Marina Review for The Wharf Marina

Reviewed by: Dan Hendon , Arcadia, on Nov 29, 2024
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 45'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 3

Good: Nice floating docks. Friendly staff, though as others noted they didn't help with docking. Restroom, laundry and lounge were nice. Several restaurants and bars right next to the marina. Bad: Shopping center adjacent is not helpful for boaters, mostly brand name retail clothes and tourist shops. No transportation unless you get an uber. Not ready for FL prices! Shocked by the final price due to the 16% Orange Beach tax and credit card fees.

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Anchorage Review for Tensaw River

Reviewed by: Dan Hendon, Arcadia, on Nov 29, 2024
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 45'
Draft: 3.5'

Wide river anchorage. No commercial traffic. Quiet. You could put a lot of boats in this anchorage. We anchored in center of channel with two other boats well before the bend. Wind was SSE so we didn't want the exposure at the bend.

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Anchorage Review for Big Briar Creek

Reviewed by: Dan Hendon, Arcadia, on Nov 29, 2024
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 45'
Draft: 3.5'

Enjoyed this anchorage. Wide enough to swing if the tide and wind move you around. Depth was good 9' well into the creek. Had to reset the anchor as the initial spot we set turned out to be mostly peat. Reset was fine, anchor came up very muddy/messy. Took the dinghy into the feeder creeks and enjoyed the exploration. We had 6 boats in Briar Creek. No issues with fisherman.

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Lock comment on John Rankin Lock and Dam

Comment by: Dan Hendon, Arcadia, on Oct 26, 2024
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 45'
Draft: 3.0'

Agree with previous comments. Lock Master was friendly and alerted the next lock that we were coming. Very helpful.

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Lock comment on Jamie Whitten Lock & Dam

Comment by: Dan Hendon, Arcadia, on Oct 26, 2024
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 45'
Draft: 3.0'

We locked through on October 26. Impressive lock with the 80 foot drop. Note: lots of water showering down on the east lock wall. You will get wet. We were told that was the dry side. It was not. Recommend tying up on the west wall.

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Anchorage Review for Upper Rockport Landing

Reviewed by: Dan Hendon, Arcadia, on Oct 17, 2024
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 45'
Draft: 3.0'

Deep. I wasn't sure I wanted to put all 200' of chain out so we anchored near the island to get a little shallower. Quiet. A little mud on the anchor. Cell service was one/two bars on Verizon.

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Marina Review for Clifton Marina

Reviewed by: Dan Hendon , Arcadia, on Oct 17, 2024
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 45'
Draft: 3.0'

Rating: 4

Very helpful, friendly team at Clifton. They were working hard to accommodate all the loopers coming in. Excellent food at the restaurant in the marina. The listing says no pump out, but we got one when we left. Laundry is in the one restroom with the shower in the Marina office. We walked into Clifton and talked to some friendly people but there were no businesses other than a pharmacy. The only bar in town is in the marina. I'd stop again for the people and the food.

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Marina Review for Commodore Yacht Club

Reviewed by: Dan Hendon , Arcadia, on Oct 9, 2024
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 45'
Draft: 3.0'

Rating: 5

Great place to stop in Nashville! Friendly and helpful staff. Follow your charts, when you come off the river you might wonder if you should keep going. You should. It looks like just a little creek but it opens up into a beautiful marina. Clean docks and heads. Close to good food and shopping.

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Anchorage Review for Arcadia Lake

Reviewed by: Dan Hendon, Arcadia, on Aug 18, 2022
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 45'
Draft: 3.0'

We ducked in here to get off of bumpy Lake Michigan for lunch. They were dredging the channel which we cautiously travelled into Arcadia lake. We saw less than two feet under the boat at one point. Once halfway in the channel gets deeper ~8.5' then 11' as you get to the lake. Easy hook set. Muddy bottom, not many weeds where we were. Mud stuck to the anchor as we pulled it up so we took a little extra time with the wash down. Once the channel is dredged this would be a nice stop for a night or just a break.

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Marina Review for Charlevoix City Marina

Reviewed by: Dan Hendon , Arcadia, on Aug 18, 2022
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 45'
Draft: 3.0'

Rating: 5

My favorite marina on the west coast of Michigan. Hard to beat the location with the marina on Round Lake immediately adjacent to town. There's a grass covered hill between the marina and Main Street. This is where they host craft fairs and other events. The facilities are nice and well cared for - clean! Dock hands are super helpful. They made getting tied up a breeze. Floating docks with big cleats all around. The biggest challenge is getting a reservation. But people do cancel so give them a call. Water is deep (20' at our slip). From Round Lake you can head into Lake Charlevoix which is a good place to explore if Lake Michigan is too rough. It's a big lake - 13 miles to Boyne City on the east end. The channel in from Lake Michigan is plenty deep (a ferry goes in and out to Beaver Island). The draw bridge opens every half hour in the summer.

