Ditto's Landing Marina in Huntsville, Al - what to expect?

370Dancer

Well-Known Member
Oct 2, 2006
2,463
Suncoast of Florida
Boat Info
1998 370 Sundancer
Engines
380hp MAG MPI Gen VI with V drives
Looks like I may take an assignment in Huntsville for a few years. Thinking about trucking Beach House II up to the area, and using it as an RV for a while. Ditto's landing seems to be the closest to Redstone, and the initial inquiry sounds like a good deal.

Questions:

Does a 40ish foot boat belong on that part of the river? day trips? overnighters?
How does winter fare there? Icing issues? winterization issues if staying aboard?
Any other suggestions of marinas where I could stay aboard during the week?

I will likely go in Jan or Feb.
 
Don't limit yourself to Huntsville. Goosepond Colony in Scottsboro has a great Marina that has direct access to the Tennessee River and then as my husband says "You can go anywhere in the world". Adjacent to the marina is an 18 hole championship golf course. There are several people who live on their boats full time or nearly full time.

Lots of people from Scottsboro commute to Huntsville (including the arsenal) and Scottsboro is a great boating community. We would love to have you.
 
The Goose Pond Marinais a full service facility located at mile marker 378.2 on the Tennessee River. The marina has wet slip and dry storage rental. Both local and transients are welcome. Our mechanics are OMC and Mercruiser trained and certified. The gas dock has snacks, gas, diesel fuel, oil, fuses, switches, and other items needed by the boater. Also available are transient slips, water and electric hook-ups and a waste pumping station. While there you can stock up on fishing tackle and find out where the fish are biting at the Bait & Tackle Shop.
With its location on the Tennessee River, Goose Pond Colony can be reached by water from almost anywhere in the U.S. You can reach the Gulf of Mexico or the upper Mississippi valley and anywhere in between. Once you reach the Tennessee River, you will wonder why you haven't spent more time on it. Whether pleasure boating, fishing, or skiing is your fancy, the Tennessee River offers the best atmosphere. With its mountains and clear, deep water, the Tennessee Valley is very relaxing.
GOOSE POND COLONY MARINA RATES
Wet Slips Dry Storage Monthly Annual Monthly Annual 28' Slips 12' wide x 12' high N/A $1496.00 Up to 19' $79.00 $875.00
32' Slips 14' wide x 14' high $167.00 $1835.00 20' $80.00 $900.00
36' Slips 16' wide x 16' high $191.00 $2053.00 21' $84.00 $936.00
44' Slips 16' wide x 18' high $223.00 $2415.00 22' $89.00 $982.00
54' Slips 18' wide x 20' high $305.00 $3303.00 23' $93.00 $1026.00
60' Slips 20' wide x 20' high $366.00 $4005.00 24' $97.00 $1060.00
72' Slips 20' wide x 24' high $428.00 $4771.00 25' $138.00 $1520.00
80" Slips 24' wide x 24 high $532.00 $5874.00 26' $139.00 $1549.00 Minimum Rate is $77.00 per month

Transient Rates Up to 29' $15.00 30' to 39' $20.00 40' and Up $25.00
Annual Lease payments: 50% down with the remaining in 3 monthly payments
Electric Rates: .08606 usage rate per kilowatt hour plus $5.00 billing fee
Normal water usage is free
For Additional Information Phone: 1-800-268-2884 or Email: gpmarina@scottsboro.org
goosemarine.jpg
 
WOW....I'm moving south! I assume the annual rate means you can actually use the boat all year and it would appear that those are covered slip rates!
 
So, how have you all fared during this snap? I saw ice in the Ditto Landing Marina basin on Wednesday the 6th, before the snow and BIG chill!
 
We did fine at Goosepond. Our boat is temporarily in a slip there awaiting haul out for repairs. Bill went down a couple of times a day to make sure things were okay. The live-aboards had no problems. There was some icing, but not enough to do any damage.

I noticed this morning there were birds walking on the water by our seawall so apparently there is still some ice near the shores.
 
