Boston Whaler 420 Outrage42' 6"
View Specs & ReviewOne marina, one lottery, and moorings to 85 ft
Yachting in Nantucket
A Minted Location · Nantucket, Massachusetts
Nantucket runs on three doors, and the whole job of planning a summer here is knowing which one your boat fits through.
The Boat Basin is the market. 240 slips across three wharves, a 35 ft minimum and a 2-night minimum, and at peak the biggest boats lie med-moored and alongside rather than in finger slips. Its rate card runs 0–59', 60–99', 100–124' and "125'+" — billing bands rather than a ceiling, so give the office your length, beam and draft when you book.
The Town Pier is a lottery. Applications open 15 September, the draw is at noon on the last Friday of October, and only vessels with mechanical power 35 feet or smaller are eligible.
The moorings are the third door. 125 rentals taking up to 85 ft, hailed on VHF 68 at Brant Point, with the Town Pier as the dinghy landing for everyone on them.
Which makes this a genuinely single-marina harbour, and worth planning as one. If the Boat Basin cannot take you, the answer is a mooring, the anchorage south of Brant Point, or another island — and the water between here and Martha's Vineyard is a passage in its own right rather than a hop. None of that is a reason to stay away. It is a reason to book early and know which door you are going through.
Where to keep a yacht in Nantucket
Nantucket Boat Basin carries the market almost by itself: 240 boat slips across three wharves, a fuel dock with gas, diesel, pump-out, oil and ice, and shore power at 30 amp, 50 amp and 100 amp single phase, 100 amp three-phase and 480 volt — a spread that only gets installed where large yachts actually plug in. Complimentary slip-side pump-out runs at all three wharves from 08:00 to 16:30 daily, which is a small line with a large meaning on an island: you are not chasing a pump-out boat around the harbour.
The size question is answered by the rate card rather than by a limit. It runs 0–59', 60–99', 100–124' and "125'+" — billing bands, not a ceiling. The more informative fact is how the biggest boats lie at peak: the marina's own words are med-moored and alongside rather than conventional slips, so beam and how you lie matter as much as length. Give the office your length, beam and draft when you book.
The booking and lottery mechanics, laid out plainly. Nobody else sets these side by side, and getting them wrong costs you a summer.
- Boat Basin. A Reservation Request form, and no lottery. 35 ft minimum, 2-night minimum. The rate calendar runs 1 May – 31 October, with peak dated 18 June – 7 September — twelve weeks. Under 35 ft, this marina is not an option at all, which is the reverse of how most harbours work.
- Town Pier. A real, drawn lottery. Applications open 15 September and the draw happens at noon on the last Friday of October for the following season. Only vessels with mechanical power 35 feet or smaller are eligible, and there are between 90 and 95 slips depending on what sizes get drawn. Beyond the lottery there is limited transient dockage on a first come, first served basis — no reservations, no waitlist.
- Moorings. 125 rental moorings taking up to 85 ft, booked through Dockwa with a 2-night minimum at $65–$150 per night by boat length; daily moorings may be available first come, first served. Hail on VHF 68 at Brant Point.
The Town Pier deserves a second look for a reason that has nothing to do with slips. It offers pump-out and water services at the end of the fixed pier — no fuel — plus restrooms, showers and trash and recycling for transient use, and it is the only dinghy dock for vessels on moorings or in the anchorage. On an island, that single sentence decides how a mooring night actually feels. Everyone not tied to a wharf lands there.
Two things to settle before you commit to a date. Read depth in the harbour from the current chart and the Notices to Mariners, which is where NOAA Coast Pilot points. And the island's boatyard, Madaket Marine, agrees lift capacity, tonnage and maximum length on a telephone call rather than on a published tariff — so call with your length, beam and draft before you plan a haul-out here. Nantucket is a place to berth a large yacht rather than a place to lift one.
