Is a dinghy essential in Maine?

J

joefish

New member
I'm excited to be planning a trip to Penobscot Bay next summer with our family of four. Eagle Island will be home base. It has very rudimentary cabins and we plan to day trip from there. What I'm seeing a lot of are mooring balls rather than docks, in Maine. I suppose this is because of the extreme tides which must be similar to those in the PNW. Is a dinghy, therefore, essential? Or is it more of a hassle that one could easily do without? By having a dinghy I would feel ready to deal with a variety of circumstances and my son and I would enjoy rowing around for exercise. (I prefer a hard dinghy, no motor.) Or by pulling the C-Dory up to docks when available, using water taxis, and occasionally landing on a sandy beach could the expense and hassles of a dinghy be avoided?

Thanks, C-Brats, for sharing your experience and recommendations. :D
 
Joe, we've got a place in Roque Bluffs ME, the other side of Bar Harbor up towards Canada. It's on Little Kennebec Bay (Google it) or search for 50 North Duck Cove Road Zip Code 04654 on Google Maps or Google Earth. We're across a gravel road from the water and the bay "goes away" twice a day with about 17' of tide. Doesn't really go away but the shoreline sure changes radically!

We're actually very close to the lower end of the Bay of Fundy. The only piers you find there are floating ones that have looooong ladders to get up to a fixed pier. Ramps are very long and can be treacherous. Not familiar with Eagle Island but it's quite a way south (actually West) of where we are, since "DownEast" is a good description. The coast there runs East West, not North South. Send me an email using the button and I'll shoot you some pictures of our place. Not sure if I have a high/low tide one but I'll look. If you plan to go ashore a lot or have a pup, it will be vital. There are few, if any sandy beaches. Most of them are very rocky, some of small tumbled rocks where the beach is exposed to open surf. You won't have nearly as much tide as we do where you're going but you'll have one heck of a lot compared to the Potomac where we boat.

On edit: Wish I'd known you were headed that way, we rent our place during the summer http://www.heartsofmaine.com/bayledges.htm and I could have given you a deal. Could still do it if you can weasel out of your reservation. We plan to be there from Mid April until Mid June but the place will be available the rest of the time. There is a pretty good ramp not far away and as much of a "beach" as you'll find anywhere in that area.

Charlie
 
Joe,
I wouldn't say its essential but it is the land of ten foot tides. It would be good to have one. Buy a dinghy with plastic, then return it when your done say you did not like it. :) Most spots have mooring balls but are short on floating dock space except for dingies. Depending on the time of year sometimes it gets crowded in August as the New York City Yacht Club often seeks refuge from the August heat and high humidity of the New York metro area, plus loads of rich folks from Florida. With hurricane Sandy having caused so much damage Maine might be a more popular destination this year. We launched from Belfast which had a nice ramp,plenty of places to gas and provision up,along with decent restaurants and a place to leave your tow vehicle. We went to Vinylhaven,Stonington, Isle Au Haute.up the Pennobscot river to Winterport, We missed going to Castine which is right across the water from Belfast which is a summer hang out for the folks that run Active Captain. Beautiful places, Water is about 50 degrees, lobster pots everywhere. Our tour guide took us to "The Basin" which was exciting we spent the night there waiting for the tide to come back up so we could exit. I would not go there unless you are with someone with local knowledge. We stopped on the way up just outside of Portland airport parked the boat and tow vehicle at a Hilton Garden Inn which had a shuttle into Commerical Street in Portland which was fun. Get some chowdah while your in town, Portland is a fun place lots to see. Have Fun! Some pictures in our album of where we stopped.
D.D.
 
Hi Joe,

It is not mandatory to have a dingy to explore Penobscot Bay. I’ve tied to town floats at the following towns: Rockland, Belfast, Castine and Stonington. I believe Bangor, Searsport and Stockton Harbor also have town floats. Typically, mainland town floats allow 2 hr free tie up.

Getting ashore on the islands is not so easy; a dingy is usually needed.

You will want to have a copy of “A Cruising Guide to the Maine Coast” by Taft and Rindlaub for your trip. This is the Maine coast cruising bible.

Rick from Maine
 
A few years ago we spent several months in Maine--we really enjoyed having a dinghy (We had both an inflatable, and a hard dinghy--we used the hard dinghy much more).
 
I think we have one the suggested Maine Cruising Guide if you want to borrow it. It's fairly current as we bought it 2010 Let me know.
D.D.
 
I cut my teeth in Casco Bay and I would definitely recommend a dinghy - you will have more options to explore.

The most inexpensive option would be a plastic dinghy from West Marine for about $600 as I recall - maybe less. If you have an engine - bring it - I have a nice rowing dinghy but in the land of double digit tides you also have good tidal current.

Enjoy the adventure.
 
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