Hi there... we are looking for somewhere to lift/haul our yacht out to do some work on the saildrive gearbox and complete antifouling etc in the next couple of weeks. Does anyone know of a good yard between Portland and Boothbay where you can live on board and work on your own boat? So far we are looking at the Yarmouth area... Yankee Marina and Royal River Boat. If anyone knows about either of these two places that would also be great. Looking forward to people thoughts. Cate on Coolchange

FYI we pulled out at Yankee Marina and Boatyard up Royal River, Yarmouth to overhaul our saildrive and it was fabulous.
The river entrance is not to be trifled with but there is plenty of depth and the yard is happy to send someone to guide you in. Keep a close eye on the buoys and don’t miss any if you are coming in on your own.
The yard has a 60 tonne travel lift. Everyone is really friendly, helpful and happy. They really can’t do enough for you. Deborah runs a tight ship and is very approachable which made life very easy.
We lived and worked on our boat for two weeks and they have lots of gear you can hire including a power sander etc but also are happy to let you borrow the odd tool if you haven’t got the right one. Facilities are good including a washing machine and drier. They also have a small car you can borrow for local jobs.
Yarmouth is a pretty village and has everything you need within walking distance. There are also good bus links to Portland, Freeport and Brunswick.
We really can’t recommend Yankee Marina and Boatyard enough as we thoroughly enjoyed our working stay there.