Marinas
| Name | Where | Max yacht | Slips | Fuel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nantucket Boat BasinThe market, effectively on its own: 240 slips across three wharves, shore power at 30 amp, 50 amp and 100 amp single phase, 100 amp three-phase and 480 volt, and complimentary slip-side pump-out at all three wharves from 08:00 to 16:30 daily. The rate card runs 0–59', 60–99', 100–124' and "125'+" — billing bands rather than a ceiling. At peak the marina describes its large-yacht positions in its own words as "med-moored" and "alongside" rather than as conventional slips, so beam and how you lie matter as much as length. Give the office your length, beam and draft when you book. | Downtown Nantucket Harbor — three wharves | — | 240 | Gas and diesel — the marina's own words: "Fuel dock service that includes gas, diesel, pump-out, oil, and ice is available" |
| Nantucket Town Pier (Harbormaster)The public pier, and the most mechanical booking process in the market: seasonal slips are drawn from an annual slip lottery, applications opening 15 September and drawn at noon on the last Friday of October. Only vessels with mechanical power 35 feet in length or smaller are eligible, and there are "between 90 and 95 slips available depending upon the size of the vessels that are drawn". Pump-out and water services at the end of the fixed pier — no fuel — plus restrooms, showers and trash and recycling for transient use. It is also the only dinghy dock for vessels on moorings or in the anchorage, which on an island decides how every mooring night works. | Town Pier, Nantucket Harbor — run by the Harbormaster | 35 ft | — | — |
Yacht clubs
| Name | Where | Max yacht | Slips | Fuel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nantucket Yacht ClubDockage, moorings, launch service and reciprocal courtesies here are settled by arrangement rather than by published terms, so call ahead before you plan a night around the club. | Nantucket Harbor waterfront | — | — | — |
| Great Harbor Yacht ClubVisitor access, dockage and reciprocal courtesies are arranged directly rather than published — call ahead, and have a mooring or a Boat Basin berth as your fallback. | Nantucket Harbor | — | — | — |
Fuel docks
| Name | Where | Max yacht | Slips | Fuel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nantucket Boat Basin fuel dockThe harbour's fuel: gas, diesel, pump-out, oil and ice. The Town Pier has pump-out and water but no fuel, so fuelling on Nantucket means the Boat Basin. Separately from the fuel dock, the marina runs complimentary slip-side pump-out at all three wharves from 08:00 to 16:30 daily. | Nantucket Boat Basin, downtown Nantucket Harbor | — | — | Gas, diesel, pump-out, oil and ice |
Figures are as each facility publishes them on its own site; blank cells mean the facility doesn't state a number. Confirm slip availability and current rates directly — or ask us to make the calls.
Cruising from Nantucket
Anchoring is the part Nantucket documents best. NOAA Coast Pilot puts the anchorage in depths of 6 to 17 ft off the south and southwest sides of Brant Point, or in 12 to 17 ft in the general anchorage south of Brant Point, and adds the detail every owner actually wants: "In general, the bottom is sticky." The harbour speed limit is 6 mph. The harbourmaster administers and permits over 1,800 moorings with twelve mooring handlers, so a harbour that looks informal from the water is run tightly from the office.
Getting in is mild. NOAA's July 2026 current predictions put the Nantucket Harbor entrance at a peak flood of 1.37 kn and a peak ebb of 1.71 kn. Cross Rip Channel runs 1.37 and 0.95, and the east end of Pollock Rip Channel 2.29 and 2.09.
⚠️ Muskeget Channel is the exception. Coast Pilot is unusually direct: the channel is subject to numerous shifting shoals, is only partly buoyed, and "strangers should never attempt it" because tidal currents of 2 to 5 knots make navigation dangerous. Coast Pilot gives 3.8 kn flood and 3.3 kn ebb about a mile and a half east of Wasque Point; NOAA's July 2026 predictions for the channel peak at 4.35 kn flood and 3.60 kn ebb. Two islands in sight of the same chart, and the water between them is a harder problem than either of them — run Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard as separate destinations rather than as a day trip.
The distances are worth having, with the caveat attached rather than buried. These are straight-line great-circle figures computed from NOAA station coordinates, not route distances — every real course is longer because of the shoals. Edgartown is 19.7 nm, Hyannis Port 22.7 nm, Oak Bluffs 23.1 nm, Vineyard Haven 25.0 nm, Newport 56.9 nm and Block Island 66.3 nm. That last pair is what makes Nantucket the committed leg of a New England summer rather than a casual one: a day's run from anywhere, and back the same way.
- Nantucket Moorings rental field — Nantucket Harbor — hail on VHF 68 at Brant Point125 rental moorings, taking boats up to 85 ft in the operator's own words, and the Harbormaster's office inspects and documents the same 125. Hail on VHF 68 at Brant Point. Anyone here lands at the Town Pier, the harbour's only dinghy dock.
- Nantucket Harbor moorings and anchorage (Town) — South and southwest of Brant Point — Nantucket HarborThe Harbormaster handles "administrative duties and permitting for over 1,800 moorings" with twelve mooring handlers — the real scale of this harbour. NOAA Coast Pilot 2 puts the anchorage in depths of 6 to 17 ft off the south and southwest sides of Brant Point, or 12 to 17 ft in the general anchorage south of Brant Point, and notes that "in general, the bottom is sticky". Harbour speed limit 6 mph. Read depth from the current chart and the Notices to Mariners, which is where Coast Pilot points.