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Marina Review for Leland Township Harbor

Reviewed by: Dan Hendon , Arcadia, on Aug 18, 2022
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 45'
Draft: 3.0'

Rating: 4

This is a beautiful spot and the marina is very good. As mentioned by others - a nice halfway point between Frankfort and Charlevoix. Dock hands are super helpful. Docks are floating with nice big cleats. No problem getting securely tied up. Town is immediately adjacent to the marina with quaint gift shops in Fishtown and also in Leland proper. Clean restrooms and showers all in good shape. I'd prefer a counter in the washroom rather than the stand alone ceramic sinks - there's not much space for your stuff. The entire marina building is very nice with a lounge, laundry, restrooms and several showers (I should have counted) Beaches on either side of the marina. We've stayed here many times for a night and one time for several when the lake didn't cooperate. One word of caution - don't fill your water tank here. There is a LOT of iron in the water. This is noted in the laundry (might stain your clothes) and we tied into the system and had rust stains in the morning from the small drip at the connection. As noted by others the channel in is narrow, give the end of the outer break wall plenty of clearance. We saw 8+ feet through the middle.

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Anchorage Review for South Manitou Island

Reviewed by: Dan Hendon, Arcadia, on Aug 18, 2022
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 45'
Draft: 3.0'

This one is 5 stars if you like to be away from a busy town/port for a night of two. The view in every direction is beautiful - the wild island, the light house, the start of Sleeping Bear and Pyramid Point across the Manitou passage, and North Manitou Island. Good in any wind with a west component in it and North as well. The water is clean and clear. The trick is getting a spot where the depth is good and you won't swing into shore when the wind shifts. The bay is deep almost all the way to shore. Check your charts, there is a good area of 16' depth about mid way through the C of the bay. There were five boats anchored in this spot the nigh we were there. We got there mid day and got a good spot. Zip around the south end of the island in your dinghy (if you can) and check out the exposed wreck of the Morazon. We did have enough cell phone strength to get on the internet (Verizon) and check the weather. This varied depending on the position of the boat. One of the best 'away from it all' anchorages you'll find.

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Anchorage Review for Frankfort-Betsie Bay

Reviewed by: Dan Hendon, Arcadia, on Aug 13, 2022
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 45'
Draft: 3.0'

We stayed overnight in the anchorage right off of the fuel dock at the Municipal Marina. 12' of water, anchor set immediately in a mud/sand bottom. No weeds. Several other boats in this designated anchorage. This is west of where the anchorage is marked in Waterways. You'll see the rectangular area on your charts. It's nice to be close to town. Several restaurants and lots of shops. Busy resort town. Lake Michigan beach (this means beautiful sand). The fisherman were pretty good about keeping to the no wake designation of the entire lake. This was calmer than our dock in Holland on Lake Macatawa. Dinghy dock is a bit of a walk from downtown but the exercise was good. Nice paved walkway in a grassy park along the waterfront. Wi-Fi is available all through town and works in the anchorage as well. It wasn't windy when we were here. The lake is small so unless it really blows hard from the west It would seem like a good spot.

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Marina Review for Ludington Municipal Marina/Harbor View Marina

Reviewed by: Dan Hendon , Arcadia, on Aug 12, 2022
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 45'
Draft: 3.0'

Rating: 4

Marina is clean and had helpful dock hands at the fuel dock and at the slip. Laundry got an A+ from my wife - they have coffee there too. Restrooms and showers were clean. Short walk to downtown. There are several places to eat (not sure how other reviewers missed them). Some are on James St. which is perpendicular to the main drag. If you walk along the water on the sidewalks past Harbor View marina you'll find Jamesport Brewery which is a favorite of ours. There are others nearby as well. It's a nice walk with great views of the harbor. We've stayed at Harbor View before - it's newer with all floating docks - but it is more expensive. We enjoyed LMM.

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Anchorage Review for Sylvan Beach

Reviewed by: Dan Hendon, Arcadia, on Aug 11, 2022
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 45'
Draft: 3.0'

Beautiful spot looking east down White Lake. Quiet during our Wednesday night stay. Anchor holding was good. We set the anchor twice only because I thought our first spot might be too close to shallow water for the swing of the boat. You'll see on your maps that the bottom comes up quickly. It was probably good that we moved because the wind switched to the east overnight pushing us towards the shallow water. Our second location was better with more room at about 14' of depth for the entire swing. Try closer to the channel for more space. There were some boat wakes as fisherman went in and ourt They didn't seem to mind running about 150' off our stern. We didn't attempt to go to shore. We had good cell reception with our Jet Pack and Mimo antenna. Morning was gorgeous with the sun coming up at the east end of White Lake. Left early due to the wave report for the day.

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Anchorage Review for Macatawa Bay

Reviewed by: Dan Hendon, Arcadia, on Aug 8, 2022
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 45'
Draft: 3.0'

This is the go to anchorage for locals and visitors when Lake Michigan is too rough for anchoring out. Easy to set the anchor 13'-20' of water. In the 'No Wake' Zone leading to the channel out to Lake Michigan. Wakes are minimal as this area is patrolled on busy days. Dinghy docks on both north and south shores but it's a long way to Holland proper. A few places to eat on both sides. On a weekend, you'll have lots of company.

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