Safe Harbor Yacht Haven

76 Reviews
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181 Harbor Drive
Stamford, CT 06904-0931
41° 1' 54.58'', -73° 32' 7.83''
203-359-4500
VHF Ch. 9
shmarinas.com
Stamford Harbor
Safe Harbor Yacht Haven
Safe Harbor Yacht Haven
Safe Harbor Yacht Haven
Safe Harbor Yacht Haven
Safe Harbor Yacht Haven
Safe Harbor Yacht Haven
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Awards


Boaters Choice 2017Boaters Choice 2018Boaters Choice 2019Boaters Choice 2020Boaters Choice 2021Boaters Choice 2023

About


A gateway to Long Island Sound, Safe Harbor Yacht Haven is a popular home port for boaters exploring Block Island, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket. Casual cruisers and ocean voyagers alike can enjoy a relaxing weekend barbeque with friends or easy access to New York City.

Berth Capacity


Slips:363

Approach


Enter Stamford Harbor & proceed north to spindle, leave spindle to port & proceed ahead to 1st marina on starboard side.
Minimum Approach Depth:0.0 Meters
Minimum Channel Depth:0.0 Feet
Mean Low Water Dock Depth:13.0 Feet
Mean High Water Clearance:0.0 Feet

Services & Amenities

Last Updated: Jan 23, 2024

Dockage:Yes
Water Hookup:Yes
Service & Maintenance:Yes
Dinghy Dock:Yes
Wi-Fi:Yes
Pump-out:Yes
Restrooms:Yes
Showers:Yes
Laundry:Yes
Trash:Yes
Ice:Yes
Security:Yes
Groceries:Within 5 Miles
Medical Facility:Within 5 Miles
Pharmacy:Within 5 Miles
Car Rentals:Within 5 Miles
Beach:Within 5 Miles
Dog Park:Within 5 Miles
Golf:Within 5 Miles
Max. Vessel LOA:118.0 Feet
Max. Slip Length:118.0 Feet
Max. Slip Width:25.0 Feet
Floating Docks:Yes
Engine Service:Yes
Land Storage:Yes
Yacht Brokerage:Yes
Live Aboard:Yes
Show All

Excellent in all resp2ects

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I do not keep my boat at Safe Harbor Marina so I can't speak to the quality of their facility, but I cannot recommend them for mechanical work. I keep my boat at a neighboring marina and reached out for help with my boat's engine. Over the course of a couple months one of their technicians tried several times to solve my problem, and worse told me several times that he had fixed it when the engine clearly was not running right. After seeking another opinion, another mechanic was able to diagnose my problem within an hour and then replace the broken part within an hour as well, and now my boat runs like new. If I hadn't used Safe Harbor for this issue I likely would have saved signficant time and money.

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Very convenient. Staff was super-helpful and made it an easy and great experience.

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Great stay. Nice marina. Staff is very accommodating.

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We frequent this marina several times in season. The staff is wonderfully run by an excellent dock master and accommodating dock master.

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The arrival was perfect. Two red-shirts greeted us on arrival for assistance approaching our transient dock promptly after I contacted the marina letting them know I was arriving. The documents they gave me explained everything I needed. The facility was clean and in good condition. EVERYTHING WORKED!

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To sum it up in one word…. Lame. This marina literally is a place to park your boat. The amenities are poor. The highly recommended “Beer Garden” outside the marina is a trailer and wasn’t even open. They claim there are restaurants within walking distance which is not true at all. The bathrooms were absolutely disgusting with a heavy stench of urine and no toilet paper. The dockhands were somewhat helpful. Never again.

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A great facility and fantastic staff ...

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The staff is very friendly and helpful, but... No Fuel, no Pool, no Restaurant, pumpout service not dependable, no Internet since the start of the season, and the managment is severely lacking!

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Safe Harbor Yacht Haven - SoundWaters/Michael B.Jul 25, 2023

Courteous pre-arrival email from Jeff and everything was just as we expected when we arrived. Thank you!

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There power was shorted out and delivered 240 volts to one lead on my 50 amp service. It blow out my washer dryer. I want to put in a claim. They need to pay for a new one. I don’t know who to contact.

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Great location. Super close to West Marine, shopping, etc. Glen and staff at the dock where terrific.

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Great crew with Jeff as an excellent leader. Look forward to revisiting.

