Town of Wareham Harbormaster - Onset Harbor Transient Moorings

We always enjoy the tranquility of Onset Harbor, however we were displeased with the fact that the town mooring launch ceased operation at 5:30p which ruled out a trip to town for dinner!

Great seaside town. Shopping very convenient; great ambiance!

Great Location up the river. Mooring balls very protected from wind and wave action in all directions. Limited restroom facilities ashore. Laundry is several blocks from dockmaster office. No large grocer nearby, but a convenience store is nearby. And a hardware store with limited boating supplies.

Had a great time in Onset . Harbor Master was very helpful , mooring in good shape with plenty of swing room. Directions to the assigned mooring were spot on. Would definitely visit again.

A hidden gem! This is right in our back yard and after 10 years of boating, finally decided it was time to book a mooring. We could not have been more surprised. Starting with the harbormaster and including the launch drivers, all were there to answer questions and provide a lift into shore is you needed. There are several restaurants steps from the dock if you wanted some eats as well as a small convenience/liquor store carrying anything you might need. The views were great and the sunsets were even better, Cuttyhunk like. Nice harbor to dinghy and paddleboard around in. Looking forward to my next visit. Only regret was that we hadn't gone there sooner!

The staff was awesome. Very friendly and helpful.

Harbormaster’s office was very helpful

No showers. Took ages to contact Harbour master it seems to be a one man show. Launch not available after 5 or before 9. Should have anchored beside it

Our first time experience was great. Harbor Master crew were awesome very informative and helpful!!!!

We had a good two night stay at the Onset town mooring field. It is a well-protected harbor and very nice town. The moorings are in good condition and after Labor Day there were plenty available. The town provides launch service with the mooring, but it is not reliable. If you plan to use it, we suggest that you have a backup. In our case, we had to go ashore on Sunday and the launch operator assured us that they would run the launch from 11 AM to 4 PM that day unless the wind was too high. We asked what too high winds meant and he said probably over 30 knots. Unfortunately, on Sunday they decided to cancel the launch due to what they claimed were high winds; we were recording gusts to around 20 knots at the top of our mast. As a result of the change, we launched our dinghy and motored in to the dock getting a bit wet, but in no danger. The launch drivers are also marine patrol. We are sure they can handle 20 knot winds. Our reading was that they decided to cancel the launch for convenience possibly because we were the only boat in their mooring field.

Beautiful town/harbor Great staff and surrounding restaurants. We will be back...

A female assistant harbor master was rude when giving me information regarding the use of Dokwa. Than she assigned me to a mooring that had a bad and tangled line which was stuck on the mooring chain underneath and couldn't be picked up...apparently this is an issue that the harbor master was already aware of, as it was described to me by other nearby boaters who experienced the same thing.

We would like to thank the Harbor Master for allowing us to stay on a mooring during the hurricane threat.

The staff was excellent. The mooring in great shape with a stout pendant. Easy access and good directions to mooring field. Now the problem… I went to bring the dog ashore and then planned on coming ashore later with my wife for dinner. As I was tying up to the skiff dock. A large man aboard a boat started screaming incessantly at me that I didn’t belong there and to get out of there. I felt very intimidated and unsafe. Needless to say, the dog didn’t get to shore and a local restaurant lost business.

The online instructions were perfect. We did not go ashore, only moored and left the mooring in the am. Beautiful sunset. Peaceful and quiet

Great harbor and super professional.

It was fine. Onset is such a beautiful place!

we needed a mooring and signed up for one it was convenient to the town dock very easy will do it again

Very nice harbor. we'll be back.

Amazing harbor. Lots of beaches and Wicks Island to explore. We were on Moorning A7. We paid through Dockwa and marina called us after reading our message that we only planned a short stay for lunch and refunded the fee. They said no charge for moorings if just staying for a few hours. We had a great lunch and short stay in the harbor. We had mooring A7, right beside the island. Launch service is great and quick. Give marina a call in advance to check mooring availability and get mooring assignment. Makes arrival a lot easier, it is a busy busy harbor. Highly recommend !! Marina very responsive and accommodating.

I always enjoy my stay on the Onset town moorings, I have been there many times. My only complaint is a lack of enforcement of speed limits and wakes in the mooring area.

The Harbormaster Crew did a great job helping us tie down. Easy access, with a nice floating dock. There’s a beach right off the dock…great place for kids to swim! We loved hearing their laughter during the day! Thank you for a great stay!

Very accommodating great stay

Seamless experience with a helpful team at a location we really enjoyed. We will come back again.

Beautiful spot. Great staff.

Friendly harbor master and great launch service.

calm anchorage; helpful service

Very picturesque spot

Mooring is sheltered and not far from the dock. On shore within 3 blocks are several restaurants, a hardware store and a small grocery with liquor. Pleasant community with many unique victorian style homes.

Onset is a delightfully small town with friendly people, ice cream stores and Victorian homes. Quiet mooring surrounded by pretty beaches and shallow water. Canal cruise boat departure point. A very relaxing stay.

