Havestraw Marina Questions

M

millsan1

Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2007
RO Number
25166
Messages
525
Hi all! I am a new member. I am buying a Meridian 391, and now have to find a place to call home or the boat.

I have secured a slip already, but was intrigued by the Havestraw Marina. It seems that the Marina has a lot of amenities that others do not (pool, videa arcade, stuff like that).

But, in speakign with a couple people, I was told that teh marina is a zoo in the summer, an that the clientelle is rowdy, and that there is a gypsum plant nearby that dumps dust all over everything.

I never take anythign at face value.

I noticed that some of the mmbers have Hvestraw as their home port.

Can anyone give me comments, either positive or negative, about the marina?

I need to make a decision soon, so any help is most appreciated.

Thanks
 
I'm not at Haverstraw and like any place, you hear of complaints once in a while but I really don't think it's *that* bad. I hear they have a new dock-boy that's top notch and if you dock near Judy, you get free cable but watch your toes for falling anchors.

You did a good thing by asking for opinions from ACTUAL customers...I guarantee your source is not at Haverstraw....amI right?

Welcome to HRCC, that must be some boat!!
 
Well where is everyone, come guys and gals...or is that gals and guys...Either way lets get in there and talk about Haverstraw Marina...

I'm not from there but I do know there is another great bunch of people over there. Plenty of water so you don't have to worry about the tides and well protected. They also have locked gates so I don't believe they have many problems with theft. They do get a large volume of transients.
 
Smart move asking around! I hadn't found this board when we decided to move our boat up to the Hudson, so we had to do it by inspection and interviews. Wound up at Stony Point Bay, and I'll see how far astray my interviewing skills have led me! I admit to having been a tad intimidated at Havestraw (pictures on Marinas.com show it's BIG!) and was worried about the walk, the congestion, etc. So I went with a "more intimate" marina, and now hear that it might be up for sale -- this sounds to be interesting!

Congrats on the new boat, by the way!
 
I've only been at Haverstraw since Oct doing in water winter storage so I can't say much about the goings on in summer. The marina is really 3 marinas in one, north, west, and south side. South is the largest and is the side with direct access to all the facilities ie; pool, ships store, etc. The walk from the most distant slip and the outer parking lot is not for people with a weak heart thou.

The north side is mid sized and has bathrooms and BBQ areas as well as a small play area for kids. We selected this area for us since we have a friend there and it seems to have a bit less politics. We also have no use for a pool so having to dink or drive over to the pool is not a negative for us. One big positive is everyone we have met so far has been friendly and that includes the marina staff.

Not much to say about the west side, smallest area with no facilities other than a small parking area and gated access. The marina overall seems very well maintained and clean. I have not noticed gypsum dust but I have heard if you park under the conveyor belt you can get a coating on your car. There are several power generation plants in the area both north and south on the river and the black streak clean up is a never ending battle but thats for the entire region not just Haverstraw.

The admiral and I are really looking forward to our first full season there.
 
George

I sure hope you read the posts here about SPBM. I have a lot of friends there since we spent a number of years at SP, all I'll say is the grumbling is getting louder everyday....

They did tell you about the lack of water at low tide right? (2 hours before till 2 hours after will be no-travel times for you, but you can still go in/out 16 hours a day!)
 
We were at Haverstraw for one year back in the 80's. Two things I did not like about it, the aluminum docks make a lot of noise and if you leave your slip for two or more nights, if you don't tell the office, they can kick you out.

The reason they wanted to know was so that they could rent your slip to transients. Unfortunately, the transients use YOUR electricity, which YOU then pay for!

When Judy wakes up and posts here, she should be able to give you all the info you need.
 
millsan1,
This coming season will be my eighth year at Haverstraw Marina. It is big, the aluminum docks are noisy (and they get very hot on a bright summer day), and on the sailboat side, their riggings make a lot of noise on a windy day. I spent one year on grey dock, four years on red dock and this will be my third on green dock. The greatest advantage of Haverstraw, in my mind, is the amount of water under your boat even at the lowest of tides...you can come and go when YOU want, and not have to worry about low water. There is a fantastic bunch of people at Haverstraw as well and I have never experienced any kind of party or carryings-on that have disturbed me. I don't use the pool and the video game room could use some sprucing up, but since I don't use them it is not a big concern for me. We are all waiting for construction to begin on the new restaurant, which burned down in 2005. The prices are not out of line from any of the other larger marinas in the area. I suggest you take a ride (car) up there and look around. Let me know if you have any other questions...and I'm sure others from Haverstraw will respond to this thread as well.
 
