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Monday 9am - 6pm Tuesday 9am - 6pm Wednesday 9am - 6pm Thursday 9am - 6pm Friday 9am - 6pm Saturday 9am - 6pm Sunday 9am - 6pm

Marston's Marina, Saco, ME (2025)

09/15/2024

Dear friends. I wanted to say all this beautiful weather we’ve been enjoying is “Indian Summer.” But it’s too early. “Indian Summer” can happen between late September and early November. I guess we’ll just call this our “bonus” summer. Whatever, it has been a wonderful string of beautiful late summer days and that makes it even more difficult to imagine pulling boats before October 10. I know it may seem a long way off but we’re only talking three more weekends. And then we’ll close up and begin taking the docks apart. We’re always in a race with the cold weather to get things tied up and put to bed before it freezes. A couple of tips: when you haul your boat, try to do it on a high tide or mid tide. If you come at dead low someone is going to get wet! Also, if you have hoses or bumpers or electrical cables on the dock, please take those items home with you. We’ve already got more orphan garden hoses than we need. We’ve already had a few boats leave. School has started and families get busy, so there’s less time for the boat. Please remember we close October 10. If you are going to be late hauling your boat for some reason, please make sure we know your situation. In the end, we have to answer to the harbor master for boats still in the river. Boats and ships have been built on this part of the S**o River since before the revolution. The "Jere G. Shaw" was the last large sailing vessel built on the S**o River. She was launched on Nov. 16, 1918. The ship had 4 masts and was 193 ft long. She traveled to Barbados on her first voyage and was owned in Biddeford for several years. She made several voyages to the West Indies, but was then sold at a heavy loss. She was wrecked in a great storm off Cape Hatteras in October 1930.
Fair winds everyone. Randy

08/30/2024

Dear friends. Labor Day is here and that means we will begin our off-season hours. We’ll be open on Labor Day and after that Matt and Jeremy will only be on duty at the marina Fri/Sat/Sun until we close on Oct. 10. The fuel dock will be available Fri/Sat/Sun. As we begin to wrap up the 2024 boating season, please make sure your accounts with us are up to date and paid in full. We appreciate every one of you and your membership in our marina. Whether you are hauling your own boat or hiring someone to do it for you, please remember it’s a lot easier to haul on a high or mid tide. We are not equipped or licensed for bottom washing. Please clean your boat at home or at a car wash. Many of you probably know that Glenhaven Circle was Mr. Marston’s real estate development after WW II. You’re also probably aware of the gulley and little stream that flows into the river opposite the up-river end of the marina. In the original design for their new housing development Dad and his partner had planned to build a bridge across that gulley, and that would have connected Glenhaven Circle East and West, making a “circle.” That’s how they came up with the name and registered their development with the town. But they ran out of money and things changed and the bridge was never built. They did not however bother to change the name, so today we have Glenhaven Circle, even though there is no way to drive in a loop around the development. Now you know. Fair winds everyone. We’ve had a truly excellent summer. Remember September is a summer month and there’s still 30 days of boating left. Randy

07/01/2024

Dear friends. Welcome to July and the glorious fourth. If the weather is nice and the seas calm, a great place to watch the Old Orchard fireworks is from your boat out on the bay. If you do go make sure your navigation lights work and you have the necessary number of lifejackets for everyone on board. The town website indicates fireworks will go off on both the 3’rd and the 4’th around 9:45pm. If you are plugged into shorepower, please pay for that service in the marina office. Also, if you haven’t paid for your slip or mooring, please catch up with the dockmasters to see what you owe. Guys going out at the crack of dawn for the morning bite are finding stripers in the river. They never even made it past the jetty. Save time and save fuel. Fish in the river. In the early 1900’s the S**o River Lumber Company was one of many lumber mills located above the falls. The raw logs were gathered together in huge holding booms that occupied acres on the river. This mill specialized in making wooden boxes for shipping produce and hogsheads barrels used for sugar and molasses. Many of these barrels were sent to Cuba. Tight lines everyone. Summer is here and boating could not be better. Randy

