New to Sandusky Ohio Area

dgrumm

dgrumm

New Member
Feb 25, 2008
169
Midland ON
Boat Info
400DB
Engines
7.4l Bluewater
We just moved to Columbus Ohio, and are looking for a marina in the Sandusky area. Any suggestions? Complaints? I am leaning towards Bay Point in Marblehead as of now due to the small golf course (when wife is still sleeping) and the price (free winter outside for new members). We are early 30's, expecting our first child this spring. We like social boating, dock parties etc. or rafting off for parties on the water... although that may change slightly with the new baby!
Thanks for the help.
Dave
(40 SR Sedan - won't add to signature until survey passes and the deal is done!)
 
Good luck on the deal!

Bay Point is a very nice marina. It's big, so there's plenty of opportunity to meet people to party with and the infrastracture is high-quality. On the downside, it's isolated by car, but balancing that is its ideal location on the waterfront. If your wife is a nervous boater, she'll appreciate avoiding the 3-4 miles of often very busy/choppy waters of Sandusky Bay.

Cedar Point is also large and has almost identical floating docks. I have yet to see a marina with more going on than CPM. It's loud and active and whether or not they actually leave the slip, CP'ers at least COME to their boats in large numbers. It's not a place for peace and quiet, but we like it that way. WELCOME TO THE RAPTOR. YOU WILL BE TAKEN 125 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL. PLEASE KEEP YOUR EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH SCREEEEEEEEEEEETCCCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHH THANK-YOU FOR RIDING HERE AT SSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHH WHOOOOOOOSHHHHH. AMERICA'S ROCKIN ROLLER COAST.

(you get the idea)

Forget Castaway Bay. Everyone else has.

Venetian isn't in the same league as BP and CP.

I know people who like Son Rise Marina, but it appears to be on the quiet side.

Battery Park is a good sized marina. Conveniently located and their fuel prices are always competitive.

I don't know much about Dock of the Bay. It's pretty small, but also conveniently located in downtown Sandusky and the people I know who dock there like it. (but they come to CP to party)
 
Thanks for the low-down.
CP does not have any 40 or 45ft slips available for this summer. They only have express docks, which seem to be far away from the regular docks. I think BP is our best bet. And the fact that it is isolated by car is a good thing! Go to the boat and stay at the boat!

What about anchorages? We are from Georgian Bay area where we never stayed at the marina overnight.. always on the hook. It seems like most people head back to a marina at night around here? Harder to find protected areas I guess.

Thanks again for the input! Pray for sun!
 
Welcome to the area. When I was young, we docked at both CP and BP. Both were great locations and still are today.

There are several marinas on Catawba Island, in West and East Harbor. With the exception of Catawba Island Club, I don't think any are quite as nice BP.

As for anchorages, there aren't many that I can think of. Probably the most popular would be Put In Bay at South Bass Island. You can either dock or raft off at the public docks or anchor off on the mooring balls in the harbor. If you have never been to PIB, you need to make plans to go there. Very busy on the weekends.

Kelley's Island also has a nice marina. There is also Kelley's Cove where the beach is located. However, if the winds come out of the N/ NW, it is exposed and can get a little choppy.

We spend alot of time in the area. Hope to see you on the water.
 
Dave,

The express docks are conviently located. I don't know why they even call them that - doing so gets them confused with the transient docks in the South Basin. Those transient docks were relocated from Castaway Bay. They're falling apart and are far away and are not available to seasonal dockholders.

The express dock with 40' slips is Pier 11 - the first pier past the fuel docks, so it's close to the marina store, Famous Dave's Restaurant and the gate into the park. Express docks don't have dockside pumpout, nor do they have a piling separating the wells, but they're a little cheaper and otherwise comparable to the rest of the marina. Pier 11 has 50' transient slips on one side, 40' permanent slips on the other, so the neighborhood changes every weekend. I'm not sure if that's good or bad... Technically, a 400DB is too big for a 40' slip, but you could get away with it. We're comfortable in our 50' slip, although there aren't many of them.

Yeah, very little overnight anchoring. "The Sand Bar" is the land mass at the very tip of Marblehead, as it dips into the bay. It's sandy on both sides and is a very popular anchorage for swimmers and beach-goers. (Note: DO NOT trust your charts, and don't go it alone until you get to know the area - the bottom has shifted a lot)

The beach area on the East side of the CP jetty is another popular daytime anchorage, but there's too little protection to make an overnighter a good idea.

There's a cove on the north end of Kelley's Island, and people do overnight on the hook there.

PIB isn't as protected as you think. The anchorage area is out by the monument, exposed to open water to the north and the bottom is unpredicatabe. The mooring balls are a better option if you ask me, but they're not free. $35 if I recall correctly?

I've heard of people who anchor in Catawba, but after the unaltered beauty of Georgian Bay, anchoring within site of a dozen marinas might seem pointless.
 
I dock at Son Rise in Sandusky. I love it there. Debbie the dock master is exceptional. They dredged the marina over the winter which depending on the snow can be an issue in the fall. I drive from Canton Ohio and Bay Point is an additional 45 min drive coming from the east.(you can see it from my marina but to get there you have to all the way around). Any how welcome to the area and enjoy the best boating in America.
 
Welcome to the area. We live in the CBus area, are late 30's and have 3 children ages 6-10. This will be our 3rd year @ Son Rise and we like like it very much. I can't give you a comparison as it's the only marina we have called home on Lake Erie. Our neighbors stay @ BP and swear by it.

Son Rise is a bit on the quiet side. We are on C-Dock, which is by far the most active dock in the evening. If you choose Son Rise, make sure to ask for C Dock. The pool @ Son Rise is great...I don't think BP has one.

Let me know if you get sick of being stuck in a long line of cars travelling @ 50 mph for 1.5 hours between CBus & Sandusky. We've learned some alternative routes which aren't necessarily faster...but are wide open.

Matt
 
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