Ditto is a fine facility, as is Goose Pond. There are two private marinas in the Guntersville area as well as the private Yacht Club. You'll find boats of all sizes - commonly up through 65 ft - that use the river here. The TVA dams give us a series of relatively slack water lakes that are very boat friendly. Guntersville Lake starts about 10-15 miles up stream of Ditto and is a wide, mostly deep, well marked playground. Guntersville itself is 30-45 minutes from Huntsville by car.
In addition, if you can carve out the time, the trip up from Sarasota through Mobile and up the Tennessee-Tombigbee waterway to the Tennessee River is one great experience.
 
I think I'll save the water trip for when I leave the area to return to Florida. Talked to one hauler today, and he said there was 1" of ice in the Ditto basin. No boats moving until it thaws.
 
I think I'll save the water trip for when I leave the area to return to Florida. Talked to one hauler today, and he said there was 1" of ice in the Ditto basin. No boats moving until it thaws.

Any ice there will be gone by the freakin weekend. I'm going to do some research here. Sounds to me like that hauler dosen't want to haul.

Believe me I know its been cold here for the last two weeks, but that has got to be some extremely calm water at that marina to get an inch of ice. I'll report back in the morning.
 
There is some ice @ Ditto but like I said, it will be gone in a couple of days. More importantly They Have NO GAS!!! They are rebuilding the gas docks & will not be finished until March!

I did some research when I was looking for a slip about 18 months ago and again this morning. The city & the Army Corp have spent a ton of money up there updating the marina, RV park, playground & even dredging the area. STILL NO RESTAURANT!

According to the guy at the gas dock.....

"Nah, We aint got no gas right now".

Thank God I actually asked. I spoke with 2 people & neither one of them mentioned it!
 
Went to check it out again Sunday, after I arrived in Huntsville. The ice is gone, and is replaced by widespread flooding! I'd be knee to waist deep trying to get out to the docks. Maybe it's time to start thinking about Guntersville, or Decatur. Anyone know anything about the area downriver from Ditto?
 

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Don't forget about Scottsboro. Halfway between Wheeler state park and Chattanooga. Also 30-45 minutes closer to Chattanooga than Guntersville by boat...which is a lot of fun!
 
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There's a good marina at Decatur, but the boating's much better further downstream at Joe Wheeler State park.
 
We are on Guntersville and recommend it. We spend the week in SE Huntsville for work and kids school, but spend the weekends at our lake house 40 minutes away in Scottsboro (on G'ville Lake).

Ditto Landing day trips would have you covering the same territory time-after-time. Come to G'ville and have a large variety of locals and scenery to day trip to. Also, multiple choices for gas and restaurants by water. Not much development along the TN river south of Huntsville near Ditto.

Would not worry about the ice, like said earlier, hardly ever get any and it breaks up quickly.



Good luck! :smt001
 
OK, did my 6 hour drive today, checking out Goose Pond Colony, and then on to Chattanooga to see how far that is to get $9.95 flights to Florida.

Synopsys: Goose Pond is my new favorite spot. I will be here with Beach House one way or another. So, which dock is the "cool" dock? Every marina has the dock that everyone wants to be on. Help me cut through the new hire tape.

My plan now is to truck BH up and spend weekends there, unless I find a Redstone cohort who wants to rideshare, which will make me a full time resident. Shoot, I may have to take up golf for real.
 
I thought you would like Goosepond if you gave it a chance. I think Docks 3 & 4 are the ones you would love. My next door neighor keeps his SeaRay there (somewhere around 50 feet) and they stay on the boat a lot. They also keep another slip that a group of them share for water toys.

Another friend keeps a beautiful houseboat there. They moved here after they retired and lived on the boat for a few years, but they built a house near the marina a couple of years ago and just stay on the boat during the warmer months. If you are interested, I will get you phone numbers and you can call and speak to them.


Did you happen to see the 300 beside those two huge boats in the yard? That is ours...we just thought we were getting a good-sized boat until they put it there. Now it looks tiny ;-)

By the way.....that is a great golf course.

PS...Generally speaking, people who move here fall in love and never leave. You might want to go ahead and put in for a permanent transfer ;-)
 
I just talked with Jim Himburg at the marina and he says to give him a call. He has a waiting list, but you never know. I told him you were coming up from Florida and gave him the length of your boat. His number is 256-259-3027 and my name is Anne Gibson. Good Luck.
 

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