Recommendations Wanted for Puget Sound Moorage

[Dockmaster]

I'm bringing my boat south from Ketchikan to Puget Sound late August or early Sept. I'm looking for moorage somewhere in Puget Sound while we stage before shipping it to Mexico. I'm not sure how long it will be in Puget, depends on the wait for a slip in Mexico. Likely will be several months if not longer. I live in Portland, OR area so I prefer something in the south sound or the Kitsap side. I would rather not deal with traffic through Seattle and points north of there if I can avoid it. We may do some cruising while it's there but distance to San Juan's is not a concern. I believe finding a slip might be a challenge? I'm 59'4" overall with a 17'6" beam. 50 amp power would be great but I can get by with 30 amp if necessary. Any suggestions on marinas that might fit the bill and have availability? Thank you!

 

[tiltrider1]

Look at Brinnion/Pleasent Harbor. Out of the way for most Washington residents but easy access coming from Portland. Would also call all the Olympia Marinas. Since you are temporarily you might get a sublet from some one in the yard.

You can always put it on the hard in Anacortes if slips get impossible to find.

My understanding is that Shilshole has plenty of 60’ slips but they want $2,000 a month.

 

[Dockmaster]

Look at Brinnion/Pleasent Harbor. Out of the way for most Washington residents but easy access coming from Portland. Would also call all the Olympia Marinas. Since you are temporarily you might get a sublet from some one in the yard.

You can always put it on the hard in Anacortes if slips get impossible to find.

My understanding is that Shilshole has plenty of 60’ slips but they want $2,000 a month.

Excellent- thanks. I’ll check them out. I wasn’t even aware of Pleasant Harbor. Any idea how difficult it is to get service calls over there? I have a few items I want to make sure are corrected before we ship her out.

 

[Portage_Bay]

You'll have to pay travel costs. It takes quite a while to drive there. I'm thinking your best location to bring the techs in from will be Port Townsend. That's about an hour one way.

 

[Patemey]

Call marinas to ask if they have a winter moorage program. Many lease their summer transient guest docks on a monthly basis during the winter months.

 

[Bmarler]

If commuting from Oregon, Olympia makes the most sense. Try swantown marina, or westbay marina. Swantown is more upscale and has a boatyard on site. They also do winter long storage in the yard for doing projects. Gotta get on the list early though.
Tacoma is a bit further north, maybe tyee marina could have space. Pretty heavy industrial area, and some boat repair facilities nearby.

 

[Dockmaster]

If commuting from Oregon, Olympia makes the most sense. Try swantown marina, or westbay marina. Swantown is more upscale and has a boatyard on site. They also do winter long storage in the yard for doing projects. Gotta get on the list early though.
Tacoma is a bit further north, maybe tyee marina could have space. Pretty heavy industrial area, and some boat repair facilities nearby.

Thank you!. I was looking at Olympia marinas online. I’ll give them a call to check availability. I’ll drive further if I have to vs going to Tacoma. I worked on the industrial waterfront there and not a big fan. Although I believe the south side of the FOSS Waterway has improved in recent years?

 

[Bmarler]

Yes, the foss waterway marina, (dock street I think) is really nice. Don’t know the going rate for permanent moorage, but transient has been close to market rate.
There’s a lot of moorage on that waterway, but I don’t have a clue on availability.

 

[heysteve]

What you get for the $$$ at Shilshole is a very nice marina in an ideal location. Fisheries Supply and West Marine are close by along with LOTS of yards and skilled workers. The drive would suck from Portland as you have to go through downtown Seattle. Port Townsend also has skilled workers but just not at the scale of the Seattle ship canal area. If the work you need done is limited, I'd certainly try for Olympia.

 

[Dockmaster]

Look at Brinnion/Pleasent Harbor. Out of the way for most Washington residents but easy access coming from Portland. Would also call all the Olympia Marinas. Since you are temporarily you might get a sublet from some one in the yard.

You can always put it on the hard in Anacortes if slips get impossible to find.

