Long-term moorings in Plymouth

Moorings in Plymouth are mostly marina berths, with harbour trot moorings in the Cattewater, the mouth of the River Plym. The Devon city faces Plymouth Sound and is a naval port, so the River Tamar side is shared with the dockyard. Saltash, Torpoint and Millbrook have their own pages.

Moorings in Plymouth

• Plymouth Yacht Haven: at Mount Batten, part of Yacht Havens Group. It has 450 full-tide pontoon berths, no lock gates and a 75 ton boat hoist.
• Queen Anne's Battery: run by MDL Marinas, with 235 berths for boats up to 18m and a 40 ton hoist.
• Sutton Harbour Marina: run by Sutton Harbour Group behind a lock staffed 24 hours a day. Boats pass freely for up to three hours either side of high water.
• King Point Marina: also Sutton Harbour Group, in the inner basin at Millbay. Walk-ashore pontoon berths for some 151 boats, with 24-hour gated access.
• Mayflower Marina: at Richmond Walk, by Stonehouse Creek. It is owned through Sailport Plc by a small number of its berth holders, and has full-tide access for boats up to 20m.
• Cattewater trot moorings: Cattewater Harbour Commissioners let annual moorings on the Plym, Oreston and Cocklebank trots for boats up to 36 feet. The mooring year starts on 1 April.
• Getting a Cattewater mooring: the harbour office keeps a waiting list. Its 2026/27 policy says it is not taking new applications for self-maintained moorings.
• Private moorings: anywhere in the Dockyard Port, including the tidal Tamar, Tavy, Lynher and Plym, a mooring needs a Licence to Lay Moorings from the King's Harbour Master.

On the water

Plymouth is a Dockyard Port. The Ministry of Defence is the primary harbour authority through the King's Harbour Master, and three harbour authorities work inside it: Cattewater Harbour Commissioners, Sutton Harbour and ABP at Millbay.

• The Cattewater: runs east of a line from Mount Batten Breakwater to Fisher's Nose, as far as Laira Bridge. Every vessel navigating it pays harbour dues to the Commissioners.
• Speed: 10 knots north of the Breakwater and within 400m of the shore, 8 knots in the Cattewater and 4 knots in Sutton Channel.
• Faster water: vessels under 15m may exceed the limit in the Sound when more than 400m from the shore.
• Entrance: boats enter the Sound east or west of the Breakwater. For Mayflower Marina the choice is the Drake Channel or The Bridge, a narrow channel with 2.9m at low water springs.
• Shipping: vessels under 20m must not impede ships confined to the main channel.