sailboats northport michigan

Northport Boat Yard, located in Lake Michigan's Grand Traverse Bay, has been offering professional marine service since 1965. We are conveniently located within cruising distance from some of the most popular cruising ports in northern Lake Michigan, including Charlevoix, Bay Harbor, Harbor Springs, Beaver Island, Mackinac Island, Elk Rapids, Leland, and Traverse City.

With a lift capacity of 77 tons, our marine service yard offers heated and unheated storage facilities, along with accommodations for outdoor mast-up sailboat storage. Besides our 77 ton marine travel lift, we also have a 40 ton self-propelled Con-O-Lift hydraulic trailer, a 20 ton Con-O-Lift hydraulic trailer, a 20 ton hoist, and crane and fork lifts. Our yard can service and store boats from 13 feet to 70 feet in length. We pride ourselves on offering competitive, quality service for both power and sailboats.

Our experienced staff includes factory trained technicians, skilled craftsmen, and rigging experts. Conveniently open year-round, our service team can assist you with your boat maintenance needs ranging from hull painting to fiberglass repairs in our heated workshop stocked with factory authorized parts and accessories.

Northport Boat Yard now has two sister marinas, located in Detroit, Michigan. Kam Marine on Clairpointe and Kam Marine on Jefferson serve the metro Detroit area and beyond, adding to Northport’s loyal customer base.

We take pride in our storage facility and service capabilities. We are confident that all of your storage and service needs will be met here at Northport Boat Yard.

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(c) Northport Boat Yard

• Sailing School
• Featured Yachts
• Charter Management

SPRING 2024 CHARTER DISCOUNTS

• 25% OFF May 14-June 4: 3 or more days
• 10% OFF June 5-June 25: 3 or more days

CAPTAIN CHARTERS

For those times when you want to sit back, relax, and let someone else do the heavy lifting. We can help coordinate hiring a licensed USCG Captain for your trip.

CHARTER FLEET & RATES

“Northern Lights” – Jeanneau 469 (3 cabin)

“Spirited Away” – 2023 Jeanneau 440 (3 cabin)

“Becca T” – 2024 Jeanneau 440 (3 cabin)

“O’Murchadha” 2022  Jeanneau 410 (3 cabin)

2024 Jeanneau 410 (3 cabin)

“Emma Joy”  Jeanneau 419 (3 cabin)

“Ann Gale II” – Jeanneau 41DS

“Resfeber” – 2023 Jeanneau 380

“Water Bear” – 2024 Jeanneau 380

“Themiscyra”  Catalina 385

“Meander” Jeanneau 379

Breezin’ 2016 Catalina 355

“Venteux” Jeanneau 349

“Tivoli” Catalina 320

“Dark Horse” Marlow Hunter 31

“Hippocampus” Hunter 31

“Clara Mae” Hunter 31

Marlow Hunter 22

AM: 11AM – 3PM

PM: 4PM – 8PM

The fiberglass Marlow-Hunter 22 is the ultimate daysailer. This stable platform is rated for five persons and will keep the family safe and dry but will get up and go when you want to run. The large cockpit accommodates the entire crew in comfort.

The Marlow Hunter 22 can be reserved for ½ day or full day (7 hour) sails.

GREAT LAKES SAILING CO.

Since 1983 Great Lakes Sailing Co. has been providing yacht charters on Northern Lake Michigan.

It’s not only our business, it’s our passion.

We continue to provide the best sailing charter fleet on Lake Michigan to cruise the harbors of Grand Traverse Bays, Little Traverse Bay, The Straits of Mackinaw, The Manitou Islands, Beaver Island, the Les Cheneaux Islands and beyond!

CHARTER DISCOUNTS

May 1 – June 4

June 5 – 25

Last Minute

Check eMailer

September 4-17

Sept 18 – End of Season

PUMP & FUEL

Rates include fuel & final pump-out on all sailboats.

ADD TIME TO YOUR CHARTER

Early start.

Board by 2pm. Get Briefing.

Up to 39′  $395

40′ and up $595

SLEEP ABOARD

Board at 8pm. Sleep on Boat.

Morning Briefing.

LATE DEPART

Sleep onboard after final day

of sailing. Depart by 10am.

CHARTER EXTRAS

Captain (up to 4 hrs) $175

Captain (up to 8 hrs) $275

Captain (overnight) $325

Linens $25/per person

Dinghy Outboard $40/day

Dinghy (No charge, but must be requested in advance)

Grill – $25 (includes propane)

CHARTER RESOURCES

Charter documents & booking info, standard yacht inventory, harbor reservations, destinations & itineraries.

