Wharf DC Marina – only one way to live aboard
Updated 11/23/2020
If you currently wanted to live full-time in our marina, or more accurately, to become a liveaboard resident here in what we affectionately call our home, Wharf’s Gangplank Marina, there is only one way to go about it. That is to buy a boat with a current liveaboard license. In 2022, the Wharf is committed to finishing the marina and offering more licenses to fill out our numbers to the original 94 liveaboard residents. Still, the marina is under construction, and the prices for those licenses have not been set.
According to the schedule of fees for 2020, a new liveaboard resident here pays a flat fee of $231/mo and a per foot fee of $16.50/mo plus electricity, and internet/cable is available for an extra charge billed directly by Comcast. All residents must follow the SLA for the current year regarding documentation, insurance, and inspections, which are additional expenses related to their particular vessel.
Listings of current boats for sale in our marina are here and are updated regularly by the marina management company, Oasis Marinas.
Most of the listings have broken links at this time, but boats with a liveaboard license currently on the market are priced from $150,000 to $300,000.
If you are looking for boat buying experience, Kathy Heet is a current resident in the marina and a previous GPSA Board President. She explains that the broken links are for boats that are selling or are waiting out the holidays before becoming active again. Kathy has been helping people navigate the sales process here for years now. Her email is
According to Chris Williams, Oasis’ Assistant General Manager, “Once a boat has been purchased from the current sales listings, you may do with the property what you wish. Discarding or selling the current boat and bringing in another one is acceptable, so long as it meets all safety, licensing, and size requirements.” and receives Wharf approval.
You may have noticed; there are also Seasonal Slipholders and Transient Slipholders here in the marina. What’s up with them? Seasonal Slipholders must pay for three or more months, while Transient Slipholders may stay for as little as a day. According to Chris Williams, these are renters and may not become liveaboard residents without buying an existing licensed boat. Oasis promises to watch for this and protect a category of slip holders from creeping into another one. Those who have lived here awhile may have laughed at that sentence, but Oasis is committed to ”comprehensive operations and marina management policies that will set your marina apart from the competition and help you continue to meet and exceed your customers’ expectations.”
You may call or email Oasis for a current schedule of slip fees:
(202) 595-5165