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Dock crew was helpful and pleasant.

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20 or more characters

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Yacht Haven is an urban marina, so your view is mostly office buildings. However, judging from the diversity of fish, birds and oysters visible from the docks, the water is plenty clean. Very important concern as you leave the marina. As you head to the main channel, there is a range marker which, from behind, looks like a channel marker, I drove our sailboat through what I thought was the channel, only to hit a rock about 5' below our waterline. Luckily, only 2 knots of boat speed, but still managed to knock off a chunk of fiberglass. The actual channel is to the LEFT of the range marker.

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For service, Jeff gets five stars. As for marina, it is a nice place to dock your boat. There is no pool or restaurant here. You need a dinghy to get you to Harbor Point (or Uber or a long walk). Stamford offers a free trolley from Harbor Point to get around. Dinner on Main Street was nice.

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Very helpful at docks. Excellent communication before and during stay.

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Great dockhands/easy in and out. No real amenities, restaurants, etc. but great for a stopover and access to the sound. Did not use showers, etc.

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Pleasant staff. Not much for facilities and very spread out. Clean

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Jeff and dock crew were great and accommodating. No fuel, but overall good accommodations. Nice beer garden out back for drinks and food truck with good food.

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Bathroom and showering facilities for the outer slips were just atrocious. There was a/c for both the men's and ladies rooms, but were not working. Filthy moldy conditions in the showers, lack of refuse cans or tissues. The marina had a commercial fishing operation operating from the docks. I was a slip holder at this marina when owned by Brewers, and there is no comparison as to how it is now run. I will never go back, and I have a lot of great friends there.

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The marina is very nice and the staff was very friendly and helpful but the restrooms are lacking. 366 slips but only 4 toilets & 4 showers for each sex. Plus no TP in one toilet on Saturday night or Sunday morning. AND no working AC. Cleanliness was clearly not a priority. No trash cans in the bathroom. Only one hook to hang dry stuff in the shower. The bath mats should have been thrown away awhile ago. I have stayed at many Safe Harbor locations and I know that they can do better.

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Arrived turns around and then and was told by the duck hands that they had run out of Paris the informational paper they usually gave transients that would re-print and get them to us later on. They never did. No I used your shower area and found the mouse shower curtains mildew, disgusting. I also would’ve appreciated ability to sit in store clothes while I was showering. I’ve been in better organized facilities.

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Couldn't find the marina services to take a shower. The layout of the marina was confusing.

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Excellent marina. Jeff was really nice. Set us up with a great slip last minute. I will definitely return again.

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Staff very courteous and accommodating. Limited facilities (no food, provisions or fuel) but pretty surroundings, good power and very well maintained

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Dockmaster Jeff and his crew were the consummate professionals. Could not have been more accommodating! Great stay. Highly recommend.

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Nice docks, and staff was great. But there was no place for trash! The showers and bathrooms were a quarter mile away.

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very nice- Mike is awesome!! Very personable and great service. unfortunately we were just overnight.

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Good Marina and service just a bit far from anything.

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nice place good staff

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The dock staff was great and the docks etc in great shape. A couple of comments…. Could you please put a bench in at the showers. Who doesn’t have glasses, dry clothes etc. to put down when you shower.. but there is nothing but one hook and a wet floor. . Such a simple, cheap common sense thing to do. Also, you reach the top of the dock and are met with a dismal parking garage with derelict cars and dim lighting. Could you put up a sign or two that says …”showers and rest rooms this way?” Something….thanks for Listening… Mike

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Great stay, nice marina and staff. Great hang out areas on the dock with couches and grills

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Great marina and dock hands were helpful coming into the marina and helping set up. I’ve been here before and plan to come Back again.

Marina Response:
Thanks for the great review! Keith is a great asset to the Yacht Haven team, and we really appreciate your feedback. Hope to see you again soon.
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2 dock hands met us and took a few minutes to tell us of restaurants etc. The marina is very very well protected from weather. Unfortunately, all restaurants are a 20 to 40 minute walk away. The marina is in an office park facing a parking lot. Downtown Stamford has a great area to visit. We found the Peruvian restaurant to be excellen.

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Clean facilities. Dockside bbq and cabana. Locks on gates. Felt very safe. Friendly staff. Very knowledgeable. Great location. Beer garden on site. Will come back!