12935 S West Bay Shore Dr

Traverse City, Mi 49684

TC Funsports

Boat rental service in traverse city & leelanau peninsula.

We deliver to Lake Leelanau, Long Lake, Green Lake, Duck Lake, Little Traverse Lake, Lime Lake, Silver Lake, Suttons Bay, Northport and many more locations

We deliver to Lake Leelanau, Long Lake, Green Lake, Duck Lake, Little Traverse Lake, Lime Lake, Silver Lake, Suttons Bay, Northport and many more locations.

Welcome to TC Funsports, formerly Sail & Power Boat Rental.

What we offer, pontoon boats.

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Kayaks & Paddleboards

• Users Up to 15 Passengers
• Hour Glass 1 to 7 Days

15 Passenger 2014 24 ‘ Sweetwater Premium

Discover the breathtaking beauty of Northern Michigan from a unique perspective with a pontoon boat rental. Enjoy endless opportunities for adventure, relaxation, and making unforgettable memories with friends and family.

• Users Up to 13 Passengers

13 Passenger 22 ‘ Avalon Pontoon

Enjoy a multitude of activities while cruising on a pontoon boat rental in Northern Michigan, from fishing to swimming and sunbathing, all while surrounded by the area’s pristine waters and breathtaking landscapes.

• MOST POPULAR BOAT RENTAL
• Users Up to 12 Passengers

12 Passenger 2016 22 ‘ Sweetwater Premium

Escape the hustle and bustle and explore Northern Michigan’s hidden gems by renting a 12-passenger pontoon boat, where you can navigate the inlets and coves, immerse yourself in nature, and create memories that will last forever.

ABOUT TC Funsports

No matter where you are in the Leelanau Peninsula area, we’ve got the perfect Northern Michigan boat rentals for summer fun on the water! Whether you spend months planning your Northern Michigan getaway, or you’ve decided at the last minute to spend the weekend on the lake, there’s a boat rental for you. Rent a pontoon for a family day on the lake or rent a jet ski for a bit more adventure! Best of all we deliver to you. Whether it’s a pontoon boat, jet ski, or speed boat, we have what you’re looking for with weekly or daily rental options.

Demand is high, so please reserve early! We deliver your rental craft directly to the ramp nearest you, so you can enjoy the fun as soon as possible! Offering the best service around, we’ll do what it takes to keep you returning each and every year!

No matter where you are in the Leelanau Peninsula area, we’ve got everything you need for summer fun on the water! Whether you spend months planning your Northern Michigan getaway, or you’ve decided at the last minute to spend the weekend on the lake, there’s a rental for you. Rent a pontoon for a family day on the lake or rent a jet ski for a bit more adventure! Best of all we deliver to you. Whether it’s a pontoon boat, jet ski, or speed boat, we have what you’re looking for with weekly or daily rental options.

COURSE & EXAM

Those at least 25 years of age and born after December 31, 1978, may operate a PWC legally only if they have obtained a boating safety certificate online. Those at least 25 years of age and born on or after July 1, 1996, may operate a boat (ski or pontoon boat) legally only if they have been issued a boating safety certificate and have it on board the boat

PWC’s & JET DRIVES

Jet Ski is actually a brand name given to a personal watercraft (PWC). Although PWCs are easy and fun machines to handle, it’s necessary to first learn how to operate and ensure the safety of yourself and others.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The Official Boating Handbook of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources

What Our Customers Have To Say! ★★★★★

My family has rented boats from here for 3 years now. Every year we have an incredible time! From ordering to docking the boat, the service we have received is exceptional. Tammy and Brad are so kind and knowledgeable. I can’t wait to continue our tradition next year!

We are renting for at least the fifth time this summer from Tammy and Brad. They are reliable and take really great care of their boats. We’ve tried others in the past but none compare. I can’t see us renting anywhere else. They’re excellent!

I have been a customer of Brad & Tammy for about 20 years, renting a boat annually. Everything has gone very well and I would recommend them for boat rental highly.

Been renting from Brad for over 25 years and we have always been more than satisfied! We rent Jet Skis every time and they are always top notch! From start to finish the whole experience is 10/10 every time! I Will always rent from here and I recommend this place to anyone!

Terrific rental experience. Tammy and Brad were very easy to work with, communicated well, were professional and very thorough. I grew up on a lake and still learned a thing or two from Brad when he dropped the boat off. I would definitely rent from them again and recommend them highly.

