Town of Marblehead Harbormaster

Friendly people. Stayed on mooring ball. Convenient launch service. Clean shower, laundry, lounge area. A courtesy car was available to us. Walking distance to restaurants and attractions.

Great stay! It’s been a great couple visits with you this summer- cheers!

We love the town dock in Marblehead. It is central to town and restaurants. There is also a wonderful store, Crosby’s, in easy walking distance. The personnel from the Harbormaster’s team are competent and really helpful, and couldn’t be nicer. And you can see all parts of one of the most wonderful protected harbors in the world. We try to always stop on our way north and south on our way to Maine.

The facilities, while small, are clean and spacious. Proximity to downtown is perfect for walking, provisioning, or just general sightseeing. Even though Marblehead is a very crowded harbor, there was plenty of maneuvering room adjacent to the docks.

Surprised and happy to get a virtually short notice reservation. Phone contact was pleasant and upbeat. On arrival, three professional staff made the approach and dockage on a very windy day stress free....made me look good at the helm. The docks are very stable and clean. Lots of interesting harbor boat traffic but the no wake enforcement makes it very comfortable even at busy times. We were right in the heart of historic Marblehead. Need I say more. Will put Marblehead on our cruising itinerary every year! Addendum: we’ve been back several ,ore times since this review was written. Each time is such a great stay. It’s become our favorite “northern port” when leaving Cape Cod and heading north. Once again, the entire staff is focused on the boater. We prefer slips when traveling and the docks in Marblehead never disappoint.

More than comfortable with everything needed for a worthwhile stay. Everything is a short walk away.

Great stay, always efficient, clean secure bath/shower facilities, easy in and out of harbor.Stayed here many times.

We moored our J105 Blow Boat!! on H4 right in front of the Harbor Master's office. Excellent spot and very close to shore. Restaurants and town shops were just a short walk away. (Especially enjoyed Maddie's!) Harbor Master was very easy to deal with when we needed to make some changes. Highly recommend. :)

Docked at one of the floating docks & had an amazing time. The Harbormaster crew are beyond helpful & friendly. We had fantastic. Theres water on the dock & I was able to clean my boat which was a real plus. Had a blast walking around Marblehead and checking out the sites. The harbor is active so lots of great people & boat viewing. Facilities are A+. Will definitely return and definitely highly recommend.

Harbormaster Staff are super friendly and helpful. Bathrooms/showers were an 8 out of 10 - floors were soaked. Dinghy dock was great and finding a spot was always easy. Mooring was good and well tended. The one negative to our experience was the launch drivers from the Yacht Clubs. They travel at high speeds making a wake and passed very close - I'm talking a couple of feet - by our boat consistently. Suggest the Harbormaster watch these vessels and slow the drivers down.

Once again the service was above and beyond what we expect. We had to move down a dock after we arrived. I think there was a staff member for each line on the boat and then some. Even the harbormaster showed up to help. A favorite spot for my family. Head to Maddies or the Barnacle for a great meal and some generous cocktails.

Friendly, helpful Harbormaster and staff. Great location, with excellent access to restaurants as well as shops for provisioning. Good facilities.

Harbormasters staff was very professional and courteous.

Good mooring. Well serviced. Close to town.

The location is excellent, however the price has gone up since last year. The new launch service is available, however not included in the mooring fee. The Harbormaster dock is convenient to restaurants , grocery etc.

always enjoy our time in Marblehead!

Harbormaster is always quick to respond and moorings are in great shape right off old town.

Super helpful staff. Great location.

Nice dock right in the heart of town, walking distance to everything.

As always the outer harbor is a bit of a ride - but nice to take the dinghy into the dock.

Easy approach to dock. Nice staff. Great location near restaurants, grocery store and park. What's not to like?

Picturesque harbor, easy access to the dock and nice clean facilities. Add in good restaurants, a beautiful historic district and a grocery store a short walk away it is a perfect place for an overnight or two. Take the time to visit the Crocker and Sewell parks nearby. Harbormaster staff was helpful and patient.

Really great opportunity to get rare dock space in this wonderful historic town. There are only room for about five boats. Harbormaster guys are great, facilities our very adequate and clean.

