We’re in an active boatyard, which has its perks beyond what are normally considered when choosing a yard. Price, location, services, the ability to DIY - sure, those are important. But if it comes down to a choice (especially with the DIY thing, a harder and harder feature to find), I’d argue that you need to look at how active the yard is. More is better. It’s all a matter of community.

This is not a factor that we’ve ever considered before. It’s always been about price, generally. We find the location we want to be in, then look at where to haul and hang out. We’ve been in a few yards over the years, most recently in Deltaville, Virginia, and now in Pasadena, Maryland. Before that we spent a stupid amount of time lately stored in York River Yacht Haven, in Gloucester, Virginia. You’d think we have this “what makes a good yard” thing sorted out.

We were based out of Deltaville for years. Why there? We’d been attracted by the sheer number of options for marinas and boatyards back in the early 2000s, and then got enticed into joining Fishing Bay Yacht Club (still arguably one of our best decisions ever). We lived in land-locked Charlottesville. It was hard to find a cruising-accessible place much closer than the 3 hours it took to drive there; Deltaville had the added bonus of offering very easy access to the Bay. In fifteen minutes of leaving the dock, we could be fully in the open Chesapeake Bay. No need for an hour or more of winding out a river.

Deltaville has its challenges, don’t get me wrong. Despite its reputation as a solid cruiser spot, it’s extremely difficult without a car. Once upon a time there was a shuttle to take you to places like the grocery and hardware stores, but otherwise any public access dinghy dock or even paid access through a marina lands you a good 2 mile plus walk away from those essentials. Flat walking, yes. But not exactly easy access. Uber doesn’t exist here; no car rental place will deliver to you. Public transportation is not a thing, not even to get you to the Richmond airport. Since we always had a car, these challenges didn’t bother us.

In Deltaville, in both Deagles (now defunct) and True North (now Broad Creek Marina and Boatworks), we were pleased with the DIY capability and the price. What we didn’t consider, though, was the fact that essentially there was nobody else there doing work. Maybe some yard activity, of course. But other boat owners working on their vessels? Nope. There were many many days, nights, and weekends where we saw not a single other not-yard-employee working. Some days, in fact, not even yard employees were visibly active.

Contrast this with the yard where we are now, Oak Harbor Marina. Location is meh. Sure, there’s easy access to BWI and Uber is alive and well; you can fairly easily grab a rental car to do your errands. But have access to a car (or a bike, though traffic is scary) you must; there’s nothing within walking distance. The hardware store is forgettable. Being able to do your own work is fantastic, as is the capability of the yard. It’s a combination that’s not one frequently found.

But the thing that makes Oak Harbor stand out to us is the number of other people around doing work on their boats. The yard crew is busy all the time, with the lift and crane active and lots of bustle as work happens on boats all over. We’ve gotten to know the crew and enjoy quick conversations with them occasionally, but they’re on the clock with no time to dawdle. 

The biggest bonus? There are also other boat owners working. There’s the family with 2 small kids on the Alberg 33 just a few yards away - they’re getting the boat ready to go to the Bahamas this winter. The couple on the Hylas 44, their boat splashed a month ago after a year’s refit, who are preparing for a 5 year adventure to the Med. The recently-hauled Swan 41 with their owners busy getting the boat ready for a rest while they go to California to be with family. There is the couple on the Seaward 26 talking about which dinghy to get, the couple on the Slocum 43 fresh off an inaugural winter in the Bahamas. There’s a guy working on his C&C 37, continually finding new projects to take on as he laments another season not sailing. This is just a snapshot.

This past Saturday, as I struggled to remove the mast ring from the deck, I picked my head up for a break. I saw Andrew from the Alberg, head down in a locker reinstalling the turning block for the spinnaker. Tim and Rochelle, from the Hylas, blasted music as they scraped the bottom of their dinghy. Angel from the Swan wandered by to say hello; Jeff from the Seaward got into a deep conversation with Jeremy about engine maintenance.

Being surrounded by other people also working on their boats makes all these boat projects feel less alone, less futile. If you’re trying to decide where to haul the boat for any kind of extended stay, I’d argue that spending some time observing the activity in the yard would be well worth it. 

Community matters. Even in a boatyard!