Salmon Bay Marine Center

2284 W. Commodore Way, Seattle, WA 98199. Just 10 minutes from downtown Seattle.

47° 39.67 N, 122° 23.06 W

Directions By Land

Directions By Sea

Salmon Bay Marine Center aerial view with Ballard and Interbay area

NOAA nautical chart

“Dealing with Washington State tax laws can be easy and inexpensive” —Maritime Attorney Cris Wenthur

Don’t let Washington’s confusing tax laws keep you from visiting! As maritime attorney Cris Wenthur explains, “Getting a repair affidavit or cruising permit is an easy, quick, and inexpensive process. Just call me while you’re still in California and we’ll have the paperwork ready by the time you arrive in Seattle.”

All vessels owned and operated by non-Washington State residents are welcome to stay in Washington waters for 60 days tax-free. If you are interested in staying longer while cruising, extensions are readily available by following a prescribed process.

Vessels undergoing maintenance, repairs, and refit are eligible for exemption from Washington State use tax while having work performed in Washington (must fill out Non-Resident Vessel Repair Affidavit). Obtaining an extension permit is straightforward and inexpensive.

For complete details of the exemption process, we recommend contacting one of the following experts:

Monique Webber | yacht agent | monique@pacificyachtmanagement.com| 206-285-1449 | $250 flat fee for handling exemption

Cris Wenthur | attorney | cris@wenthurlawgroup.com | 619-398-9050

West Coast Yacht Agents

We recommend the following yacht agents:

California & Oregon | Mark Drewelow | C2C inc. | info@c2csandiego.com | 619-630-4626

Washington | Monique Webber | Pacific Yacht Management | monique@pacificyachtmanagement.com | 206-285-1449

British Columbia | Jaimie Wakeham | Northwest Yacht Support | jaimie@northwestyachtsupport.com | 604-220-2517

Alaska | Yacht Services of Alaska | operations@norpac1.com | 907-225-2200

The Ballard Locks

The Ballard (Hiram M. Chittenden) Locks, 760′ x 80′, separate saltwater Puget Sound from the
freshwater of Lake Union and Lake Washington

A single large lock (760x80 foot) or small lock (150x30 foot) lock lifts boats 8 to 12 feet (depending on tide level) to the Ballard Ship Canal. Salmon Bay Marine Center (SBMC) is on the freshwater side, just 1000 yards from the locks.
Time For Us (171’ x 30’) and Daedalus (151’ x 32’) in the locks at fresh water level.
Time For Us (171’ x 30’) and Daedalus (151’ x 32’) in the locks at Puget Sound sea level. Transiting the locks is simple, quick, and fun. The locks, with their park-like grounds and fish ladder with underwater viewing windows, are a popular destination in Seattle. Visitors line the lock wall to watch vessels transiting. A transit typically takes only 10-15 minutes. The locks are open 24 hours a day and there is no cost for their use.
All types of watercraft use the Ballard Locks, including kayaks.
Last summer, more than 28 super yachts made the half-mile transit through the locks to enjoy Seattle’s fresh water. Mayan Queen (301’/92m x 52’/16m) passing SBMC in March 2018.
Mayan Queen (301’/92m x 52’/16m) entering the Ballard Locks.
Mayan Queen (301’/92m x 52’/16m) secure in the Ballard Locks with lots of room to spare!
My Sky (168’) entering the Ballard Locks.
My Sky (168’) in the Ballard Locks.
Onlookers watch Avanti (200’) at the Ballard Locks.
T6 (160’ x 32’) exiting the locks into the Ballard Ship Canal. Inside the locks, fresh water naturally kills bottom growth, cleans heat exchangers, and flushes raw water systems. Bottom paint life is significantly extended for vessels moored in fresh water.
318’ Vava II (left) and 130’ Marlinda (right) at Nautical Landing in Lake Union.
Vive La Vie (198’) at Emerald Landing in Lake Union.
Sea Owl (203’) transiting the Ballard Ship Canal. The Ballard Ship Canal is home to more than 1000 commercial fishing vessels, hundreds of tow boats, and dozens of research and government vessels. The savvy operators of these vessels understand the benefits of fresh water moorage more than outweigh the short time required to transit the locks.
Serene (440’) in Lake Union’s fresh water, with the Sleepless in Seattle houseboat in the background.
Kogo (236’) in Lake Union.
Vibrant Curiosity (280’) moored in Lake Union. Lake Union and Lake Washington offer fascinating cruising, too. Seattle’s famous floating homes dot the shoreline of Lake Union. Cruise the shoreline of Lake Washington to see some of the finest residences in the Northwest, home for Bill and Melinda Gates, the Nordstrom’s, Paul Allen, and many others. During summer, the water warms to comfortable swimming temperatures and watersports are popular. The annual Seafair celebration, held in August, draws thousands to the lake for hydroplane races and air shows.
CV-9 (130') with room to spare in the large lock.
M/Y Itasca (176' x 35') outbound from Ballard in the large lock.

Ballard Maritime History

Settled in 1880 by Scandinavian fishermen, Ballard remains home to the thriving North Pacific fishing fleet. These fishing vessels represent the diversity of our fishing industry, operating in some of the most demanding conditions at sea while catching halibut, crab, salmon, and more. To service these fishing vessels, Ballard has the largest concentration of marine repair facilities and manpower in the United States.

150 year old fishing industry - $8.5 billion a year industry - 1000+ commercial fishing vessels homeported in Ballard’s freshwater. The highest concentration of maritime repair professionals in the USA.
F/V Northwestern, featured on the Deadliest Catch, was built in the 1970s at Marco Shipyard, now the site of Salmon Bay Marine Center (SBMC). The crab fishing fleet homeports in Ballard. Each season they travel to the Bering Sea to fish for red king crab, blue king crab, brown crab, bairdi, and opillio.
F/V Blue North, a 191-foot freezer-longliner, in the Ballard ship canal.
Longliners and trawlers operating from Ballard ply the waters of the North Pacific for halibut, lingcod, grayling, arctic char, sable fish, pacific cod, and pollock.
Click here to read read about F/V Blue North.
Seiners moored at Fishermen’s Terminal, 500 yards from SBMC.
Seiners based in Ballard are the backbone of the salmon fishing fleet. They travel northward each season in search of the five species of salmon: king (chinook), silver (coho), pink (humpback), chum (dog or keta), and sockeye (red, kokanee, blueback).
Hundred-year-old schooners, built and maintained in Ballard, continue to operate safely and profitably.
From 1911 until 1925, shipyards in Ballard launched dozens of longline schooners to fish for halibut and cod. Today, these same vessels—some over 100 years old—continue working the Aleutians each summer.
Click here to watch a video about F/V Tordenskjold.
Catcher processors, like 300-foot F/V Starbound, homeport in Ballard.
Click here to read Fishermen's News about extending Starbound.
Click here to read about Dakota Creek making the extension.
Ballard shipwrights work into the night installing a Kort nozzle on a seiner at Pacific Fishermen. Fishermen travel thousands of miles to Ballard each year to take advantage of Ballard’s shipyards and tradesmen who have earned a reputation as the hardest working, most capable, and conscientious in the business. Combined with the unique freshwater ship canal, which naturally kills bottom growth and flushes raw water systems, Ballard is the ideal location for maintenance and upgrades for demanding operators. More Info on Ballard's maritime history can be found at The Nordic Museum: nordicmuseum.org