Easy to get on the mooring and a beautiful view!

Great option for a quick stopover - easy docking and very helpful. Look forward to another visit!

West Shore transient moorings have no dinghy docks. There is only a 30 minute tie up at the pier. No dinghy tie up available. The launch has limited hours and is $8 or more / person / trip. At Village St pier there was no trash barrel and at the parking lot there was no dumpster - unlike past years. The transient fee increased from $40 to $50 / day. That's pretty steep for this lack of accommodations.

Because our LOA is almost 45’ we were put all the way out in the mouth of the harbor at 42° 30.413' N 70° 50.362' W No protection from swells which made for a rolly pitchy night despite decent conditions & we’re on an Island Packet. It would really stink on a fat, light displacement/lwl boat

Our first visit to a very lovely harbor. The inner harbor moorings are easy to find and very accessible to the town docks. I hope that they will be able to reinstitute a launch service next season. That's always a plus.

We had a wonderful stay at Town of Marblehead Harbormaster. The harbormaster was available during arrival and departure to assist with docking and to answer any questions we had. Facilities were outstanding and we were steps away from the historic neighborhood area. We will definitely be back!

Convenient to downtown, decent facilities and easy to access. My one negative, it is expensive .

Great location. Dockmaster helpful and responsive. Bathrooms/showers modern and well kept. Dinghy dock had enough room for our dink. Town was charming and supportive. Fun to get around using our folding bikes.

Perfect. I believe the price increased by 50% so that was disappointing but everything else was perfect. The facilities were clean and easily accessed. We enjoyed.

Easy to find stout moorings just off the Harbor Master dock. Perfect location to enjoy a stroll around the beautiful historic town. Provisioning is a 5 minute walk to Crosby’s for everything you need. Harbormaster bldg. has nice showers, laundry and garbage drop off. Gas and diesel next dock over. One of our favorite places to visit.

When making our reservation we received the following reservation from the Harbormaster: "The only mooring available for your sized vessel is at the mouth which can be rough in weather. We do have dockage available fir $5 per foot. Please advise." We looked at the weather and knew it was going to be calm and went ahead and took the mooring. The problem wasn't the weather. The problem was all the boat traffic. This mooring is right at the channel and the harbor entrance. Had we known this we would have made another decision. In addition, there were several other moorings at the entrance that may have been more comfortable, and appeared that they would have been able to accommodate our boat. All these mooring balls were available. One other item - the email we got which gave directions to the mooring ball were for the mooring balls inside the harbor, not the outside mooring balls.

Nice spot. Our mooring was a short dinghy ride from the town dock. Wonder why the launch service is not working? Your tax dollars at work? Nice friendly town. Everybody we met said hello. We ate outside at the Landing restaurant because we had our dog with us. Nice restaurant!

Nice mooring close to docks. Very clean and convenient rest rooms, showers.

It was a strong northeast wind and rain and the harbor master crew were there to help and advise. They even assisted us from the moring to the dock as the winds made it too tough to row our dinghy back!! Many thanks for the warm shower and facilities as well. We will be back!

Friendly, accommodating staff; great location. Marblehead Harbor is easy to approach and easily navigated; private channel markers guide you down the fairway right to the harbormaster's inner-harbor moorings. Those moorings are easy to find even in the dark, and are situated just a few strokes of the oar from the dock, which is steps from the picturesque town. Other plusses: A supermarket a 5-minute walk away; an excellent restaurant one dock over; a 24/7 self-service pump-out station a five-minute putter from the moorings; a fuel dock (none of those in adjacent Salem!) Marblehead Harbor opens to the northeast, and the well-sheltered waters where the inner-harbor moorings are located can be a little rocky in a stiff breeze from that direction (though having done it, I can tell you that passing the night isn't bad even in that). About the only other downside is that the moorings fill up fast in the summer, which is why you'll see me there right now!

Beautiful quaint town. Great friendly and helpful staff.