06/22/2024

Brothers and sisters! It’s time for Rev. Randy to preach about life jackets. Every summer I get up on my soapbox and give a sermon about PFD’s. It’s like this. A life jacket will not save your life if you aren’t wearing it. Simple as that. Wear the darned life jacket. All watercraft must have enough life jackets of the correct size for all passengers. Jet ski’s, Stand Up Paddle Boards, Kayaks, Canoes, Dinghies and Row Boats must have a life jacket for everyone on board. The law does not say you have to wear it, but it can’t be stored away and inaccessible. Kids 10 years old or under must wear a life jacket on a boat that is underway. (People riding a Jet ski must wear life jackets) Okay, so try this. When you’re in a safe location with water not too deep, roll out of your kayak or fall off your SUP and try to get at your life jacket. It won’t be easy especially if the boat is upside down. When you can grab it, try putting it on. Putting a life jacket on while treading water is nearly impossible and will result in physical exhaustion. Suppose when you flip, your head hits a submerged rock and gashes your skull or you fall at the dock and dislocate your shoulder as you tumble overboard. What if you can’t swim? Wear the life jacket. Amen. https://www.maine.gov/ifw/docs/maine-boating-laws.pdf Stripers are still the fish to catch. Mackerel are in the bay and sturgeon are jumping in the river. Please, if the current is running too hard, just tie up at the fuel dock and wait for things to calm down. No need to damage your boat or hurt someone trying to force your way into a slip. At low tide on the ocean side of Goosefare Brook you can still see the wood pilings that held up the trestle for the “Dummy Railroad.” This was a full gauge railroad that ran 3.24 miles from Old Orchard to Camp Ellis. The train had no way to turn around so it pulled the cars to Camp Ellis and pushed them back to Old Orchard. The train operated from 1880 to 1923, averaging 23 trips each day. People hopped on and off the cars to reach the various grand cottages along the way. A common summer excursion was to ride the train to Camp Ellis then board a tour boat and take a ride to Wood Island and Biddeford Pool. The entire cost was .45 cents. Fair winds friends. Stay cool. Randy

06/13/2024

Dear friends, Because of illness we have two boat slips available. One would take an 18 ft boat and the other could hold up to 21 ft. People who become new members this summer will be guaranteed a slip for the next season. We’ve already heard people complain about trailering and launching. Having a boat in a slip usually means you get much more use out of your investment. If you know of anyone looking for a slip, please have them contact us at 283-3727 or apply on our website marstonmarina.com Fishing is holding up well with mackerel, stripers and ground fish. Tuna season is open and a few guys have been staying off shore hoping to hook a big one. When Gary and I had lobster traps out in the bay, we found going often was the key to having a good catch. We are open 7 days a week from 9am to 6pm. Your dockmaster will be either Jeremy or Matt. The Old Orchard House was built in 1876 by Ebenezer Staples. It could accommodate 500 guests in 250 rooms. The hotel was on the hill where the pharmacy is today.
Grand balls were held on Tuesday nights and full-dress parties on Saturday nights. The Old Orchard House set the standard for all the other grand hotels of that era. Fair winds. Randy

04/13/2024

Dear friends,

This is a great time of year for you and for us. Guys are either buying boats, or uncovering boats and getting ready for the summer ahead. We look forward to greeting old customers returning for another year, and to meeting new customers who will become friends. All of us wish for decent weather and scrappy fish. Our main docks took a beating during the December and January storms but we didn’t loose anything. The office flooded but did not float away. So, we have our work cut out for us repairing and launching the docks. We should be working around the marina most days next week. If you have not paid the season fee, full payment is due by May 1. Feel free to stop by and see how things are going. Humphrey Scammon ran the ferry across the S**o River in the late 1600’s. When the family was kidnapped by Indians in 1697 (or later), their son Samuel had just set a large mug full of beer on the table. When the family returned from captivity almost a year later, they found their house intact and the full mug of beer still on the table. The famous mug is an artifact at the S**o Museum. Take heart! Spring is on its way. Don’t miss the daffodils blooming in Laurel Hill. Randy

