Town of Wareham Harbormaster - Onset Harbor Transient Moorings

Great place, very quiet

The harbormaster & staff are professional and helpful, mooring cost is reasonable, and the harbor offers good protection. No showers. Ample opportunities for swimming off beach or boat. Town is a bit run down, but it has several restaurants (favorite is Quahog Republic), a good hardware store, and a laundromat.

Very supportive Harbor Master, Easy to locate mooring.

Easy reservation, balls looked well maintained. Friendly launch service. Good location.

Harbormaster was great, launch service and personnel were good.

Loved it. Great little place!

Very friendly service. Good launch service to town.

Peaceful and beautiful is all we can say. Thank you for 2 lovely nights … just wish the launch ran later than 8-8:30PM…especially on weekends. Rita and David on the Cape Dory motorsailer BIA.

Much closer to the west end of the canal than we thought and easy access. The mooring field map is the best I’ve ever seen. Launch service was prompt and friendly. I wish they ran later than 7:30 pm. Amenities are limited but we were just there overnight.

Very protected harbor with reasonable rates. Onset is a sweet town for a long walk and a selection of restaurants.Harbor staff were friendly and available. One star off for lack of shower facilities and tight space for tying up a dinghy.

Loved it, and will come back!

Two thumbs up 👍👍…….

Great staff. Location was perfect

West to Onset for the illumination. The harbor boat came to ck that we had a reservation. They were super nice. Good time nice harbor, well protected.

Great area, attentive staff, easy mooring to find and use, and amazingly fast launch service. Easy walk down the peer and you're right downtown.

Nice but busy on weekends. Next time, mid-week.

A great place to stay, everyone was so helpful and friendly

Great location, secure mooring with good gear, super accommodating harbormaster. We'll be back.

A good place to grab a quick mooring waiting for canal currents. Never spoke with or was greeted by staff. Heads over used by town beach, no showers. A little noisy at night from parties in Onset.

Very nice stop and beautiful little harbor. Called and chatted with the harbor master and they were very accommodating!

It's always nice there. Multiple visits However, this visit we had an unwelcomed visitor at 1:30 AM. I heard heavy thump against boat and awoke to find a swimmer on my platform trying to steal my dinghy!

Friendly staff and convenient location! Easy in and out to or from the canal- very protected!

Wareham is a delightfully small town with friendly people, ice cream stores and Victorian homes. Quiet mooring surrounded by pretty beaches and shallow water. Canal cruise boat departure point. A very relaxing stay. Very well positioned moorings with tall pick up sticks and a super nice Harbor Master. Our go to spot in this area.

Our stay was ok but there was no one to communicate with regarding mooring assignment or depth info. We tried calling ahead of time and we were on the radio too but received no response. We grabbed a mooring and had a pleasant night and the depth was fine for us, so all was well.

It was fine. Onset is such a beautiful place! The price is a bit steep for a place with no showers available.

The harbor masters office office, as always, was responsive and very helpful. The harbor, as always, is gorgeous!

Very efficient, friendly & helpful service from Harbormaster to confirm & find mooring! Very protected area with smooth water in 4day Northeaster. Convenient dinghy dock.

We were met by the staff as we arrived and he was very friendly and helpful. At this time of year, there was no staff available for the launch but we were greeted at the dinghy dock by the same person who made space for us to tie up. Our mooring was solid and they were nicely spaced even though there were several large boats.

Scenic, charming small village welcomes a few boaters on moorings and a few at the dock. Canal location of this gem is easily overlooked by boaters in transit. Care is needed when entering the narrow channel when strong canal currents are present. Laundry services and a few restaurants are available nearby and overnight parking is easy but daytime use will require feeding the meter. Enjoyed our stay for 3 nights while waiting out stormy weather. A big part of the town's appeal is its working class character, so if nothing but the Hamptons will do, you might want to look elsewhere....

Stay was great. Launch was down but they let us stay at the dock for a while so we could go on shore and have dinner. We love onset!!!

Good price for New England mooring. Unfortunately the launch was unavailable, but a great little town

Always a great stay tough wind this trip really missed the launch service

No launch service, no facilities (shower,washrooms), dinghy dock so crowded husband hurt himself getting out of our dinghy. Increased prices but not services.