Thanks, Rommer. I thought they were up front, but they were still saying about 3' at low tide. Since I draft 2' with the drives up, I figured it "wouldn't be that bad". Not knowing the area, I asked the guys at Stone Harbor (where I bought my boat in September) and they had recommended Patsy's Bay and SPBM -- Havestraw was third. My salesman used to work as a service manager in the Stony Point area and had nothing but good things to say about both SP and Patsy's -- guess I'll get to see whether his info is outdated! Will check further into the grumblings, etc -- but most of the other slips in the area are locked up for this year!
 
quote:
Originally posted by parkrode360

but most of the other slips in the area are locked up for this year!

Click to expand...


I wonder why that is..... :)

Please don't take me as sour grapes, we really loved our time at SPBM, making the choice to leave was VERY hard. IMHO the best thing that could happen there is for the place to get sold since the majority of the issues that made us move are caused by the current owners and their ongoing "changes".

I'm sure you'll have a great summer and meet lots of great people there, we sure did!
 
I've been at haverstraw for 10 years, and it is a great marina. There are about 1200 slips, so there is always some sort of drama going on, but the vast majority of the boaters are very friendly and willing to help you with anythinng.

It is a deep water marina, with no concerns for tides, and you are very well protected in any storm. The disadvantage is because it is so large you lose the small friendly feeling that you may get at Patsy's or SPBM but it is indeed a business and is about the money just as any other marina is.

We have never informed the marina when we go away over night and although you are supposed to, it has never been inforced. If we go away for a week we let them know so they can use it for transients, but we take a meter reading before we go and upon our return and have never been charged for someone elses electrical use.

Good luck with your search, and if you have any additional questions feel free to post them.
 
quote:
Originally posted by PeteMrrs

If we go away for a week we let them know so they can use it for transients, but we take a meter reading before we go and upon our return and have never been charged for someone elses electrical use.

Click to expand...


Thanks for the info Pete. I was thinking about doing just that and was wondering if they would deduct transient use on the meter.
 
Good idea, Pete - you Boston guys are really "on the ball" - that is, except for when it comes to baseball!!

Don't forget, the best thing about Haverstraw is that you can steal Judy's cable service!
 
ya know, I started looking for a marina on the Hudson in November '06, and I found there wasn't much availability left for the '07 season by then. Next year I'll start earlier!
 
Hi millsan1, as you have heard, my cable service is readily available! Please help yourself. But WALSHIE makes a good point, I sometimes forget my bow must be over water before I release the anchor so watching your toes would be a good idea while you are connecting to my cable.

Everything you have heard so far is on point. Yes the aluminum docks can be very noisy! If you walk straight down the middle of them though they are not too bad, of course that is not always possible. They do get extremely hot in summer! There are sections where people tend to party a lot and it can be a pain in the butt if you are not into that but I would not call it a big problem. There are also a great deal of sailboats at Haverstraw. Many powerboaters do not like the sound of the halyards hitting the mast, personally I love it and find it relaxing. The pool is nice to have I guess although I would prefer going to Croton for a swim and they have been talking about repairing the tennis court for two years, still not done. The restaurant did burn down and I last heard they would not be rebuilding as quickly as first thought. Its convienient to have a restaurant so close but IMHO it really was not very good and way too expensive. There are lots if better and more reasonable restaurants nearby. They do require you to tell them when you will be out of your slip for more than a day so they can rent it out...that is a practice few of us like! Most of the transients are very nice but we have seen a few that were probably not welcomed back. As far as the regulars go, you will make some wonderful friends there. The great majority of people will go out of their way to make you feel welcome and help out whenever you need something. There are also a number of other marinas close by..Stony Point Bay(but who knows whats going on there) Pennybridge and Patsy's Bay to name a few. As was said previously, it is first and foremost a business, and the enormity of it can make it a bit of a challenge. Just leave your credit card at the door and don't forget anything in your car and you should be ok.

BTW...That is a very nice boat you are buying. The 2007 341 recently caught my eye. Congrats & good luck with your new boat.
 
I have been at Haverstraw marina for 17 years going on 18. I am on Green Dock near John. There are areas of partying but usually tone it down late in the evening. The pool is nice but we don't use it. We have met allot of friends over the years. The protected gate is a nice thing as well. People are always around to help out. The parking lot is huge but it has to support all those boats. If its rough out on the river and the wind is blowing hard you will hardly know it in the marina.
 
The marina WILL deduct the electrical useage used by a transient if they know that you are out.
 
Just curious... Is this Havestraw marina in the center (crosshair) of the photo?
Thanks, -Dave

map2.gif
 
Thats the place. You can get an aerial view from marinas.com
 
WOW! Thanks for all the info! I am planning on going there some time this week for a look around. From everythign you guys have said, i seems like a decent place. The idea of sqeaky aluminum and them renting out my slip is not something I like though.

The slip thing seems irksome to say the least, unless they give you a discount for the days they rent it, it seems unfair. They get double rent. Kinda odd business. (and I own my own business, so i know all about bottom line)

I will swing by later in the week and check it out.

Thanks again for all the info!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top