07/16/2023

Dear friends. These warm summer days are a gift. What a pleasure to feel the heat and get out on the bay after so many days of rain. After today it looks like we get more sunshine next week. You may notice we finally have ice in our machine. If you’d like to get ice before the marina opens for the day, check with the dockmaster about joining the “fishermen’s ice co-op.” Mackerel are still around but a little harder to find. And the pogies have slacked off. Fishermen are using mackerel for bait and casting lures. The Yo-Zuri “Blurple” Swimmer seems to be the hot lure. There’s one report of a 48-inch striper being caught in the river. When you are on the bay and over toward Black Point, you may remember the artist Winslow Homer had his cottage and studio there on the point. That’s where he painted some of his most famous ocean scenes. In 1896 he painted a picture of two women on the rocks with S**o Bay and Wood Island Light in the background. The name of the painting is “S**o Bay.” Homer considered it to be one of his best works. It hangs in the Clark Art Institute in Mass. Tight lines everyone. Catch ‘em while you can. Randy

07/01/2023

Dear friends, when we were teenagers cooking French fries at Old Orchard Beach, the 4th of July was our busiest weekend. We had spent days cutting and storing potatoes getting ready for the throngs of visitors. What a disappointment when it rained or was overcast and we didn’t sell all those potatoes. At least the boating and fishing have been good despite the rain. The evenings have been beautiful and a good time to be on the water. The Friends of Wood Island Lighthouse are beginning their summer tours to the island on July 1. You can make reservations on line. Almost all of the estuary is a “no wake” zone. Please go slow near any marina or mooring field. The water safety zone is 200 ft from any shore. And remember for stripers the limit is one per day per person and it must be within 28 to 31 inches long. In June of 1903, the five-masted schooner Washington B Thomas wrecked on Stratton Island. There was a gale and the ship’s anchors dragged. The Thomas was carrying coal from Norfolk to Portland but could not make it into Portland harbor. The ship had just been launched in Thomaston in April. The Washington B. Thomas was 300 ft long and was the largest wooden shipwreck in Maine history.
The captain’s wife was knocked overboard and lost. For years afterward the ribs and hull of the ship could be seen on the rocks on the eastern side of Stratton Island. Happy Fourth. See you on the docks. Randy

06/09/2023

Dear friends. Beginning June 10 the marina will be staffed every day from 9AM to 6PM, and the fuel dock will be open. We apologize for the ice machine. We’re waiting for Arctic Ice to come fix their cooler. Can you spot your water hose? We have 18 hoses that were left over from last season. They’re laid out up in the 3rd level parking lot. Please take yours. We’ll dispose of any that are not claimed within a week or so. Now that summer is under way and traffic on the river is picking up, please be aware that most of the river is a “no wake zone” and “headway speed only.” The law states if you are closer then 200 feet to shore, you must slow down. Also, you must go slow in a marina or mooring field. Ned Clemmons was the Old Orchard Beach hermit, although he was not solitary. On the contrary he was very social and prominent at OOB in the mid 1800’s. He arrived in S**o and Old Orchard Beach around 1845. According to reports he was a charming and well-educated man but he had little success. He made a living by selling turtle soup. The giant turtle shell was displayed all week out on the street advertising Turtle Soup on Friday. Ned eventually moved to the woods near the beach and lived in a sort of camp where he rented out bathing suits to beach goers. He was popular and people flocked to his rustic business. He is credited with hosting some of the first clam bakes on the beach. But he went down in history as the Old Orchard Beach Hermit. He died in 1865. Fair winds everyone.
Randy

