Marina Comparison - Port Clinton/Marblehead

ja308601

Member
Jan 1, 2019
99
Lake Erie
Boat Info
2007 290 DA
Kohler 5kw, Raymarine Hybrid Touch
Engines
5.0L Mercruisers w/Bravo III Drives
We currently keep our boat at the Safe Harbor marina at Toledo Beach in LaSalle, MI--just over the line from Ohio. We are thinking of moving over to the Port Clinton or Marblehead area for next season.

Does anyone have an recommendations/stay-aways in that area? I currently have quotes from Skipper Bud's on Marblehead and the Safe Harbor marina in Port Clinton.

TIA!
 
Bay Point Marina. Top notch amenities, great staff. Private secured access, Restaurants, pool, tiki bar, water taxi to Cedar Point. Next season will be our 3rd there. Fast easy access to the lake.

https://www.baypointresorthomes.com/

Thanks. That's a good suggestion, too. I looked at Bay Point last season but had sort of overlooked it.
 
Much of this choice depends on your priorities. I know people who go to the marina pool every day and others who've never been in it. Local restaurants? Marina facilities? Dockside pumpout? On-site bar? Shortest commute by car or quickest run to the islands?

Sandusky is enjoying a "boom" - new restaurants and bars are popping up all the time. Port Clinton, not so much...

If I were to move toward Catawba I'd consider Gem Beach, Bass Haven, CIC, whatever they call Del Isle these days...
 
Marina Del Isle is Skipper Bud's now and it looks like a decent place from what I can tell online. We're in Toledo, so the drive over will be basically the same to anything on Catawba. We used to be at a club--officers, parties, etc.--and while it was nice it doesn't really fit our boating lifestyle. We have little kids so we do most of our boating during the day with occasional overnights. We are thinking of moving from our current marina to something with easier access to additional boating destinations. I like being at a marina which has a full service department and onsite indoor storage since it makes my life easier.
 
Gem Beach seems family friendly.

Have you seen the pool at Bass Haven? It's covered, so it looked to me like it could be a great option for kids during questionable weather.
 
Gem Beach seems family friendly.

Have you seen the pool at Bass Haven? It's covered, so it looked to me like it could be a great option for kids during questionable weather.

I have not seen the pool but it sounds nice. I frankly haven't seen any of these places; of course I will go tour before I sign up for anything. Right now I am just wondering if anyone who currently slips in this area has recommendations or suggestions so I have a working shortlist before we head over. I looked up Gem Beach and it does look pretty nice.
 
Where do you go for maintenance/storage?

Bay Point offers service on site and On site outdoor storage. I store Inside heated at Mirror Image detailing and storage but there are lots of good options around. By the way, pool at Bay Point is at an additional fee per year. I think $480.
 
Well, like all things it comes to preference. If you are looking for nice marina's west harbor has them and if you want pools and such they are also available. Gem beach had loads of issues this year with the high water. Keep that in mind for next year just in case. East harbor has several nice marinas (bass haven and Marina del isle) but keep in mind the long slow ride to the lake. Also think about if you want a drive up dock or if you want to cart all of your weekend gear to and from the boat. West harbor has the same idle speed zones but many more drive up docks. Catawba Moorings is one of the higher end marinas that boast a pool and onsite services with floating docks (if they have any open spots). NE Port has a pool and floating docks. You can contract Moorings to do your work for you at NE Port. Mid way marina also has a pool but they have fixed docks. Also a pain with the high water. I know several people at Bay point that really enjoy that area. I personally don't have experience there. If I can help in any way I will do my best as I know the area well.
 
Spent many a summer at Bay Point growing up (way too many years ago). The nice thing about that location is that you have access to both Lake Erie and Sandusky Bay. On those few days (sarcasm) the lake gets a little rough you can exit the marina right into the bay. Plenty of good swimming areas, close to Cedar Point and as stated previously, Sandusky is coming alive. Good luck in your search.
 
Friends of mine moved from CPM to Bay Point 2 years ago. They beach and bar/restaurant are beautiful, the docks are nice, the pool looks ok. As Buckeye mentioned, the position of the marina is an excellent compromise of being close to the islands and the bay. They bought a golf cart and used it to get around the beautiful property...

They returned to CPM a few weeks ago. Their complaints included:

Low social activity on the piers. They claim there is a trend of people having second boats, so people who would otherwise be on their primary boats socializing are instead out riding in CC's.

The pool requires an extra-cost membership and is over-crowded

BP sells outside memberships to the beach club, so it's also over-crowded and service is poor. (it was fine on my visit, but that was just a quick observation)
 
It sounds like there are a lot of good options. I have never boated in either the West or East Harbor on Catawba. Is West Harbor a shorter trip to the lake? It seems like boat harbors are no wake (or at least that's the impression I am getting).
 
It depends on which marina you choose within each harbor, but generally speaking I'd say yes, West Harbor has more docks with close lake access. (including Gem Beach, which has direct access to the lake)
 
Foxhaven doesn't have many amenities, but they do have on site heated, cold, and outside storage as well as a mechanic and most marine services one would need. The space in front of the docks is huge, you can park two cars and still have a pretty good living area for patio furniture, grills, dock boxes, etc.

It takes me seven minutes from shoving off to throttling up on the lake. Unlike Gem Beach, most of Foxhaven's docks were out of the water nearly all of this past season.

Be sure to check out Catawba Moorings and Midway. Those are both nice marina's.
 
We are at Catawba Moorings. Great facility with pool and private restaurant. They offer indoor heated indoor cold and outdoor storage. Be careful with Skipper Buds. The restaurant, Cleets, is open to the public. There are not any security gates between the marina and Cleets. Several people I know there...since left...have had items stolen from their boats and unwanted drunks coming on to their boats. This isn't the place to describe the details of what activities the drunks were involved with.
 
Catawba Island Club! Great dockage and only a couple of hundred yards at most to the lake.

Superb customer service and great amenities - restaurants/multiple bars, pools, tennis and pickle ball courts, 18 hole golf course etc. etc. . They also have complete storage/repair facility. Send me a PM if you'd like a tour - I have no financial interest but have been a member for 15 yrs. FYI we use to keep our 42' at a dock here, but now with a downsized 280 we're in CIC's rack storage, great deal especially since it includes heated storage. www.cicclub.com

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Be careful with Skipper Buds. The restaurant, Cleets, is open to the public. There are not any security gates between the marina and Cleets. Several people I know there...since left...have had items stolen from their boats and unwanted drunks coming on to their boats. This isn't the place to describe the details of what activities the drunks were involved with.
We just toured Skipperbuds and looked at available slips for next summer. The only slips available were on B dock the same dock where visitors side tie to go to the restaurant. I couldn't imagine what a gong show that was going to be so we opted out for that reason
 
Catawba Island Club! Great dockage and only a couple of hundred yards at most to the lake.

Superb customer service and great amenities - restaurants/multiple bars, pools, tennis and pickle ball courts, 18 hole golf course etc. etc. . They also have complete storage/repair facility. Send me a PM if you'd like a tour - I have no financial interest but have been a member for 15 yrs. FYI we use to keep our 42' at a dock here, but now with a downsized 280 we're in CIC's rack storage, great deal especially since it includes heated storage. www.cicclub.com

View attachment 75395
We toured this last year very nice... They seemed very full, I didnt want to get into another club so we didn't pursue it further...plus we live too far away to really take advantage of all the amenities
 

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