Nestled in a protective cove along the Connecticut River between the historic Chester Hadlyme Ferry, Gillette Castle and The Goodspeed Opera House, Chester Boat Basin is a family friendly marina set in a park like setting 13 miles from Long Island Sound.

Chrisholm Marina was founded by the Christianson and Matz families in 1961, the Marina was run by the third generation of families until it was sold to the Petzold family on August 8th, 2020 and is now named Petzold’s Chester Boat Basin. The Petzold’s have owned Petzold’s Marine Center in Portland Connecticut since 1945 and is now being operated by the 3rd and 4th generation of Petzolds.

The marinas freshwater basin also acts as a natural protectant from storms and foul weather. Our 145 slips have floating docks, water, electricity and Wifi. The slips have 6’ of water at low tide and can accommodate boats up to 45’ in length. We take pride in our marina and our park like grounds. Picnic tables, a gazebo, fire pit, are present on our property along with a floating raft right in front of our cozy beach for you to swim to. The kids love it along with our swing set.

Our expert staff takes pride in providing all your boating needs from total maintenance of your boat to parts in our well-equipped ship store. We carry ValvTect marine fuel at our gas dock. We also have pump out that is available 24 hours conveniently located on our gas dock. Attached to our ship store are very clean heads with showers that are also open 24 hours.

The marinas technicians are available five days per week for your repairs, hauling and other boating needs. We also provide on land winter storage, winterizing, shrink wrapping and spring commissioning of your boat. We have a 35 ton travel lift that has the capability of hauling boats up to 60 Feet.

The Nature Conservancy heralded the lower Connecticut River Valley one of forty “last great places on earth” The are affords year-round amenities. Chester with its fine shops and restaurants and the Goodspeed Opera House and Gillette Castle in East Haddam are just a few of many places of interest.