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Great Lakes boating

With the longest U.S. freshwater coastline and 83 state-sponsored harbors, boating the Great Lakes brings endless opportunities. Put your next boating trip on the books with these helpful resources.

Purchase a harbor gift card »

Michigan Harbors Guide

The Michigan Harbors Guide contains information on public harbor locations, amenities, contact info, information on how to make reservations and more. An aerial photograph is included for each location.

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This guide is not intended for navigational use. Please refer to your lake charts as a guide for navigational information. For information or assistance on this publication, contact the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, PO Box 30257, Lansing, MI 48909.

Stay overnight at a harbor

If you click on a location on the harbor map, you'll be linked to that page in the Harbor Guide, where you can find contact information, how to make a reservation, amenities and more.

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Click on a harbor marker to view more information. You can view the Michigan Harbors Guide with a list of harbors.

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See Michigan’s harbors and marinas from a whole new perspective! New aerial drone footage shows what it looks like to navigate from open water into the harbor and see the overall layout of the facility – a view that can aid in planning your arrival and navigating to your slip.

View complete Michigan harbor and marina playlist »

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BoatUS is installing complimentary Wi-Fi at seven harbors. While supply chain challenges have slowed installation progress, Wi-Fi is now available at Mackinac Island State Harbor. Cedar River, DeTour, East Tawas, Lexington, Presque Isle and Straits state harbors are coming soon.

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There’s an east side-west side divide in metro Detroit’s art world

Where does art thrive in metro Detroit? Hint: Not in boathouses.

Spring art shows are opening across metro Detroit although, by far and away, most are west of Woodward. What about that, east siders? Don't you gotta have art?

In Birmingham on Monday, artist David Bloom had three assistants help him set up Bloom's big mixed-media piece, which can't help but get attention this week. Its brilliant colors overlaid by 48 electric guitar strings, and rigged to an amplifier, are the first thing visitors will see as they enter the annual “Our Town Art Show & Sale" at The Community House, 380 S. Bates. Bloom's hefty 350-pound artwork has a hefty price: $333,000, most of which will go to charity if it sells, the artist says.

Bloom, a Ford analyst by day, is among 120 Michigan artists with works on display. "Our Town" has free admission, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., on Friday and Saturday. Go to www.communityhouse.com to see the art, starting Friday. There were 700 entries from all over Michigan, winnowed to 300 for the show by two jurors, both of them prominent art experts at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Elsewhere on the west side of metro Detroit, other art shows are opening or planned this spring. And the usual bevy of galleries are busy in Birmingham, Ferndale, Pontiac, and Southfield, as well as south of Eight Mile, in Detroit's Corktown, the city's downtown Woodward Corridor and its creative corridor on Grand River.

But on metro Detroit’s east side? There’s not much art. Most art in southeast Michigan, for more than a century, has been taught, created, bought, sold and displayed on the west side or in downtown Detroit. Is the spare cash on the east side just pouring into Lake St. Clair — into its boats, that is? Cynical west-siders find a grain of truth in that. Another factor may be history. In the early 1900s, despite a proliferation of summer mansions and boathouses in the Grosse Pointes, the east side's founding years made it a cradle of automaking and heavy industry. Artists fled to the west side, so that theory goes.

One east-side refuge for art is the Anton Art Center, 125 Macomb in Mount Clemens, although its inventory is limited. A display of student art from middle schools and high schools art runs through April 13; on April 27, the center opens a display of elementary school student art, said Peggy DiMercurio, interim executive director. Pondering the east-west divide in metro Detroit's art world, DiMercuriou said, "It is hard to explain. Art just doesn't take that high a priority" on the east side.

Still, there are hopeful signs this spring for art-receptive east-siders. A big center for the arts is under construction in Grosse Pointe Park, right at the Detroit border. The Grosse Pointe War Memorial, 32 Lake Shore Drive, has spring art classes planned, such as "Learn to Paint Like Bob Ross," a three-hour blitz on April 19 that aims to teach anyone how to emulate the landscape paintings of the late Floridian who hosted television's "Joy of Painting."

But there are no art supply shops nearby and the east side has no notable galleries, said Donald Cronkhite, a former art teacher at the Grosse Pointe War Memorial. Most of Cronkhite's teaching is at the large and bustling Birmingham-Bloomfield Art Center, where classes and exhibits happen six days a week. His classes in oil painting start on April 2. The center, 1516 S. Cranbrook, is in Birmingham and just a stone's throw from Beverly Hills and Bloomfield Township.

