Liveaboard Marinas around Chesapeake Bay (Baltimore or Annapolis Area)

[wingNwing]

If you are in your car at or before 6:00 AM, the trip in on 50 is usually quite fast; I passed the Pentagon in just under an hour. Coming home again was a different issue, depending on what your work hours are, it could take anywhere from 1-3 hours. OTOH, when it comes time to go sailing from Annapolis, it might take 10 minutes from the time you leave your slip to the time you cut the motor - its all about tradeoffs. Bus/metro is the other option if your work hours are fairly regular, there's a commuter bus to the orange metro at New Carrolton and another that goes directly into downtown DC. Our particular marina is a working boatyard with a good liveaboard community; check out Port Annapolis and Bert Jabins' for slips in your size.

[RunningRabbit]

Just an update re: Pentagon commute: I met someone currently making the commute from Port Annapolis to Pentagon and he said it is under an hour drive for him.

[DSDman]

Hey thats not bad, wonder of it is both ways. I think I have checked out every possible place online and now I will start the leg work. I'll be sure to update this once the decision is made and the actual commute starts...could be informative to future generations.

[trh2h]

Originally Posted by DSDman

Hey thats not bad, wonder of it is both ways. I think I have checked out every possible place online and now I will start the leg work. I'll be sure to update this once the decision is made and the actual commute starts...could be informative to future generations.

Yes please update I am in a similar situation and would be curious what you are able to find.

Does anybody have a list of Annapolis and Baltimore marinas that have dockside winter water?

[Doodles]

Originally Posted by RunningRabbit

Just an update re: Pentagon commute: I met someone currently making the commute from Port Annapolis to Pentagon and he said it is under an hour drive for him.

LOL ... No **@ting way! Maybe at midnight, but during rush hour at least an hour and a half. Twenty years ago I lived aboard at a marina in Deale, Mayland, which is the closest marina to Washington and still on the CB. I worked in Rosslyn, VA next to the Pentagon and an hour commute was a good day way back then and the traffic has at least doubled since then. Annapolis is a whole different story.

[jpsgirl96]

I drove to Rosslyn every work day for two years, first from a house very near Annapolis Landing on Back Creek and then from a house at Castle Harbor Marina on Kent Island on the east side of the Bay Bridge. The Kent Island location adds only 10-12 minutes to the commute, because of the much shorter distance to Route 50. If course, the bridge can have its own traffic issues, especially on Mondays and Fridays in season.
The very shortest time is indeed about one hour, or even a minute or two less, at the very lightest (very early, say 0630, or much later, say after 1000). A normal commute, in traffic, nothing bad like an accident or bad weather, was more like an hour and a half or so. And there were days - especially coming home - that it could easy take two hours, much of it just getting out of the District. And once in a while, it took even longer.
It was worth it to me to be close to the boat - we had originally kept her at Solomon's, lived in DC, and drove there on weekends - but no one should underestimate the time or the aggravation of a commute to DC/NOVA from Annapolis or the Eastern Shore.

[RunningRabbit]

Re: Winter water: Annapolis Landing and Port Annapolis offer winter water that is sunk into the mud so that the hose does not freeze. I believe each dock has at least one connection and you have to go pull it up from the mud, fill your tank, and then re-sink. Both of the marinas I've been at in Eastport this winter have a spigot ashore that remains operational during winter and you either link hoses or use a very long hose to reach your tank to fill. The latter seems to be the more common arrangement. I pick the warmest possible day and "walk" the entire length of hose over my head when I'm done so there is no water left in the hose when I store it.

Re: Commute to DC: In the past 3 years I have commuted daily to DC both from Manassas, VA and from Annapolis. The commute time depends mostly on what time you leave and how fast you drive. I regularly drove 85 to 95 mph on 50 and on the DC beltway (folks were still passing me btw). If trying to be at a desk at 9AM, your commute could easily be two hours. That is why many, many folks work much earlier or later. If you start work at 7AM and leave by 3:30PM you can hit the "sweet spot" coming from Annapolis and your commute each way really is an hour. If you leave DC between 5PM and 6:30PM expect a two-hour commute, more if it's a Friday in summer (due to Ocean City traffic). I either worked a very early day or I left Annapolis at 9AM, arrived in DC by 10AM and then left DC at 6:30PM or 7PM. Both options gave me a 1-hour drive each way as long as no rain or snow freaking everyone out.

[trh2h]

OP -- Any updates on your search and situtation?

[DSDman]

I'm not the OP but I have done a lot of leg work on this and I will be at Herrington Harbor South. 35 mile commute, according to time of day dependent, but for me it should take just under an hour. HHN would have been first choice but they didn't have room for me. national Harbor would have worked but it is just expensive and very commercial and not convenient, bath and laundry are blocks away as is parking. Gangplank not taking any more long term until new docks are complete. Tantallon, shallow and not much there. No place in Virginia that I could find.

[zengirl]

Originally Posted by markpierce

Must be nice ....

In my part of the country there are waiting lists for those aspiring to be liveaboards as they are typically limited to 10 percent of the berths. However, a portion of the "liveaboards" I've met at my marina are "transients" making a temporary stop for weeks or months and months.

Move to the East Coast! hahaha I love southern Cal, but for ease of live aboard it's the EC.

[pickpaul]

You can buy a slip at anchorage in Baltimore with liveaboard status for less than $10k with coop fees of under $400 a quarter! The commercial traffic isn't a real issue due to the width of the harbor. College Park is a straight shot down I95.

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[TMT2]

DSDMan...We live aboard at HHS...I commute daily to Springfield (DC) (Edsall Rd)...at 6AM - trip is about 35 mins (of course with the metro problems this year I've seen some jams brewing more frequently). Evening commute at 3:30 is tolerable 70 mins average. After 7:30 PM...it gets better.

We were in Tantallon with a 53 footer (5ft draft) for 2-years...I'd rather do the commute than do another year there...too much drama.

Happy to share experiences at HHS with you if needed....PM me.

TMT2

[RickG]

Old thread, but I keep coming back to it.

I spoke with Gangplank in DC today. They permit liveaboard cruisers, but not after October 2016 and likely not in 2017 due to construction. No transients on the dock at all after October 2016. They have installed moorings in the Washington Channel and that is charged daily.

We're looking at Deale and the options look like Herrington Harbor North/South or Shipwright. We'd love to do Annapolis, but getting to NoVa, DCA, IAD for work is a factor.

Cheers, RickG

[Auspicious]

I spent some time at the Gangplank a while back (2008 I think). I expected more from the location than I got. Very long walks to get out of the marina, difficult parking, a dodgy neighborhood, and a substandard local grocery. The marina itself is (or was pre-construction) quite nice as marinas go.

Herrington Harbour (North and South) is lovely. There aren't much in the way of living amenities in the area. Local restaurants and shops are limited and have funny hours. In my mind HHN and HHS are great places to keep a boat or for a transient visit. Not my choice for living aboard. Of course everyone's priorities are their own.

For a DC/NOVA commuter I would move back to Galesville or perhaps to Shady Side.

[DSDman]

Update, I lived at HHS for 1 full year. Commuted to the Pentagon. The marina was great, the liveaboard situation was great. Bath house close, docks cleaned after snows, fairly protected. Restaurant at marina good, summer was really nice for the family. Good sailing right out in the bay.

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