The Harbormaster was a great guy!

Friendly harbormaster Sheltered spot Mooring ball in good condition Pennant easy to pick up.

Would have been 5 stars but launch broke down 😟

Super easy. The harbor master ( Campbell ?) was very helpful and friendly. Enjoyed the location a lot. I’ll be back and will tell others about it.

Very nice mooring and quint town. Very helpful staff and all round good service.

Mooring was fine. Pendant easy to get with pickup bouy. Cute town. Ace hardware, good pizza at Marc Anthonys, 2 ice cream shops and a post office and liquor store. Couple other restaurants in town that we did not try, but look nice. Big popular beach also!

Excellent protected windy night tucked on a ball behind Wicket Island. Free launch service. Moorings get a bit tight for over 45 - 50’ except for 6 and 10. Just ask harbormaster on 9

Great crew. Very accommodating. Beautiful town.

Great place to stay! Protected, close to town. We will be back! Also we had asked to have a morning close to the island and they got back to us right away advising of the mooring and it was close to Island!

Great mooring and helpful people. Lovely location.

Great stay. Fun little harbor to explore and swim.

They were short handed for launch drivers. Had to curtail activities ashore otherwise all was fine. Helpful in directions to mooring.

Fantastic location, responsive & helpful Harbormaster and the guys running the launch service were super friendly and informative. Was just swinging thru on our way to Maine. So glad we found this little gem, Onset Village!

Great location, sturdy mooring in well protected spacious mooring field, onset is lovely too with well stocked hardware store and restaurants, excellent breakfast at pier view restaurant

Great town, friendly harbormaster

Harbormaster staff was A+ helpful and understanding when we needed to extend for repairs. Onset is lovely.

Very welcoming and supportive arrival. We enjoyed the town, as well as Wickett Island’s beach, which is dog friendly.

Staff very welcoming and helpful. Mooring field extremely well protected. Local SH marina extends the welcome mat as well.

Beautiful quiet harbor and beach!

Very friendly, helpful staff. Able to answer all our questions and give directions we needed. Disappointed that the launch is only available till 530pm but all else went very well.

Excellent staff. Very pleasant and helpful.

Beautiful, quiet mooring field. Free town launch service with friendly team. Nice ice cream spot across the street from the docks with a couple restaurants in walking distance. Recommend.

Super convenient. Love the way you pre assign moorings in Dockwa

Friendly responsive staff, moorings were sturdy and in good shape, launch rides to town was a big bonus!Quaint harbor…

Great seaside town. Shopping very convenient; great ambiance!

Carl was amazing. Super friendly and helpful. We enjoyed dingying over to Wicket island - right next to the mooring field. Playground for kids just up the road in town. Pizza shop was delicious also.

Karl, the harbourmaster and staff couldn’t have been better. Good stout mooring to hold us through several day of nor’easter and a launch service to get us to shore. Excellent.

It’s a sweet spot! Took up mooring and enjoyed the sights

We couldn't have been happier with our stay on the town moorings. The harbor was very well protected. The mooring was easy to find and pick up. The harbormaster was friendly and accommodating when we needed to extend our stay. There is a launch service available. There are a couple of restaurants, a small convenience store,laundromat and a hardware store in town. I would highly recommend this hidden gem.

Friendly harbor master and great launch service.

We always enjoy the tranquility of Onset Harbor, however we were displeased with the fact that the town mooring launch ceased operation at 5:30p which ruled out a trip to town for dinner!

Great Location up the river. Mooring balls very protected from wind and wave action in all directions. Limited restroom facilities ashore. Laundry is several blocks from dockmaster office. No large grocer nearby, but a convenience store is nearby. And a hardware store with limited boating supplies.

Had a great time in Onset . Harbor Master was very helpful , mooring in good shape with plenty of swing room. Directions to the assigned mooring were spot on. Would definitely visit again.

A hidden gem! This is right in our back yard and after 10 years of boating, finally decided it was time to book a mooring. We could not have been more surprised. Starting with the harbormaster and including the launch drivers, all were there to answer questions and provide a lift into shore is you needed. There are several restaurants steps from the dock if you wanted some eats as well as a small convenience/liquor store carrying anything you might need. The views were great and the sunsets were even better, Cuttyhunk like. Nice harbor to dinghy and paddleboard around in. Looking forward to my next visit. Only regret was that we hadn't gone there sooner!

