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SF Bay Boating Forum
San Francisco Bay Area Boating Facilities
Marinas
There are nearly 40 marinas in the central San Francisco Bay area, with a total of more than 11,000 slips. Many have some guest slips available for overnight visits. Some marinas have openings for permanent slips, but many have waiting lists.
Guest Docks
There are very few dedicated public guest docks on the bay. Many marinas have some guest slips available. If you're a member of a yacht club, other clubs can often offer a guest slip.
Fuel Docks
There's only a few places on the bay where you can get fuel. All fuel docks have both gas and diesel, and most have pump-outs as well.
Yacht Clubs
San Francisco Bay is ringed with yacht clubs, which provide a collegial atmosphere to relax with fellow boaters. Many sponsor races and cruises and have both sail and power events. Most have guest docks, but they are open to members and their guests only. If you are a member of nearly any club, however, others will welcome you.
Boat Yards
Time to get your boat hauled out? Nearly every part of the San Francisco Bay has at least one boat yard that can haul your boat, paint the bottom, and take care of countless other boat maintenance tasks. Many boat yards have rigging services, electricians, mechanics, and woodworkers.
Launch Ramps
If you have a trailer boat, head to one of these ramps to get it into San Francisco Bay.
Hotels
There are, of course, hundreds of hotels in the San Francisco Bay area. We've listed here just a few of the SF area hotels with true waterfront locations. These are the places to stay if you want to be right on the water. (You can also get great, but more distant, views of the bay from many of San Francisco's high-rise hotels.)
Anchorages
San Francisco Bay has a few well-protected overnight anchorages and many more less-protected anchorages that make wonderful lunch or cocktail stops in the right weather. Anchoring out is one of our favorite ways to enjoy the bay.
Most of the bay bottom is soft mud, so anchoring is generally easy (though your anchor may be a mess when you pull it up). Unfortunately, occasional boat and ship wakes are inevitable in almost all of the anchorages, so don't expect complete tranquility.
