Boating, Fishing, and Travel Information for Padanaram, South Dartmouth, MA

The harbormaster controls anchoring and berthing in the harbor and can be contacted by phone at 508-999-0759 or VHF Channel 9 and 16. The speed limit in the harbor is 5 mph.

Southward of the bridge is a landing at a yacht club with reported depth of 10 feet alongside. Diesel fuel, gasoline, water, ice, and some marine supplies are available. Two nearby boatyards and a marina can provide limited guest berths, storage, complete marine supplies, and hull, engine, electronic, rigging, and sail repairs. The largest marine railway can handle craft to 55 feet; mobile hoists to 35 tons are also available. In 1981, depths of 3 to 11 feet were reported at the slips. Above the bridge, small craft anchor in a narrow channel near the eastern shore.

Apponagansett Bay shelters numerous pleasure craft and a few fishermen in the summer, though the bay is insecure in southeasterly gales. Nonquitt and Bayview are villages on the south side of the entrance, while South Dartmouth is on the northerly shore. Padanaram Breakwater is marked on the southern end by a light. The approach to the bay is obstructed by numerous ledges and rocks, and strangers should enter only in the daytime with clear weather. Inside the breakwater, the channel is marked by buoys. Dartmouth Rock, covered 4 feet, is on the northeast side of the channel. Private seasonal anchorage buoys mark the area off South Dartmouth, which is usually very crowded in the summer. A highway bridge at the village has a swing span with a channel width of 31 feet and a clearance of 8 feet.