My understanding is that Shilshole has plenty of 60’ slips but they want $2,000 a month.

Thanks for the tip on Pleasant Harbor. I made the drive up and checked it out today. I put my deposit down on a slip there. Nice, scenic little place. Unfortunately, there is little to nothing anywhere around it but the marina has all the necessities. The drive is virtually the same as it would be for me to get to Bremerton. In all reality, likely easier as I should miss the heavy traffic by getting off I-5 at Olympia.
I got on the waitlist at Bremerton Marina as well. I missed a slip there by a few days. I’m first on the list so we’ll see what happens. Worst case is I have another option if my number comes up in Bremerton. I think I called at least a dozen marinas and these were the only ones with a 60’ slip available that I could find.

 

[Diep]

As a fellow Oregonian I will caution you to be up on the vessel registration requirements. I say this since your stay is open ended and don't want you get get caught out needing to register (sales and use tax).

You may need to keep Astoria or BC locations in your back pocket. Jan/Feb would not be an ideal time to realize you need to move to OR on short notice.

 

[Dockmaster]

As a fellow Oregonian I will caution you to be up on the vessel registration requirements. I say this since your stay is open ended and don't want you get get caught out needing to register (sales and use tax).

You may need to keep Astoria or BC locations in your back pocket. Jan/Feb would not be an ideal time to realize you need to move to OR on short notice.

Good counsel for sure. I hadn’t even considered this until the marinas starting asking about it. I need to research what my max time allowed in WA state is. This may prompt me to accelerate my final destination of Mexico quicker than desired.

 

[SeaDogAK]

Good counsel for sure. I hadn’t even considered this until the marinas starting asking about it. I need to research what my max time allowed in WA state is. This may prompt me to accelerate my final destination of Mexico quicker than desired.

There is a “loophole” allowing you to keep your boat in WA tax free for a longer period of time if you’re actively having work done on it. I used this — truthfully and legally — a few years ago after we bought our boat in WA and had it in Anacortes getting work done for a number of months before bringing it to AK.

 

[Dockmaster]

There is a “loophole” allowing you to keep your boat in WA tax free for a longer period of time if you’re actively having work done on it. I used this — truthfully and legally — a few years ago after we bought our boat in WA and had it in Anacortes getting work done for a number of months before bringing it to AK.

Good to know, I'll look for that if needed. Looks like I'm good for 120 days without much trouble. It's 60 days with an option for a 60 day extension.

 

[lwarden]

You can also buy a cruising permit in WA which lasts a year and costs $500. We did that and it worked out well. You do need to keep the boat out of WA for 2 years which wasn’t a problem for us since we were moving the boat to CA.

 

[NWboater2]

Delin docks in the south end the foss is nice. Not sure about availability of 60’ slips. Dock street and foss harbor also in the foss, on the city side.

 

[Dockmaster]

Delin docks in the south end the foss is nice. Not sure about availability of 60’ slips. Dock street and foss harbor also in the foss, on the city side.

FOSS said 5+ year wait for a 60’ slip. I didn’t try Delin.

 

[greg_c]

We are in Everett -- they've done a lot of work there the past few years on the waterfront. Lots of restaurants, breweries, etc.

Good service facilities. Fuel. Pump outs....

You could argue its a bit expensive, but we're happy there.

 

[Kaniksu]

FOSS said 5+ year wait for a 60’ slip. I didn’t try Delin.

Have you contacted Port of Brownsville? It is a good spot tucked in behind Bainbridge Island about 6 miles by water from Bremerton/Port Orchard

 

[Dockmaster]

We are in Everett -- they've done a lot of work there the past few years on the waterfront. Lots of restaurants, breweries, etc.

Good service facilities. Fuel. Pump outs....

You could argue its a bit expensive, but we're happy there.

I agree that Everett is much improved over last several years. But the drive for me would be a killer coming from Oregon.

