KENNEBUNK RIVER

43° 18.82’N 070° 32.85’

4th ed. Cruising Guide page 47

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Charts: 13286 (inset), 13286

Chart Kit: 58 (inset C), 15, 16

Southern coast overview chart

KENNEBUNKPORT is a madhouse, perhaps the epitome of tourist Maine. The sidewalks are jammed with people, the cars creep along the crowded streets, and the waterfront is more boat than river. The fact that it is the location of ex-president Bush’s summer compound has added to the fervor. Nevertheless, Kennebunkport has appeal for visiting yachtsmen, with places to explore and tranquil oases here and there. There are few, if any, moorings available for transients, and anchoring is not allowed. But if you can find—or afford—a place to tie up, this is a snug and extremely well protected harbor. The river is prone to silting, but periodically it is dredged. Currently a 6-foot draft is about the most you can carry into this harbor at low water.
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The Kennebunk River was probably discovered by Bartholomew Gosnold in 1602 or Martin Pring in 1603. In its natural state, it was a barred harbor with only two feet of water at the entrance at low tide and navigable for only about half a mile. Kennebunk and nearby towns were settled in 1643 but depopulated several times during the Indian Wars. During the nineteenth century, the banks of the Kennebunk River boasted six shipyards that launched 638 vessels.
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Approaches. Entering the Kennebunk River is easy. The usual approach is from the lighted green entrance bell “1,” keeping Fishing Rock and its can “3” to port. From the south, stay close inshore and leave Fishing Rock to starboard, passing between its red daybeacon “2” and green daybeacon “3” to port, but don’t cut either too close. Keep well off the rock between daybeacon “3” and can “5” near the mouth of the jetties.
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Drop your sails outside and proceed between the jetties. Do not enter if heavy swells are running into the river. In 1995, the trough of a wave landed a fishing boat hard on the bottom of the river and it sank. Usually, though, entering is easy. Moored boats can sometimes obscure the channel buoys, so it is wise to keep track of them as you go. Depth is adequate for most cruising boats, but silting has prompted a dredging slated for 2002. Current is a modest 2 or 3 knots except at the very head of the harbor where the river is squeezed beneath the bridge. Don’t wait until it is too late to make your U-turn, or you might discover the hard way that the bridge’s 5-foot vertical clearance is somewhat less than the height of your mast.
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Anchorages, Moorings. Anchoring is not permitted in the river. Most moorings on the river are private, with a long list of residents waiting for them, but the town maintains three for transients. Call the harbormaster (Ch. 09, 207-985-7270) to check availability. Performance Marine, at the head of the harbor on the west side, may have moorings which aren’t being used. They can also rent dock space depending on availability.
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Slip space is plentiful, though pricey, but it still should be reserved. In order of appearance, the Nonantum Hotel and Marina, Chicks Marina, Kennebunkport Marina, the Yachtsman Marina, the Arundel Yacht Club, the Riverview Docks, and Performance Marine all rent transient slips. Among them all, there is room for a staggering number of boats and for a number of staggering size.
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For the Boat. Most of the yacht facilities lie on the east bank of the river in Kennebunkport. They are listed in order heading up river.
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Nonantum Hotel and Marina (207-967-3338). This informal marina is primarily for guests of the hotel, but occasionally there is space available for transients. The docks have 6 feet alongside but no other facilities.
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Chick’s Marina (Ch. 09, 68; 207-967-2782; ). Chick’s is the largest marina on the river. The docks have 6 feet of water at low, and they can accommodate boats of well over a hundred feet if you should be so lucky. They pump gas and diesel (you might not be so lucky after all) and have water, electricity, pump-outs, and a marine store. Showers, laundry, and a pay phone are ashore. Chick’s hauls boats by hydraulic trailer and can perform engine and hull repairs.
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Kennebunkport Marine (Ch. 09, 16; 207-967-3411). The docks here are rented seasonally, but transients are welcome if dock space is available. The docks have 6 feet of depth, water, electricity, and pump-outs, but no fuel. Laundry, showers, and ice are available, along with the Aft Deck lounge with a stereo and a television. A ship’s store and mechanic are ashore.
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Yachtsman Lodge and Marina (Ch. 09, 16; 207-967-2511). This upscale marina welcomes transient boaters when space is available. They can berth boats to 130 feet and provide water, 100-amp. electricity, gas, diesel, water, pum-outs, showers, ice, phones, and even a gas grill and outside tables overlooking the docks. You’re in good company here—this is where George Bush keeps his Cigarette boat and where the Secret Service gases up theirs. Even Orvis approves of the place.
