Baltimore C-dorys? Boating on Chesepeak bay, property.

B

bshillam

Member
Well as life would have it it appears we are moving to Baltimore county in the summer. For those boaters near the area I have a few questions. Do you boat year round? We have boated during the winter, scraping ice off our windshield to enjoy Thanksgiving one year out on our boat. We are really drawn to the waterfront housing thinking a dock would really mark boating even that much more enjoyable. Being new to waterfront purchasing, and potentially (highly likely) purchasing in Baltimore do you have any suggestions on areas, things to be aware of, etc. We'll mainly focus on low mean property the is no less than 3+ as our boating needs may change. I actually think 4+ would be better. As we have talked about a full displacement boat before. Thoughts, feedback, ect.
We will be visiting at the beginning of next month and will be making the decision then. As well should anyone have a referral for a good Realtor or be one please drop me a note. Someone familiar with waterfront property would be a real plus.
 
bshillam":30b2xfhg said:
We'll mainly focus on low mean property the is no less than 3+ as our boating needs may change. I actually think 4+ would be better. As we have talked about a full displacement boat before.
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I am interested in the discussion of purchasing waterfront property, but unfamiliar with the terms you are using. Are you talking about the minimum water depth at the dock? My brother just moved to Baltimore last month and is living in termporary housing while house hunting. Thanks.

Rob
 
Yes I am, the mean water depth would be the depth at a normal low tide measured over a 19 year period. Don't ask me though who measures over those 19 years. In addition I just read a comment from an appraiser than water depth can have a huge influcense over the appraisal by as much as 50k per foot. Not so critical to dory owners than can float in as little as 6" +/- an inch. But to a sail boat or full displacement it really matters. As well, the water needs to be navigatable to the bay. The more water under the dock the more you'll pay. I for one am looking for a real good balance between value in land home and docking. Probably more important is going to be land, docking and that as we improve the home/update it the home will support that improvement.
 
I live in Pa. but cruised the upper Cheasapeake last spring and loved it. Till you find the right waterfront home, may I recommend Henderson's Wharf marina as home for your boat till you find the right home. It is in the Fells Point Area of Baltimore's harbor and is with in walking distance of the inner harbor area and Little Italy which for food is not to be missed (Caio Bella). Many summer live aboards at Henderson's Wharf marina finer people you are not likely to meet. Fells Point has lots of restaurants and night life. A beautiful boat ramp is close by the beautiful town of Rockhall is across the bay and Annapolis is pretty close by. You will be in a good place.
D.D.
 
As with all real estate choices it is location, location, location. Baltimore area traffic can be a pain. Where will you be working in relation to water? A crappy commute can destroy the joy of living on the water. Classic row homes near the inner harbor can be a great choice if you are working downtown. You will want to be mindful of a lot of less than desirable areas in Baltimore though.

Depending on where you will be working, many people commute from Annapolis and the areas along the Bay between Baltimore and Annapolis. Traffic on I 695, I 97 etc can be a killer though.

Besides Annapolis and a lot of smaller towns to the south, on the west side of the Bay, you have lots of eastern shore choices to explore -- Rock Hall (home of Gratitude Yachts and a great waterfront crab shack), Chestertown, Easton, Kent Island, Solomon Island and St Michaels. Further south you have Oxford, Cambridge etc. You can also run up the various eastern shore rivers to see how it was in the "old days" when the rivers provided means to move crops to the Bay and the rest of the world.

If you really want to wander, trailer over to Indian River Bay/Inlet on the Delaware shore or Assawoman Bay which has its outlet at Ocean City MD. You can also run north to the C&D Canal and cross to the Delaware Bay -- run up to Wilmington and Philadelphia, down to Lewes, over to Cape May, and down to Indian River and Ocean City with some ocean running.

Boating on the Bay falls off dramatically after Halloween. That said on the Friday after Thanksgiving this year it was 70* on the eastern shore and at Bethany Beach DE kids were in the water. Other years I have sailed on the Bay into December with attendant sun burn. Last Christmas night we had a blizzard with 2' of snow so "be prepared".

In the end, if you don't live on the water there are a ton of marinas within an easy drive of the inland towns surrounding Baltimore. Some offer year round water/showers others don't. The Chesapeake Bay is a great place to explore and makes an excellent home base.

I had my first boating experience on the Bay in 1962 and have lived and worked within the watershed at various times over the years. We now own a home at Ocean View DE as the alternative to living in the desert in Las Vegas NV so we will be back on the Bay one of these days.

Bill Uffelman
Las Vegas NV
 
The Chesapeake is a great place for cruising and fishing. There are many towns, rivers and creeks to explore. One can spend a lifetime and never see all of it. As far as cruising year round, depending on the weather in January and February, you may need an ice boat. Most winters in the upper bay you will get some freezing in creeks and rivers. Some very cold winters the Coast Guard has had to bring ice breakers in so that freighters can make it into Baltimore.

There are many nice places to live around the Baltimore area. In looking for waterfront, you may want to look around the Magothy and Severn rivers.
 