The staff was awesome. Very friendly and helpful.

Harbormaster’s office was very helpful

No showers. Took ages to contact Harbour master it seems to be a one man show. Launch not available after 5 or before 9. Should have anchored beside it

Our first time experience was great. Harbor Master crew were awesome very informative and helpful!!!!

We had a good two night stay at the Onset town mooring field. It is a well-protected harbor and very nice town. The moorings are in good condition and after Labor Day there were plenty available. The town provides launch service with the mooring, but it is not reliable. If you plan to use it, we suggest that you have a backup. In our case, we had to go ashore on Sunday and the launch operator assured us that they would run the launch from 11 AM to 4 PM that day unless the wind was too high. We asked what too high winds meant and he said probably over 30 knots. Unfortunately, on Sunday they decided to cancel the launch due to what they claimed were high winds; we were recording gusts to around 20 knots at the top of our mast. As a result of the change, we launched our dinghy and motored in to the dock getting a bit wet, but in no danger. The launch drivers are also marine patrol. We are sure they can handle 20 knot winds. Our reading was that they decided to cancel the launch for convenience possibly because we were the only boat in their mooring field.

Beautiful town/harbor Great staff and surrounding restaurants. We will be back...

A female assistant harbor master was rude when giving me information regarding the use of Dokwa. Than she assigned me to a mooring that had a bad and tangled line which was stuck on the mooring chain underneath and couldn't be picked up...apparently this is an issue that the harbor master was already aware of, as it was described to me by other nearby boaters who experienced the same thing.

We would like to thank the Harbor Master for allowing us to stay on a mooring during the hurricane threat.

The staff was excellent. The mooring in great shape with a stout pendant. Easy access and good directions to mooring field. Now the problem… I went to bring the dog ashore and then planned on coming ashore later with my wife for dinner. As I was tying up to the skiff dock. A large man aboard a boat started screaming incessantly at me that I didn’t belong there and to get out of there. I felt very intimidated and unsafe. Needless to say, the dog didn’t get to shore and a local restaurant lost business.

The online instructions were perfect. We did not go ashore, only moored and left the mooring in the am. Beautiful sunset. Peaceful and quiet

Great harbor and super professional.

we needed a mooring and signed up for one it was convenient to the town dock very easy will do it again

Very nice harbor. we'll be back.

Amazing harbor. Lots of beaches and Wicks Island to explore. We were on Moorning A7. We paid through Dockwa and marina called us after reading our message that we only planned a short stay for lunch and refunded the fee. They said no charge for moorings if just staying for a few hours. We had a great lunch and short stay in the harbor. We had mooring A7, right beside the island. Launch service is great and quick. Give marina a call in advance to check mooring availability and get mooring assignment. Makes arrival a lot easier, it is a busy busy harbor. Highly recommend !! Marina very responsive and accommodating.

I always enjoy my stay on the Onset town moorings, I have been there many times. My only complaint is a lack of enforcement of speed limits and wakes in the mooring area.

The Harbormaster Crew did a great job helping us tie down. Easy access, with a nice floating dock. There’s a beach right off the dock…great place for kids to swim! We loved hearing their laughter during the day! Thank you for a great stay!

Very accommodating great stay

Seamless experience with a helpful team at a location we really enjoyed. We will come back again.

Beautiful spot. Great staff.

calm anchorage; helpful service

Very picturesque spot

Mooring is sheltered and not far from the dock. On shore within 3 blocks are several restaurants, a hardware store and a small grocery with liquor. Pleasant community with many unique victorian style homes.

There is no designated slip-holder parking at this marina and no where to leave a trailer. This posed a huge inconvenience for me. There are limited public metered parking spaces on the pier and they were full at 10:30 a.m. I had to park two blocks away in a two hour spot and return every two hours to feed the meter. I like to bring friends on the boat, and they also had trouble parking. I have stayed in many other marinas, and have never had this problem. Besides that, this is a pretty harbor. Good-sized slips, clean bathrooms, some nice eateries nearby and good beaches.

