Reviews: Pope's Island Marina

Reviewed by: Tina Pickell on Jul 30, 2024
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 62'
Draft: 5.0'

Rating: 3

We were told that all transient boats over 50 feet are assigned to the fixed dock that carries a 5-6 foot tide range. This was a surprise less than 24 hours before our arrival and a hardship to get our 85-pound dog off the boat. The staff suggested launching the dinghy and motoring to the dinghy dock. They also offered a break on the $4 per person launch fee for dog walking.

We also received conflicting information about mooring balls. I asked if there were mooring balls for a 62' boat available instead of the slip. I was told that indeed there was, but had to send a message through Dockwa to change my reservation. The response said that the ball had been reserved for 6 months and was no longer unavailable. Then when I talked with the office, there were no such mooring balls for boats over 55 feet.

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Reviewed by: Rich Inman on Sep 10, 2023
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 50'
Draft: 4.0'

Rating: 5

Stayed two nights on mooring. Main reason to stop was to get a part for our outboard at Rick's in Fairhaven. Marina is well run and facilities are clean, well maintained, and staff is great. Don't miss the whaling museum, and especially Miguel's for breakfast or lunch (he closes at 2p) for an authentic local experience.

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Reviewed by: Queen B on Jul 22, 2023
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 41'
Draft: 6.0'

Rating: 5

Excellent staff and facilities! Staff is helpful and personable. Facilities are well- maintained and clean..
Stayed on a mooring for 2 nights. Easy walk across the bridge into New Bedford. Gotta watch the swing bridge opening for boat traffic to pass.

Gr8 dinner at Fathoms across the street. Will def return here and explore Fairhaven side of the harbor .

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Reviewed by: Brian Gross , V-Tack, on Aug 30, 2022
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 40'
Draft: 7.0'

Rating: 5

Stayed for 2 days July 16-18. What a hidden gem! A wooden breakwater and larger boats tied up to it, keeps the marina smooth even with slow moving commercial traffic passing by. Easy approach even at low tide with our 7 foot draft and helpful dockhands are there to help your landing. Excellent value with power and water included in the slip fee accessible from Dockwa. Floating concrete docks show their age but are safe and adaquate. Onshore there are great laundry, and shower facilities with gas grills and a secure courtyard. The facility is pet friendly with lots of safe walking outside the courtyard for shore leave. An easy walk to either Fairhaven or New Bedford with shopping, museums and great restaurants. We will be back.

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Reviewed by: Captain Gene Of Galene on Aug 1, 2022
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 39'
Draft: 4.0'

Rating: 4

July 23, 2022, stayed six days due to winds and we had head issues to repair. Staff made us feel welcome. Facilities were clean and maintained. Picnic area has grills and tables as well as a tent. Fathoms restaurant across the street had good, varied menu and staff were very good. Whale museum interesting and well worth visiting. Walked mile across bridge to town. Launch service will take you downtown to Pier 3 which is downtown $3 per person if you do not want to walk the bridge. Several restaurants short walk when your downtown. We traveled here with another boat. Many of the docks here have new GFI pedestals as now required for safety. If your boat has any ground faults it will trip the breaker and you will not have power. This is for the safety of everyone. If you trip the GFI it is a fault on your boat. The marina power is not the issue. The boat traveling with us has a ground fault, so it tripped the breakers. The pedestals have a 20A outlet you can plug into to run your refrigerator and such with an extension cord if your boat has a fault which the boat traveling with us did to have some power. Many boats with inverters that switch automatically will trip the breakers because the unit was not installed professionally and properly. Once again, the electrical power here is wired safely and is fine it meets the new Underwriters labs standards and the new electrical codes as required by law.
The Floating docks are showing their age here though.

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Reviewed by: David Rogers on Jan 21, 2022
LOA: 43'
Draft: 6.0'

Rating: 4

Stayed at this marina 3 years ago. Staff was helpful getting in. Close to downtown New Bedford. Whaling Museum was awesome! Locked gates.

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Reviewed by: Greighlin on Oct 9, 2020
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 35'
Draft: 6.0'

Rating: 5

Wonderful staff. Location is close to both downtown newbedford and Fairhaven. Not a far walk downtown. When my electric didn’t fit they accommodated with an adapter which was really helpful.

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Reviewed by: Ray Parrish on Sep 16, 2020
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 51'
Draft: 4.5'

Rating: 1

We came to this marina because of the reviews. Unfortunately, the last review was from 2018 and something has definitely happened since then! I think the personnel has been changed.

Here is what we experienced. The dock hands were at our slip to help us tie up. All was well until we hooked up our power cable. The pedestal was new and popped it’s breaker as soon as we turned on our system. The dock master said it was our boat’s fault because we were from the South. He said all southern boats are wired wrong. We have covered the east coast of the United States in the last 8 months and have had no electrical issues at marinas, even with the new GFCI pedestals. The dock master moved us to a new slip and the power still did not work. The dock-hand told me we should look at another Marina in the area if we wanted power. The people on the adjacent boats said all slips have power problems and I noticed 30 and 50 amp extension cords going everywhere on all docks. I told the dockmaster we wanted a 50 amp extension cord to try some other pedestals. He found us one and based on advice from adjacent boaters, we found a pedestal that worked.

Customer service was non-existent! We had to ask for everything. The docks were in poor shape, but you could walk on them. The bathrooms and showers were not clean and most showers only had one hanger and no shelves. In light of Covid, this was disturbing because it was clear the women’s and men’s shower facilities had not been clean for days. In the women’s showers there were bunches of hair in each shower. Very poor!

This marina sounded much better than it was. We will not be coming back. We do not like giving bad reviews, but I would have not gone there if I had known the true condition of the facilities, especially at the price we paid!

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Reviewed by: Greg Reardon on Jul 15, 2020
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 43'
Draft: 4.0'

Rating: 4

Great facility with courteous and friendly staff that will promptly help you with anything you need, from docking assistance, to pumpout at your slip, to launch service to the mooring field or across the main channel to downtown New Bedford. Pope’s Island is an active boating community, with very friendly and helpful boat owners. This is a secure, gated marina with well maintained grounds including a spacious picnic area with grilles. They have laundry, ice, vending machines, and a lending library. Marine supply right across the street, and outstanding seafood within walking distance. Bike trail to Mattapoisett, Marion and beyond.

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