 

[AlaskaProf]

FOSS said 5+ year wait for a 60’ slip. I didn’t try Delin

My info is somewhat dated, but I was at Foss for a couple years ending in summer of 2018, commuting "bi-coastally from Southern Oregon. At that time, Delin had a lot of space and the docks were much newer/nicer than Foss The location and shore facilities were less desirable, but if it is simply "parking space" you are seeking, they are worth a contact.

 

[NWboater2]

I didn’t catch the Oregon access part. I would for sure consider Olympia or west side. Way less traffic, underrated cruising ground if you are going to use the boat at all. Good luck!

 

[Dockmaster]

I didn’t catch the Oregon access part. I would for sure consider Olympia or west side. Way less traffic, underrated cruising ground if you are going to use the boat at all. Good luck!

Thanks. I have a slip reserved at Pleasant Harbor. It’s in the middle of nowhere but a nice place. Drive is same to there as Bremerton but less traffic as I get off I-5 in Olympia and head up the west side of Hood Canal.

 

[captobie]

Since you’re in Portland have you considered bringing the boat down to the river instead? Moorage is much cheaper down here than just about anywhere on Puget Sound, and more readily available as well.

 

[SteveK]

Have you investigated the Sydney BC marinas. Victoria airport is nearby. The yards have the tradespeople and your dollar buys more. Look into a flight instead of a drive.

 

[Dockmaster]

Since you’re in Portland have you considered bringing the boat down to the river instead? Moorage is much cheaper down here than just about anywhere on Puget Sound, and more readily available as well.

Good thought and I considered that as well. I actually have a place in Portland on the Willamette where I could moore at no cost. The problem is I have to go back up to Victoria in late October to load on the transport ship. The fuel to go back and forth is more expensive than the slip rental. Originally I expected to stay in the area longer. But since I can only stay in WA state for max of 4 months before they make you register there (code for paying sales tax) I accelerated my timeline to ship the boat to Mexico. I’m scheduled to load on or about October 30 now. I could move the boat to Portland and keep it there longer but running the river in my boat isn’t all that exciting IMHO.

 

[Sababa]

Since you’re in Portland have you considered bringing the boat down to the river instead? Moorage is much cheaper down here than just about anywhere on Puget Sound, and more readily available as well.

This probably sounds snarky but I ask in all earnestness: where do all those people who tie up their boats in the Portland area go? Are they all crossing the Columbia bar and beating up the coast and down the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the Inside Passage every year? Bouncing back and forth between Astoria and Hood River? Something else?

 

[Diep]

I'm following (with respect) to hear the answer too! We live in the Portland area and wanted to get into the boating game. We thought keeping a boat here was a sure path to finding it boring. We paid our taxes and drive so we can boat in Puget Sound and beyond.

We imagine day boating in the summer would be fun and doing a trip to Idaho would be cool once, but after that its hard to see.

 

[Sababa]

Thanks. I have a slip reserved at Pleasant Harbor. It’s in the middle of nowhere but a nice place. Drive is same to there as Bremerton but less traffic as I get off I-5 in Olympia and head up the west side of Hood Canal.

The guy we bought our previous boat from lived in Washougal down near the Oregon border and moored it at Pleasant Harbor. Made a lot of sense to me. I’d choose PH over Olympia if I lived down that way for access to the warm water in the Hood Canal in the summer in addition to being a jumping off place to parts North.

 

[captobie]

This probably sounds snarky but I ask in all earnestness: where do all those people who tie up their boats in the Portland area go? Are they all crossing the Columbia bar and beating up the coast and down the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the Inside Passage every year? Bouncing back and forth between Astoria and Hood River? Something else?

That's a great question, and the short answer is "yes."

You can cruise the Columbia from Astoria to the Tri-Cities. There are marinas, state park docks, and anchorages along the length. Lots of side channels and sloughs to explore. Not the quite the boater's paradise you have up north, but still pretty nice.

Every year there are a not insignificant number of Portland area boaters who "go north" for the summer. Probably including me after I retire in a few years. I used to live in Bellingham, I miss boating in the islands.