Not great actually. We were assigned a mooring in the far outer harbor. #2-0. I believe these are simply positioned too far out because the first night was quite rocky as was the next day. On day 3, the side waves were hitting us such that our boat was pitching 90 degrees back and forth. As we arrived back to the boat late last night it was downright scary getting into the boat from our dinghy. I hit my head on the boom (a first) because it was as flailing so badly. We’ve had our boat nearly a decade and never experienced this bad of a situation at a mooring especially in non-inclement weather. Finally we decided at 9:30pm to leave the mooring and go inside the harbor where it was calm and nice and we tieD up to the harbor masters dock. Luckily it was open and available. I wouldn’t use those outer moorings ever again. That said, the town and bay of a Marblehead is marvelous.

Excellent harbor, great staff, great town to visit

The Harbormaster was very accommodating and located us near the dingy dock. The bathrooms and showers were clean and modern. The town was just blocks away with an excellent grocery store. A little rolley in the harbor but there was a SE swell running in the bay. I would definitely return.

Excellent place to stay in MBH with fantastic views of the harbor. Floating docks with reliable electricity and fresh water. Convenient location within a 5 min walk of downtown shops and restaurants. I returned to the MBH town docks on my way back from Portland, ME to Annapolis, MD. Adding to my previous review...The Harbormaster staff is very professional. They asked for my ETA and were ready to help me tie up upon arrival.

Great location. All harbormaster staff are friendly and helpful. Love the boating action at the Landing.

Very calm and nice part of this beautiful Harbor. Very attentive and professional staff looking after us. It’s a new go-to for our annual up and down from the Chesapeake to Maine. Thanks!

Great people, great service, great venue

the Moorings available were at the mouth of the harbor along side the channel. The mouth of the harbor is too rocky rolly. We ended up leaving after the first night as it was too much. Otherwise found the harbor to be beautiful and quite a quaint quiet town, also felt unwelcoming to visitors

Terrific dock, location and staff. 2 minute walk to Crosby Grocery, coffee, restaurants.

My special thanks to the Harbor Master and Assistant HM. They provided needed and greatly appreciated special assistance with a motor breakdown. And the basics were all down well. They help make a Marblehead visit a special time.

Nice moorings very close to town. Great spot to watch the constant activity of the harbor.

We love going to Marblehead. Very clean facilities , a beautiful town . , a hidden gem as far as we are concerned. My family loved it there , we will be back soon. Linus

Making the reservation through Dockwa went perfectly! The harbormaster messaged me with my mooring number and location so I was able simply to go directly to it without having to be escorted by the launch. Clear instructions on dinghy tie-up location and procedure were very helpful. Always a treat to be in beautiful Marblehead Harbor!

A great weekend trip. The moorings were easy to find and well marked. Pendant lines were clean and in good shape. Great communication by way of an email the day before we arrived outline the mooring and where it is as well as local tips and instructions for where to dock our dinghy, showers, etc. Very nice. We were on an "outer" mooring right at the mouth of the harbor so it was a bit rocky due to boat wakes as folks returned to the harbor in the evening, but that wasnt a problem for us..just wanted to share that those moorings aren't as protected as the ones in the inner harbor. Highly recommended either way.

We had a wonderful time in Marblehead. The staff at the Harbor Master was friendly and helpful and the facilities were nice and clean. We will definitely be back!

Overall good, but there were people setting off fireworks very early in the morning right next to the Harbormaster dock and no one told them to stop. I'm all for fun, but it did make the morning hard to enjoy.

Harbor master crew was very helpful and friendly. Beautiful harbor. Had some great takeout from the Sail Loft. We will be back again

premium facility and mooring location

As always, we had a great stay here. They are always so pleasant to deal with. :)

Tiny dock for just a few boats but if you are lucky enough to get a spot, grab it. Wonderful location in a charming town.

Loved the town of Marblehead, visitor mooring we'll maintained but very rolley. went along side for water and tried to find harbourmaster - (who is now in different building) but no face to face, only communicated by email. It would be alot more pleasent to actually see someone. No help with lines just instructed by email to leave the dock! Shame as all other American harbourmasters I have met have been very welcoming, present and helpful.