"When I come to the War Memorial for my classes, people are really grateful because the the Grosse Pointes are lacking this," Cronkhite said. His work highlights tensions in nature, often with foreboding cloud formations that would scare any sailor. Cronkhite's art is sold by the Robert Kidd Gallery in Birmingham. His 16-foot cloudscape hangs in the MacKenzie Fine Arts Center at Henry Ford College, 5101 Evergreen Road in Dearborn. Cronkhite's day job is operating his firm, Devonshire Exhibit Design.

Much of metro Detroit's art world is in Oakland County, which doesn't have Lake St. Clair and Mackinac race yachts but does have 1,000 smaller lakes, floating umpteen pontoon boats. It also supports umpteen art galleries, such as Ferndale's busy Lawrence Street Gallery, 22620 Woodward Ave., where a show of paintings by Laura Whitesides Host, of Birmingham, runs through March 29.

"There's just so much art going on in this area, it's incredible," Whitesides Host said, giving a shoutout to the Color/Ink Studio, an visual art and photo gallery along with teaching space at 20919 John R in Hazel Park, where a new show called "Expressionism of Composition" is scheduled to host an artist's talk at 2 p.m. Sunday. Also in Oakland County, "Art Walk at MDC" takes place Friday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., at the Michigan Design Center, 1700 Stutz Drive in Troy. The theme? To view art not just for itself but for how a piece can create a mood — steamy, cool or calm — inside a home, according to the center's website.

Heading south to Detroit's west side, the art-curious can visit Norwest Gallery of Art, 19556 Grand River, for a display called "Heavy Melanin," through April 28. This Black-owned gallery shows the work of numerous Detroit artists. Not far away, still west of Woodward, Detroit's Corktown area is known for its many studio lofts, whose art ranges from delicately painted dioramas to welded steel towers. Farther west, Dearborn is known for exhibits of Middle Eastern art and tapestries.

Back in Birmingham, where in 1990 there were 25 galleries, today there are just half a dozen, said David Klein, owner of the prestigious Klein Gallery, 163 Townsend.

"Unfortunately, the market has shrunk," in part because many buyers purchase art on the internet, Klein said. Still, the region's west side, plus downtown Detroit, continue to draw collectors to their galleries, for sophisticated pieces at higher price points than those found at summer art fairs.

"The collector base for some reason is on the west side," Klein said, diplomatically skirting a reporter's quip about boaters. He opened his Birmingham gallery in 1990 and then in 2015 opened a Detroit location, 1520 Washington Blvd. Downtown Detroit has a storied history of selling fine art, topped in the 1950s when the J.L. Hudson Co. had the Midwest's finest and largest gallery, Klein said. At his Detroit gallery, a six-week show of art by Franklin native Benjamin Pritchard is scheduled to open on Saturday. Pritchard's work uses abstract forms and bold colors to create "a meditation on Michigan and time," the artist said Wednesday, as he helped to hang his art in the Detroit space.

At The Community House in Birmingham, Bloom's piece, titled VIBE GL, is named after a woman he still loves even after she betrayed him, the artist said. The title's first part "stands for vibration inspired by" a woman whose initials are EGL, he said. The two were a couple before Bloom discovered she was married, he said, adding: "I'll love her forever." The second part of the title, "GL," stands for "grand lasso," referring to the rock song "Lasso" by Phoenix that "was on the radio when I came up with the idea for attaching the magnetic sine wave panels," symbolic vertical components that divide his piece into thirds. Bloom collaborated with Rob Wilson of Wilson Fine Violins in Birmingham over two and a half years to complete the work.

So, what is it about the east side's relative dearth of art? Those willing to drive 20 miles from the fleets of Lake St. Clair to Romeo can find several art spots, including the RJD Gallery, 227 N. Main, which is celebrated on four pages of American Art Collector magazine's March issue. RJD Gallery is showing, through April 4, the oil paintings of Spanish painter Jose Antonio Bernad, which are "beautiful and full of mystery" with "elements of mild danger," says the magazine's review.

Still, the east side is clearly, in sailor's parlance, the pickle boat in this art duel of metro Detroit.

To avoid a pitched battle with people in boat shoes, it must be said: Metro Detroit’s biggest and best art collection is right in the middle of the east and west sides. It's the DIA on Woodward Avenue, recently voted by USA Today’s readers as the nation’s best art museum.  

Contact Bill Laytner: [email protected]