There is no designated slip-holder parking at this marina and no where to leave a trailer. This posed a huge inconvenience for me. There are limited public metered parking spaces on the pier and they were full at 10:30 a.m. I had to park two blocks away in a two hour spot and return every two hours to feed the meter. I like to bring friends on the boat, and they also had trouble parking. I have stayed in many other marinas, and have never had this problem. Besides that, this is a pretty harbor. Good-sized slips, clean bathrooms, some nice eateries nearby and good beaches.

The approach is well-marked and mooring field is very protected. The current can be very strong at the mouth of the dredged inlet, so you have to be cautious. The harbormaster was not working the day we arrived and we were unable to contact anyone on the requested VHF channel upon our arrival. He told us the previous day what our mooring ball # would be. However, when we got there, someone else was on that ball and we were not quite sure what to do, so we just picked up different ball - hoping no one else was planning to come to that one. It got sorted out the next day, which was fine. The harbormaster was very helpful with the launch service and letting us know about the amenities at the dock (pump out boat, pump out station, water, fuel, restrooms, etc....). We stayed 2 nights and would definitely come back - a really pretty place.

Beautiful spot, very protected, minimal early AM traffic, slept like a rock overnight. Highly recommend!!!

Excellent - friendly launch service

Great place to stay! Protected, close to town. We will be back!

Wonderful place to stay ! Always a pleasure 😎

Onset is the Jewel of Wareham. A hidden gem and a beautiful place. Well protected from the busy Hog Island channel. Moorings are my favorite but there are 5 slips with power, water, and pump-out on new docks. There is a market, a hardware store, Quahog Republic restaurant, and Marc Anthony's pizza all next to the pier. Public bathrooms, no showers, efficient launch service, dinghy dock. I love this place!

Great little town and pretty harbor. Super shallow in many areas but plenty of water where needed.

Beautiful harbor with great town owned slips and moorings. Water on the dock.

Always a pleasure to stay here

Great moorings on the back side of wickets island

Great place to stay, great beach. Good bus service for shopping

The best thing about staying in Onset is the launch service. The drivers are unfailingly polite, helpful and responsive. We made several trips in for laundry and grocery shopping and never had to wait long. Our hats off to the whole harbormaster team, especially Antonio who dealt with us on both days. The moorings are a great deal. They are secure and stable in protected waters. The docks have gotten better this year, too. They are new and can handle about 6 boats up to 35 ft and one additional on up to 50 ft. They all have power and water. This is a huge improvement over the past. There are several restaurants close to the pier and two ice cream places nearby. The laundromat is less than 4 blocks a way. There’s a small market and a hardware store right in the village as well. Stop & Shop can be reached by a $10 Uber ride. Onset makes a great stopping point for boats transiting the Cape Cod Canal,

Happy I liked it will be back

We’ve spent lots of time here over the last 5 years. Onset Harbormaster has moorings close to lots of bars and restaurants, provides a launch service, dinghy dock and pumpout boat. You can actually swim off the back of your boat because the HM enforces a no wake zone in the harbor.

We’ve spent lots of time here over the last 5 years. Onset Harbormaster has moorings close to lots of bars and restaurants, provides a launch service, dinghy dock and pumpout boat. You can actually swim off the back of your boat because the HM enforces a no wake zone in the harbor.

Lovely setting amongst the beaches. Nice having the free launch service into town. Restrooms are shared by beachgoers, they could use some updates. Town has a few restaurants and a mini grocery/ liquor store. Overall a nice stay.

New docks, good water and electric service, pump out right at the dock. Short walk to village and beach. No showers but i knew that. Occasional noise from party fishing boat and canal cruise boat. A nice layover for our run from Watch Hill to Gloucester.

Very nice stay. We used the mooring to watch the Onset fireworks. Everything worked out great.

Beautiful and well protected harbor . At the entrance to the cape cod canal so watch the tides carefully. Its a really wicked current. Great little town, with good restaurants and places to hang out. Welcoming !

The launch service runs until 10:30 pm in the weekend and the staff are friendly and knowledgeable. Picturesque harbor with lots of sand to enjoy

No tender service after Sept 1st and our favorite clam shack was closed for the season as well. It was an easy in and out.

The staff was awesome! They were extremely responsive with their shuttle service, always very courteous and quite helpful. The town of Onset is great, with lots of little shops and restaurants.

Very accommodating harbormaster crew with a complimentary shuttle. Harbor very calm and enjoyable most anything you could need is within walking distance.

Great place and people.

1. Reasonable mooring rate. 2. Free launch service 3. Friendly launch crew 4. Showers would be an appreciated amenity. 5. Onset Village is low key and not self-important.

I had my boat on a mooring for two nights in Onset. They provided free launch service and were very friendly and helpful. We had a great weekend there, thank you.

The moorings are great and the harbor nicely protected. My only comment is that it is a bit confusing for a newcomer to the harbor figuring out where the moorings are. The moorings are obscured by Wickets Island when coming in the harbor and one sees many moorings at the private marinas to the east. It would be helpful if the info on the confirmation included an instruction to proceed past Wickets Island keeping it to starboard and enter the town mooring field on the northwest side of the island.