Good facility although a little pricey. But the inner moorings worth it. Outer moorings very rolly from boat traffic. They are adjacent to channel and the beginning of the no wake zone. Weather is also factor in the outer moorings. Ground tackle great. Shower and laundry provided. Good location for town.

Great dock and people.

We stayed on the dock for two nights. We had a very good experience. The dockmaster met us on arrival. The facilities were clean and modern, and convenient to Marblehead points of interest.

The harbormaster met us at the dock which was a bit.if a tight squeeze hut made sure we docked safely. Unfortunately we had another boat come in that nignt at 3 am and the occupants were quite loud. The harbor master was there quite quickly and controlled the situation. Marblehead itself was lovely with excellent shops, history and a newlt renovated landing served excellent food.

First time to Marblehead and we will return. Had space on one of the floating docks. Mark and his team were very helpful and welcoming. Facilities were convenient and clean. Agree that not everybody observes the 'no-wake' rule especially the Yacht Club tenders.

Came Friday late afternoon and missed the close of the office at 3p. Were not able to get in touch with Dockmaster for access code for facilities even on Saturday until a big mega yacht came in to dock. Dockmaster appeared for their docking and we got the codes. Nice facilities but over all we did not feel very welcome. Very busy and crowded.

Lousy! Harbormaster put us on the furthest away buoy saying there were no others and all day long we saw their buoys going unoccupied. The no wake zone is non-existent so the further out you are the rougher it is. When we went ashore the harbormaster directed us to the wrong dinghy dock where we proceeded to get yelled at for docking there. The waterfront is pretty disjointed and after spending a few hours ashore decided to head out for another location. It will not be on our 'Places to return to" list.

Great location, easy walk to town, professional and helpful staff

Love this place. Great dock and very knowledgeable harbourmasters. Fun town

the dock was ready for our arrival and in great shape. after tie up, it was time to use the dock supplied electric power. the planned plug in gave me difficulty but along came assistant harbor master Charles Cullinane. He tried the plan plug in. Then he decided to try another outlet but my power cord short so Charlie loaned me one of the harbormasters cord and the day was saved. great service many thanks Charles

Great stay on mooring number 2 at the mouth of the inlet. We put the reservation in as we were sailing by and decided to stop. A quick radio call to the harbormaster and he confirmed a mooring for us. Thanks for the great support.

Tucker's Wharf is located perfectly at the center of Marblehead's Old Town which makes it a charming and delightful destination. The Landfall is great for dinner while the Driftwood is a local breakfast favorite. And you can't miss enjoying a spirit at Maddy's Sail Loft. There are plenty of shops and services to amuse and help. Mark and his team are gracious, welcoming, and helpful Harbormasters.

Harbormaster staff were great. Men's shower was filthy. Main issue is a 300% rate increase since the last active captain review with no advertised notice until getting to the dockwa reservation. More a reflection of what I have seen with dockwa and the use of it to justify ridiculous mooring rentals. I will use this site in the future to figure out which harbors to avoid and will gratefully thank the ones that have kept rate increases modest and do not require payment with my thumbs. Some of us still sail to distance ourselves from forced internet interaction.

They were very helpful allowing me To move my boat to a mooring in a more protected location.

Very Helpful harbormaster and staff. Excellent location and adequate shoreside facilities.

Great little harbor (jam packed with boats on mooring balls).

Friendly staff and great facilities, including washer and dryer free to use. Only drawback is the price at $5/foot.

Courteous, pleasant, efficient. We came in after hours and found everything set up as promised. Easy access to amenities. Friendly , informative folks as we found our way to recommended watering holes. All good.

Wonderful stay in Marblehead. The Harbormaster and team set us up with a fantastic mooring that was very comfortable and so close to everything that we didn't even put the motor on our dinghy! We look forward to coming back again!

The Harbormaster was great, very accommodating. It was a little inconvenient not to have a launch service, or showers. Fortunately we where able to finagle something with the help of the harbormaster. We had a nice stay.

Arrived late on a Friday night and had no trouble coming in and finding our mooring. Location is tucked away deep in the harbor, so well protected and calm water. Good spacing between moorings.