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Arundel Yacht Club (Ch. 09; 207-967-3060, dockmaster: 967-2612). The clubhouse is a wonderful wooden building that was once part of a rope walk where rope was laid and twisted. A limited number of rental slips are available here, with up to 5 feet of depth, water, and electricity. Ice and club showers are ashore. There is no fuel, and the water shoals rapidly toward the inner slips. Note that large shoal areas lurk just before and after the club, the corners of which are marked by pilings.
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Riverview Docks (Ch. 09; 207-967-2612). The two-story Riverview shops and condos stretch along the west bank of the river, just south of the old Arundel Boatyard. The slips are primarily full-season, but there may be room for transients if you draw 6 feet or less. The docks are equipped with electricity, water, phone lines, and cable TV.
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Performance Marine (Ch. 09, 16; 207-967-5550). Performance Marine is a true repair yard that makes no pretensions of being a spit-shined marina. They specialize in stainless steel fabrication, welding, and engine and hull repairs. This is the place a lobsterman comes when he needs a new exhaust system, or the yachtsman when he has charted a new rock with his keel. They haul boats with a boatlift and a 10-ton crane and will stretch their schedules to accommodate transients in need of repairs. They rent several moorings and slips to transients if they are available, but dockage, except for several sightseeing boats, is not really their business. They pump diesel and gas and have water and ice. Pump-outs are planned.
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Mobile Marine Services (Ch. 09, 16; 207-967-4022). Mobile Marine has inland facilities, but Randy Marcotte can perform electrical, rigging, outboard, or engine work. They sell and service Mercury, Mariner, and Mercruiser engines.
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For the Crew. The Kennebunk River marks the division between two towns, joined by the bridge at the head of navigation (web cam: www.docksquare.org/webcam). The Lower Village of Kennebunk is to the west of the bridge, and Kennebunkport is to the east. The bridge is known locally as the Taintown bridge because the town on the far side, to Kennebunkporters, ‘tain’t Kennebunkport—it’s Taintown.
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Meserve’s, located just beyond the bridge in the Lower Village, is a liquor store and the only market in either town. But what the towns lack in markets, they make up for in specialty shops and restaurants. The landmark Clam Shack takeout and fish market is hard by the bridge. Nearly next door, backed up against Performance Marine, is the excellent Riverside Grill, and around the corner, in the Shipyard Shops, is Federal Jack’s Brew Pub and Restaurant. Take a right at the intersection past Meserve’s to find a natural foods store and a laundromat in the plaza across the street. There is a small playground next door, so your kids and clothes can tumble at the same time.
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On the Kennebunkport side, east of the bridge, you’ll find the Kennebunk Book Port upstairs in an old rum warehouse in Dock Square as well as ice cream shops, restaurants, and plenty of stores.
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Things to Do. To appreciate the town’s splendid architecture, start at the river and walk two blocks east to Maine Street, then along quiet, shaded streets lined with colonial and federal homes. Follow the street north along Grist Mill Pond. White Columns, built in 1853, was donated to the historical society in 1983 along with its completely original furnishings and decor, and it is now open to the public.
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For another walk, in the most peaceful part of town, land at the Nonantum Hotel and walk south along Parson’s Way to the oceanfront. En route is “The Floats,” used by novelist Booth Tarkington as a boathouse and summer afternoon retreat and now converted into the Kennebunkport Maritime Museum and Shop (967-4195), with a fine collection of nautical antiques.
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Take a moment to look up from the fray into the trees above. The largest collection of mature American Elms casts its shade on the town of Kennebunkport, saved from Dutch Elm disease by the foresight of the town’s tree warden in the early 1960s and through constant municipal and volunteer efforts.

At high tide you can land your dinghy on the west bank of the river near a brown, wooden gazebo. A boardwalk and path lead through trees and gardens to the chapel of St. Anthony Monastery (967-2011), the home of Lithuanian Franciscan monks. The handsome grounds and some areas of the monastery are open to the public. Or, if it is sunny, land at the little sand beach on the west bank out past can “7” and walk over to the sandy expanse of Gooch’s Beach (web cam).
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Another marvelous exploration by dinghy is up the Kennebunkport marshes. At midtide, head under the Taintown Bridge and into the basin. Keep following the stream to the right, wending through the tranquil marsh grasses. Bring your binoculars for bird-watching.
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Shipyards on these banks once built ships up to 200 feet long, and the remains of the locks needed to hold the water back for their launchings can still be seen. If your curiosity takes you as far as the first highway bridge, stroll up the hill on the east bank to visit the Landing School of Boatbuilding and Design (985-7976).
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If you still can’t get enough of the water, the Kennebunk River claims to have more tour, sightseeing, whale-watching, deep-sea fishing, and ex-president-peeping boats than anywhere else on the coast.