The approach is well-marked and mooring field is very protected. The current can be very strong at the mouth of the dredged inlet, so you have to be cautious. The harbormaster was not working the day we arrived and we were unable to contact anyone on the requested VHF channel upon our arrival. He told us the previous day what our mooring ball # would be. However, when we got there, someone else was on that ball and we were not quite sure what to do, so we just picked up different ball - hoping no one else was planning to come to that one. It got sorted out the next day, which was fine. The harbormaster was very helpful with the launch service and letting us know about the amenities at the dock (pump out boat, pump out station, water, fuel, restrooms, etc....). We stayed 2 nights and would definitely come back - a really pretty place.

Beautiful spot, very protected, minimal early AM traffic, slept like a rock overnight. Highly recommend!!!

Excellent - friendly launch service

Wonderful place to stay ! Always a pleasure 😎

Onset is the Jewel of Wareham. A hidden gem and a beautiful place. Well protected from the busy Hog Island channel. Moorings are my favorite but there are 5 slips with power, water, and pump-out on new docks. There is a market, a hardware store, Quahog Republic restaurant, and Marc Anthony's pizza all next to the pier. Public bathrooms, no showers, efficient launch service, dinghy dock. I love this place!

Great little town and pretty harbor. Super shallow in many areas but plenty of water where needed.

Beautiful harbor with great town owned slips and moorings. Water on the dock.

Always a pleasure to stay here

Great moorings on the back side of wickets island

Great place to stay, great beach. Good bus service for shopping

The best thing about staying in Onset is the launch service. The drivers are unfailingly polite, helpful and responsive. We made several trips in for laundry and grocery shopping and never had to wait long. Our hats off to the whole harbormaster team, especially Antonio who dealt with us on both days. The moorings are a great deal. They are secure and stable in protected waters. The docks have gotten better this year, too. They are new and can handle about 6 boats up to 35 ft and one additional on up to 50 ft. They all have power and water. This is a huge improvement over the past. There are several restaurants close to the pier and two ice cream places nearby. The laundromat is less than 4 blocks a way. There’s a small market and a hardware store right in the village as well. Stop & Shop can be reached by a $10 Uber ride. Onset makes a great stopping point for boats transiting the Cape Cod Canal,

Happy I liked it will be back

We’ve spent lots of time here over the last 5 years. Onset Harbormaster has moorings close to lots of bars and restaurants, provides a launch service, dinghy dock and pumpout boat. You can actually swim off the back of your boat because the HM enforces a no wake zone in the harbor.

Lovely setting amongst the beaches. Nice having the free launch service into town. Restrooms are shared by beachgoers, they could use some updates. Town has a few restaurants and a mini grocery/ liquor store. Overall a nice stay.

New docks, good water and electric service, pump out right at the dock. Short walk to village and beach. No showers but i knew that. Occasional noise from party fishing boat and canal cruise boat. A nice layover for our run from Watch Hill to Gloucester.

Very nice stay. We used the mooring to watch the Onset fireworks. Everything worked out great.

Beautiful and well protected harbor . At the entrance to the cape cod canal so watch the tides carefully. Its a really wicked current. Great little town, with good restaurants and places to hang out. Welcoming !

The launch service runs until 10:30 pm in the weekend and the staff are friendly and knowledgeable. Picturesque harbor with lots of sand to enjoy

No tender service after Sept 1st and our favorite clam shack was closed for the season as well. It was an easy in and out.

The staff was awesome! They were extremely responsive with their shuttle service, always very courteous and quite helpful. The town of Onset is great, with lots of little shops and restaurants.

Very accommodating harbormaster crew with a complimentary shuttle. Harbor very calm and enjoyable most anything you could need is within walking distance.

Great place and people.

1. Reasonable mooring rate. 2. Free launch service 3. Friendly launch crew 4. Showers would be an appreciated amenity. 5. Onset Village is low key and not self-important.

I had my boat on a mooring for two nights in Onset. They provided free launch service and were very friendly and helpful. We had a great weekend there, thank you.

The moorings are great and the harbor nicely protected. My only comment is that it is a bit confusing for a newcomer to the harbor figuring out where the moorings are. The moorings are obscured by Wickets Island when coming in the harbor and one sees many moorings at the private marinas to the east. It would be helpful if the info on the confirmation included an instruction to proceed past Wickets Island keeping it to starboard and enter the town mooring field on the northwest side of the island.