If you haven't ever seen it, check this out - great rag on Chesapeake boating:
http://www.chesapeakeboating.net/
Here's a good place for service; used to be the C-dory dealer on the Bay; always treated us well.
http://www.cuttermarineinc.com/
Also, I leave my C-Dory in the water all year long, a little farther down the Bay (Solomons). The Bay rarely freezes down there.
Chesapeake waterfront property has been discovered long ago and is of course very pricey. Annapolis area is particularly nice and has been in great demand. There are all kinds of places within commuting distance of Balto.
Hope this helps.
 
Bryrick & Casey,
Joan and I move to Baltimore in 1984 and intended to buy waterfront property, but were shocked at what we could afford and what Realtors called waterfront. We ended up renting a home on Stoney Creek and my landlord allowed me to expand his pier to accommodate my toys (he payed for the crane and materials and I provided the labor). My creek iced up each year that I was there, so leaving my boats in the water in the winter months was really not a good option for me.
I was not real crazy about living there after living in Florida, but it did allow me to boat all but about 4 months each year of the two that I lived there. We did enjoy the boating as there were many places to easily explore (for both power and sail). I was fortunate after that tour of duty to head back to Florida, where I could play on the water most of the year.
We now live on the lower Chesapeake and I have been thankful to have the Wallas, so that the colder weather does not stand in my way.
As mentions in this thread, there are limitless mooring possiblites in that area of the bay, so even if property on the water does not work out, you will still be able to find a dock that won't be too far from home.
 
Your trivia for the day....

I can't comment on Baltimore waterfront housing, but here's some info on the 19-year tidal period.

While defending a case at Katmai National Park, I had to prove where the eastern park boundary was actually located (I needed to prove where the mean-high tide was situated...) on the Shelikoff Strait opposite Kodiak Island.

I contacted the tidal office at NOAA in Washington,DC and found that there are folks who's entire professional life is devoted to studying tides. (Talk about a job with lots of ups and downs....).

Anyway, what I learned was that tide data is collected over a nineteen year period (known as a Tidal Epoch, as I recall) and the moving nineteen year interval becomes a baseline for historic purposes.

After going through the necessary data, the NOAA tide people sent me a surprisingly professional document that was secured with a red ribbon and a gold NOAA seal. All very professional, and made a nice informational submission to the Court and Plaintiff (who withdrew the suit, and settled).

The tide people were so helpful I got the impression they didn't get many requests for their services; sort of like the Maytag repairman.

Casey
 
We are so looking forward to this next adventure. My family is going to be visiting Baltimore a week from this Friday, looking at the communities surrounding the city. It's already been a great learning experience. We've found a few pieces of waterfront that have potential. We don't have a large budget but are hopeful of our vision. Even should we need to do some updating on the property. It's more about the bones of the home, location, view and community. We are also looking forward to getting back into the boating scene. We met so many great people on the west coast and will be able to meet others on the east coast. :thup
Opportunity can be a wonderful thing, here we come Maryland I hope your ready for us! :wink
 
Be sure to look for info on this site about the annual C-Dory rendezvous at Lankford Bay. It's fun and should be very instructive for C-Brats new to the Bay.

Hope to see you there.
 
Welcome to the land of easy living. You will love it. We boated out of the Middle River area for many years. Not to far by water from Baltimore, but a lot of places to explore even in bad weather.

If you have not found the magazine Chesapeake Bay grab it the first chance. It tells a lot about our wonderful area.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

PS Cutter Marine on Middle River was a C-Dory dealer. Our marina was Chesapeake Yachting Center on Frog Motor Creek off Middle River. They have a good high and dry location. High and dry is neat-call them and when you get there your boat is in the water.
 
So as fate would have it the population of the greater Baltimore area is going to increase by three! We are so looking forward to coming back to boating and more importantly the C-dory community. We are going to be trying to find the right waterfront home if possible to house us and hopefully new to us C-dory.
Now while the wife has made me promise that I won't purchase our second CD until we are in the new home and settled you know that will be one of my first priorities. :embarrased
Any Brats in the area please feel free to give a shout out as we,d love to connect at the next gathering and meet some new faces.
 
If you want to escape Baltimore, cross the bay on US 50 and come down to Ocean View DE for a visit. We will be there in late March for a few days then back in June for the whole summer. 2.5 hours from BWI to driveway.

Other Brats also welcome.

Bill Uffelman
Las Vegas NV and Ocean View DE
 
We have had our boat docked in Deale, Md., Middle River in Baltimore County and we are now in Havre de Grace in Hartford County at the top of the bay. It's actually where the Susquehanna River meets the bay. We stay in all winter with the help of bubblers. The farther south you go the more barnacles you get to scrape off. The Susquehanna is fresh water. I work in Baltimore City and its about 25-30 minute drive. Russel Hughes Realty has a good search page that will just list waterfront properties. Cecil county is just across the river and the property and taxes are much lower.
 
Do you know a Realtor that specializes in waterfront property? I know that I know not enough when it comes to waterfront. If you have a referral that would be great. We've already have a Realtor for land locked homes, but waterfront is a whole other ball of wax. Thanks much brats!
 
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