Pope's Landing in Danvers, MA

[mfilippa]

I've been looking for a marina for the next season in the Boston area and found this rack and slip at a very reasonable price. It will do great to my stern drives and also keep some extra money in my wallet. Another good thing is that it won't actually go on a rack, but on a fixed cradle on land. I will have access to water to flush engines once out of the water and I can leave it plugged in to power.

The only problem I see is a long 30min cruise to open waters and a nice commute from Boston to Danvers.

I am about to put a deposit on it this week. I'd appreciate any comments on this place, if you have any.

Thanks,
Mariano

 

[Alex F]

IMO, it all comes down to how you're using your boat during the season.

My simple point of view is that as soon as my boat is in water it's a summer hous that's ready to be used. The minute it's out of the water it's a summer house that has no use. I just don't see myself dealing with the hassle, waiting for her turn to be in water and only then get her settle in the slip Friday nights. I would think that you'd have to comeback earlier on Sundays to store her. My personal opinion is that it takes a lot from the experiance being in the slip 24/7 (during the season). It adds more hassle and I hope that the price difference is worth for you.

 

[mfilippa]

I put a lot of thought on the boating issue and still don't have the best answer.

Last year I had a covered slip 45mins away from my place. We thought we were going to spend a lot of time going out and even staying at dock. We found that we went out about 20% of the time we could have been out. This year I wanted to live 10mins away from marina and slip the boat so I could go whenever I wanted and enjoy it more, but we ended up west of Boston, 30mins away from the closest marina.

I expect this season to be no different. We would like to go out as much as we can, but we both work too much and the commute to any marina just sucks. So if we are not going to use the boat much, might as well take good care of it. I might also put it for sale and downsize to a trailerable DA.

There is a lot of flaws in the way I am planning the next season, but can't find a better solution.

 

[jhild]

I live about a mile upriver from Pope’s Landing. It’s at least a 30 minute trip from there to Beverly Harbor, and you’ll need to pass under both Kernwood and the MBTA bridges to get there. I’ve never heard any complaints about the service and accommodations at Pope’s Landing, but it will take you a while to find open water.

 

[Alex F]

The good thing about boating is if you change a marina and don't like something you can always find another place. So, you know your situation better than anyone, try it for one season and see how it works. After all, if you can't use the boat as much as you want at lease you'll save some money in rack storage marina.

I don't know how much you'll benefit by going to a smaller boat. I would never go back, but that's just me. I've done a lot of towing and now I'm settled to travel by water.

 

[Jack F]

The only thing I would add is try the commute from were you work/live, south Boston? To that marina, traffic can be a pain is @ss.

 

[mfilippa]

It's Boston.... a 10min commute to a marina nearby can be a 1hr commute if you go out at the wrong time. But that brings up a good point... I didn't ask for their hours of operation. I am guessing launching is not a big deal, but as Alex pointed out, retrieving might put a constraint on the time I need to be back...

I live in Newton, I get on 95N and get to Danvers in 30mins. Good thing that 55mph means 80mph around here....

 

[Henry Boyd]

Mariano,

Our first season was spent at Danversport Yacht Club (as slip renters). Place was good, people friendly, BUT the water is skinny at low tide. Low tide was impassable for our 280. It might be different as Pope's landing is on another branch, but I doubt it. The biggest pain was the two draw bridges. The Kernwood bridge is not too bad because it is a street bridge. The bridge operator will open that and alternate road traffic and boat traffic. The MBTA bridge at the head of Beverly Harbor is a railroad bridge. That will only open when it is clear. If a train is due to pass within (best as I can recall) 10 minutes, they will make you wait. That would be fine if this was based on when the train would actually be due, but they base it on schedule. The MBTA commuter rail is many things, on time is not one of them.

My guess the reason why this may be a bargain is because of the above. You might compare Port Marine in Beverly prices. Port is on the other side of the bridges in deep water. I'd just do a price check though, our neighbors did a season at Port and were very disappointed.

Henry

 

[mfilippa]

I called Port Marine last week. They are charging $195/ft compared to $105/ft at Pope's. But the owner, Frank, told me that they can't rack my boat size and the only thing they have is a lift for $10k. A guy here at work told me this sounds like BS, as they often rack much larger boats than mine and they even advertise racking 30ft+. They are either trying to sell me a lift or reserve their cradles for bigger boats and force me on a slip. You are the second one that tells me bad things about that place.

I was told that Porter river was a bit shallow, but if you have problems with a 280 with I/Os, then I'd probably start looking somewhere else. If I have to time tides, time bridges, time rack hours of operation and have a long cruise to open waters, it might be impossible to even go out or get back.

I wish there was more alternatives for rack storage on the East Coast... I'm back to square one.

 

[wetpaint]

let me add a small thing to.....The green heads can kill you

 

[Henry Boyd]

let me add a small thing to.....The green heads can kill you

Not below Cape Ann. The Gloucester/Salem side of Cape Ann is not so bad. This is where we spend most of our time during July when the Greenies are around.

You are right though in July; Ipswich Bay, the Essex estuary, and Plum Island Sound can be absolutely unbearable.

Henry

 

[pxhil]

I know this post has been around awhile but if you live in Newton and want to minimize expenses look at Newton YC or Watertown YC. Both on Charles so you still have 30 min to open water but cost is under $1500 for year round storage. We originally kept our boat at Danversport then moved to Bunky's a great a marina by the way and probably a bit less than Popes and Then joined WYC 2 years ago. Went up in size by 10 feet and cut my storage bill by about $5000
As with any solution it's not perfect but works well for us. When we are pressed for time a cocktail cruise down the river is as enjoyable as open water. NWC I think is still waiving initiation fees. Both clubs have websites.
Just one more option to confuse things
Good luck