05/25/2023

Dear friends, Grandfather called Memorial Day “Decoration Day” because the original purpose was to decorate the graves of civil war soldiers with flowers. Mary Ann Williams has been credited with coming up with the idea. For us, the holiday marks the unofficial beginning of summer in Maine and the tourist season. But we still recall the original intent of day, which is to honor and remember members of the armed forces who died in the line of duty. I think about visiting the Vietnam War Memorial, and seeing all the names of those who did not make it home. In my mind, Memorial Day is for them. The marina and fuel dock will be open Sat/Sun/Mon. If you need help backing down the launch ramp, find one of the dockmasters who will be glad to guide you when you’re backing up. So far fishermen have been pleased with the overall size of the stripers. Please remember the new slot limit is 28 – 31 inches. Emerson Cummings was my teacher at OOB High School. His parents lived at 110 Portland Ave. and during the years of segregation his mother Rose provided a place to stay for all the black musicians and band leaders who came to play concerts and dances on the OOB Pier. Such famous entertainers as Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Count Basie, and Lionel Hampton were guests of the Cummings family. The “Green Book” was a guide for African American travelers that listed black-friendly hotels and restaurants and The Cummings Guest house was one of six such places in Maine.
The Cummings house is still there and is a private residence. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. Happy Memorial. Fly your American flag on Monday at half staff from sunrise to noon, then raise it briskly to the top until sunset to honor our battle heroes. Randy

05/20/2023

Dear friends, well, the fish are here. Good catches of stripers are being made in the river. Popular baits are white paddle tail soft plastics and topwater lures. The slot limit has been narrowed this year. You may only keep fish measuring 28 – 31 inches. People have been asking about adding various cushions and bumpers to the docks. Please don’t do that. We do not appreciate having the extra nail or screw holes in our docks. If you feel you need additional protection for your boat, hang more or larger fenders on the side of your hull. If you have concerns about this, please talk to Matt or Jeremy. Also remember we do not store trailers. Please take your trailer home. If for some reason you must leave a trailer here overnight, be sure to OK that with the dockmasters. When the parking lot flooded in December, the water reached our Coke machine and ice machine. We are just now getting those appliances repaired
and operating. Thomas Rogers was the first settler of Old Orchard Beach in 1657. He had a
farm and apple orchard near the Goosefare Brook. The farm was known as the “Garden by the Sea.” Sailors used the apple orchard for a landmark, and in time “orchard” became the name of the town. The Abenaki attacked the farm in 1675 and Rogers and his family fled to Kittery. They never returned. Fair winds everyone. Enjoy the fishing and be careful docking your boat. Randy

05/13/2023

Dear friends. Welcome to summer! The river has calmed down after
a week of some really rugged current. There are two government flow
gauges, one in Conway and another in Cornish. It takes a few days for
the flood they register to reach us here at the ocean. Please remember to
be extra careful docking your boat. If the current is adverse or
the wind too strong, ask the dock masters for help, or tie up to the fuel dock
and wait until conditions improve. We don’t want anyone to get hurt
or for your boat or someone else’s boat to be damaged. Take it easy. Also,
even though the air temperature may feel warm, the ocean and river can
still be freezing. Dress accordingly and don’t get wet and cold. Our dockmasters
for this summer are Jeremy and Matt. Sometimes they’ll be working together on
marina projects and other times one of them will be alone manning the fuel dock and office.
The first stripers may already be in the river. I heard of one fisherman catching
a lone striper below the S**o Dam. Maybe the fish will arrive early this year?
The S**o River is about 136 miles long. It begins at S**o Lake in
Crawford Notch, NH. There are at least 14 dams on the river depending on
how you count them: two are in NH and twelve in Maine. Six are power generating
dams. Most of the dams have fish ladders or “fish ways’ to help migrating fish
get upstream. Looks like some excellent weather ahead. Fair winds. Randy

Marston's Marina

09/15/2024

08/30/2024

07/01/2024

06/22/2024

06/13/2024

04/13/2024

07/16/2023

07/01/2023

06/09/2023

05/25/2023

05/20/2023

05/13/2023

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Monday	9am - 6pm
Tuesday	9am - 6pm
Wednesday	9am - 6pm
Thursday	9am - 6pm
Friday	9am - 6pm
Saturday	9am - 6pm
Sunday	9am - 6pm