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Beautiful new facility. There was a bit of confusing communication for a transient. The hand out stated bathrooms that didn’t exist! The size requires a map that also wasn’t available. Looks like these are “startup” issues and SH is new owner.

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Quiet place; friendly neighbors; clean baths; very secure

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Conveniently located, friendly team. But freshly renovated heads had automatic faucets with no warm water - not ideal for washing/shaving. As with most marinas, more clothes hooks and a small table for clean clothes etc. in the shower are would be appreciated.

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I enjoyed my stay. Clean facility and friendly staff.

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Great staff and safe location. Marina is calm and nice docks

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Nice marina ! Appreciated not getting killed on transient slip charge. Reasonable 212.00 Trip from ME to FL Oct.

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Excellent dock staff including dockmaster Jeff. Convenient to all of LI Sound.

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Dock staff was great. Nice facilities

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stayed one night en route to cape cod. the marina is easy to access, neat and clean, and Jeff the dockmaster is the best. interesting location in a corporate office park, with not much to do or see , but you know that going in.

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Easy in and out. Great help at the dock. Thanks

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Friendly, attentive dock crew. Clean picnic table area. Quiet surroundings. The bathrooms could use some maintenance.

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This is a great quiet marina with very still water at night due to the breakwaters on the southern end. It’s very well constructed, well equipped and pleasant helpful staff. A great place to spend a night or more.

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Made a reservation via Dockwa, very easy and a quick response. That was the only good part of this stay. No dock persons on arrival @ 4 pm. No answer to hailing on Ch.9, and no answer on phone. Finally just grabbed an empty slip. Took over an hour until a member gave us the gate code so we could walk to get take-out. No WiFi password......because there was no one there to help!

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Great, helpful staff. A pretty late season stay with rough weather and slip was pretty protected.

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Our first visit here. Jeff and his crew are so welcoming and professional. We will be sure to visit again. Thanks so much!

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Great facility and staff. Def recommend when in Stamford area.

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Great service once again. Took fuel prior to heading to the mooring. Rob came out to assist with getting us secured to the mooring. Used the complimentary launch as well. Great visit.

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Great Marin. Quiet.....well maintained......convenient location

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Keith, the dock master could not have been more helpful. The dog walk loop was great around the north side of the big building, even had some sand in an area. Fairview market is a mile away next to CVS.

Marina Response:
We appreciate your kind words and feedback. And we agree, Keith is a great addition to the Yacht Haven team! Hope to see you back on the docks soon!
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Clean marina with a very attentive staff. We he floating docks are in excellent condition with wide alleys. Easy to get in and out of.

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Nice marina situated around a corporate office park. Dave the manager was nice to deal with and helped us into our slip. Nice gas grills available to use. Secured gate entrance for each pier. Nothing really close by to walk to for either restaurants or grocery stores. There is a corporate cafeteria open for breakfast or lunch in the complex. Nice stopover point.

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Great staff and very helpful.

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Good facilities and very helpful staff.

Marina Response:
Thank you for the five-star review and for visiting us at Yacht Haven Marina. Please come back next season for more good times at the marina.
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Great staff and well kept marina. Free coffee and pastries on weekends. Easy parking and beer garden was fun. I will return next year

Marina Response:
Thanks for your great review and for staying with us at Yacht Haven Marina. We are happy to hear that you enjoyed the marina and our weekend treats. Glad you had fun at the beer garden. We are looking forward to seeing you again next summer! Take care.
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Wonderful experience. Friendly staff and very kind neighbors.

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A significant easterly swell made the outer harbor extremely uncomfortable. The dockhand on duty, Jeff, said he could find a place for us. Jeff was super helpful, meeting us at the slip, taking lines, connecting shore power, all with a smile despite a steady downpour. Once at Yacht Haven, there was no evidence of the wind and swells that rocked the harbor. Very comfortable. Bathhouse so-so but a great place to be in a storm!

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Keith was very friendly and helped us into the slip. Facilities were well protected from the 20-30 knot easterly winds in the Sound.

