you get caught as a "sneak aboard" you'll have to find another marina that day. Not worth the aggravation in my opinion. Also, Fort Washington in DC is on Federal land and is not allowed to have live aboards, some managers have permitted them but when caught they got fired and the people got kicked out. So be careful of marinas on Federal land, the Gangplank is on Federal land but has some kind of clause in their contract to allow it. Although DC has tried, and failed, to crack down on it.
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