Service, refit & supplies
Shipyards & refit
| Name | Where | Max yacht | Dockage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Madaket MarineThe island's boatyard. Lift capacity, tonnage and maximum length are agreed on a telephone call rather than set out on a tariff, so call with your length, beam and draft before you plan a haul-out around a date. Nantucket is a place to berth a large yacht rather than a place to lift one. | 20 North Cambridge Street, Nantucket | — | — |
Chandleries & specialty suppliers
- Brant Point Marine — Nantucket Harbor — "conveniently located next to the Town Pier"Sits beside the Town Pier, which makes it the natural stop for anyone landing by dinghy from a mooring or the anchorage. Open Monday–Saturday 8:00–17:30 and Sunday 8:00–16:00.
On the Nantucket calendar
Nantucket's season is dated for you by its own rate card: the Boat Basin's calendar runs 1 May – 31 October with peak from 18 June to 7 September, twelve weeks. Everything below sits inside or just outside that window.
Nantucket Race Week runs 6–16 August 2026, and the Opera House Cup is 16 August 2026 — the week's grand finale, and the reason August berths go first. Earlier in the season, the Figawi Race runs Hyannis to Nantucket on 22–24 May 2026, which is the traditional opening weekend of the harbour and the one date when transient demand arrives all at once.
Two shoulder-season events matter more here than they would elsewhere, because they sit either side of the marina calendar: the Nantucket Daffodil Festival on 23–26 April 2026 and the Nantucket Christmas Stroll on 4–6 December 2026. Both fall outside the Boat Basin's 1 May – 31 October rate calendar, so arriving by water for either is a question to put to the harbourmaster rather than an assumption.
The launch to TOPPER'S at The Wauwinet runs a shorter season still — 22 June to 7 September 2026 — which is a fair proxy for when the island is fully open on the water.
Yachts we'd shortlist for Nantucket
Reviewed the same way as everything on this site — specifications verified against the builder's own numbers.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you get a slip in Nantucket?
Three different ways, and they do not work alike. The Nantucket Boat Basin takes a Reservation Request form with no lottery, subject to a 35 ft minimum and a 2-night minimum across its 240 slips. The Town Pier runs an actual lottery: applications open 15 September, the draw is at noon on the last Friday of October, and only vessels with mechanical power 35 feet or smaller are eligible for the 90 to 95 slips drawn. Moorings go through Dockwa with a 2-night minimum. Below 35 ft the Boat Basin is closed to you; above 35 ft the Town Pier lottery is.
Where can you anchor or pick up a mooring in Nantucket Harbor?
NOAA Coast Pilot puts the anchorage in depths of 6 to 17 ft off the south and southwest sides of Brant Point, or 12 to 17 ft in the general anchorage south of Brant Point, and notes that "in general, the bottom is sticky". The harbour speed limit is 6 mph. For a mooring, Nantucket Moorings runs a field of 125 rentals taking up to 85 ft at $65 to $150 per night by length with a 2-night minimum, hailed on VHF 68 at Brant Point; the Town separately permits over 1,800 moorings. Everyone on a mooring or at anchor lands at the Town Pier, the harbour's only dinghy dock.
Can you run a yacht between Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard?
Not casually. Muskeget Channel lies between them, and NOAA Coast Pilot is blunt about it: the channel has numerous shifting shoals, is only partly buoyed, and "strangers should never attempt it" because tidal currents of 2 to 5 knots make navigation dangerous. NOAA's own July 2026 predictions for the channel peak at 4.35 kn flood and 3.60 kn ebb. Edgartown lies 19.7 nm from Nantucket and Vineyard Haven 25.0 nm — straight-line great-circle figures computed from NOAA station coordinates, not route distances, because every real course is longer around the shoals. Treat the two islands as separate destinations and plan a passage between them properly.
What is the largest yacht that can dock in Nantucket?
There is no stated maximum. What the Boat Basin publishes is a rate card in bands — 0–59', 60–99', 100–124' and "125'+" — which is billing rather than a ceiling, and boats of 125 ft and over come often enough to need a band of their own. At peak the marina describes its large-yacht positions as "med-moored" and alongside rather than as slips, so beam and how you lie matter as much as length; give the office your length, beam and draft when you book. The stated size limits on the island belong to the mooring field, at 85 ft, and to the Town Pier lottery, at 35 ft.
How long is the Nantucket boating season?
Six months on paper and twelve weeks in practice. The Boat Basin's rate calendar runs 1 May to 31 October 2026, with peak dated precisely from 18 June to 7 September — twelve weeks. The launch to TOPPER'S at The Wauwinet runs a shorter window still, 22 June to 7 September. Nantucket Race Week falls inside the peak on 6–16 August 2026, finishing with the Opera House Cup on 16 August, and the Figawi Race arrives from Hyannis on 22–24 May. The Daffodil Festival in April and the Christmas Stroll in December both sit outside the marina's published calendar.