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I've been sailing since boyhood, and have had a boat with my family at YHE since about 1978. I know I’m older, and romanticize the simplicity and peace of my youth, but this isn’t my father’s Yacht Haven. There are some things you should know before booking a stay here, particularly if you are looking for peace and quiet. The docks are well maintained with wide berths and great protection. The staff is friendly and capable. The facilities are clean. But the peace and tranquility of all things is destroyed by the beer garden operated on the property. Ruined. Music played until midnight and beyond is one thing (bad music and foul lyric laced rap that I have to explain to my young children); but 20 somethings sleeping it off in their cars in the lot, racing through it at unsafe speeds, playing their own music in their cars seriously detracts from the neighborhood. Last weekend I was nearly in an accident, and the weekend before had to remind them at ten after midnight that closing time was midnight. Their patrons also have been known to help themselves to dock access, found sleeping on our boats. I’ve never felt the need to lock my boat and take the keys before. I will spend each weekend calling police to the marina to deal with this, and have little hope that the “we’re working to resolve this” response I am getting from the local management actually goes anywhere. Bottom line is it may not be worth it to stay here. It's sad to see what was once the jewel of the Western Sound fall victim to this neighbor. I feel bad for local management; they may in fact be helpless. The spot this bar occupies would make a great pool deck. UPDATE: I am so sorry I ever signed up to stay here. It’s like docking at a concert. Live bands or awful rap music deep into the night. This used to be such a peaceful place. I can’t wait to leave. I wish no stars was an option. This place sucks.

Marina Response:
Hello. We appreciate you and your family’s long-term membership at Yacht Haven Marina, and we are grateful for your kind words about our team and facilities. Thank you for voicing your concerns about the Beer Garden. From our understanding, you are referring to a particular event that took place on June 22nd. Like us, the Beer Garden is a tenant of the Shippan Landing property. We have passed on your concerns to the property owners, and they have spoken with the Beer Garden management team. They have agreed to keep the noise levels down after 11pm and have also stepped up their security. We have also increased security at the marina. Please feel free to reach back out to us with any additional issues as we will continue to monitor the situation.
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Great staff. Very helpful.

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One of the best marinas to stay in for transient spaces. Staff very courteous and helpful. Services wee clean and plenty. Will stay again!

Marina Response:
We appreciate your great review and thank you for choosing Yacht Haven! It makes us so happy to hear that you think we are one of the best marinas and that you enjoyed our team and the facilities. Looking forward to your next visit!
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Very nice marina, great location, easy to get an uber and calm water. Kieth is very personable and helpful. Also good breakfast on the weekends.

Marina Response:
Thank you for your review and feedback. We are happy that Kieth was able to help you and that you enjoyed the breakfast, location and facility. Please come back and stay with us again soon!
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Very nice and clean although I never saw any dock crew

Marina Response:
Hello. Thank you for your review and for choosing Yacht Haven. We appreciate you letting us know that you did not see our dock crew. This should not have been the case! Please come back and see us again, and we will make sure that you have an even better experience!
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Came in for a one day stay and it ended up being three, people were very friendly and offered help any time we needed it. Coffee and Bagels, muffins each morning made it fun.

Marina Response:
Thank you for your review and for choosing Yacht Haven. We really enjoyed having you here, and hope we can convince you to stay even longer next time :) See you soon!
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Excellent stay. The dock staff was polite and helpful. The facilities were very clean. Will stay there again in the spring on the way back north. This Brewer marina is run just like all of the other Brewer marinas....top shelf.

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Highly dissapointing experience. Worst ever. Despite 9 phone calls starting day prior to arrival did not see one person from Brewer's on the docks. Despite radio call and phone call received no guidance as to berth or location. We chose a berth at random, tied up and called in again. To add insult to injury, they turned off the water to the piers and laundry; then pad locked the toilets, without notifying us. Two young men from Brewer's did help my wife get her laundry to a nearby facility. That's the only reason of getting any star at all. We are going to ask for our money back and have decided against joining Brewer's. Simply awful!

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Very friendly service.

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Friendly, helpful staff. Wide lanes between piers and wide berths that are easy to enter. Immacuilate restrooms.

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Nicely maintained marina with a very helpful staff. Quiet and peaceful. But the place is spread out and there are long walks to get from here to there. We were on a T-head and the internet service (important to us) was terrible.

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Made the reservation in the afternoon on Dockwa and they confirmed it very quickly. Keith (dockmaster) was extremely friendly and there with an extra hand as we came in to tie up! Beer garden with live music and food trucks was open on Friday. Will come again whenever we pass through!!!

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