About
Fenwicks Marina at a glance
Family-owned marina and hardstand facility at 31 Brooklyn Road, Brooklyn since 1985, offering berthing plus award-winning antifoul, Propspeed and detailing trades; EPA-licensed, Clean Marina and Fish Friendly accredited, 2023 MIA Hall of Fame (Best Boat Yard).
Service area: Hawkesbury River
- Marina type
- marina & hardstand/boatyard
- Operator
- Fenwicks Marina
- Region
- Hawkesbury River
- Water body
- Hawkesbury River
- Dry storage
- hardstand
- Berth types
- permanent berthing, casual berthing
Facilities and services
- hardstand
- repairs & maintenance
- fuel
- travel lift 50t
- DIY hardstand
- dry storage
- Propspeed
- antifouling
- detailing
- shipwright & fabrication
- marine electrical
- mechanical repairs
- marine painting
- trimming & covers
- boat transport
- showers
- car parking
About Fenwicks Marina
Fenwicks Marina occupies 31 Brooklyn Road on the Hawkesbury River, in the sheltered reach inside the rail bridge, and it carries one of the oldest names in Sydney maritime history. The Fenwick family ran J Fenwick & Co, the tug company founded in 1870 whose vessels worked Sydney Harbour for generations, and the current marina was built from bare ground by Andrew Fenwick in 1985. Forty years on it remains family owned and run, and that continuity shows in the yard's culture: personal service, long-term customers and a workforce that treats boat maintenance as a trade rather than a sideline. The facility is compact by river standards, around 60 berths, but it punches well above its size as a working boatyard. Fenwicks is EPA licensed, holds Level 3 Clean Marinas Australia accreditation with Fish Friendly status, and in 2023 was inducted into the Marina Industries Association Hall of Fame as Best Boat Yard, recognition of the standard of its antifouling, Propspeed and detailing work. The clientele leans towards owners of quality motor cruisers, including a strong contingent of Riviera and similar production boats, who keep their vessels berthed afloat and lift out annually for maintenance. There is also a steady flow of boats arriving by road, since the yard is a recognised pick-up and drop-off point for interstate boat transporters. The atmosphere is that of a busy, tidy, professionally run yard in a bush setting: mangroves across the inlet, the national park escarpment behind, and the Brooklyn village strip a few minutes' walk away.
Marina facilities
Fenwicks runs about 60 floating concrete pontoon berths accommodating boats up to 19 metres, each with power, water and free-to-air TV points, offered on both permanent and casual terms. Fuel is sold seven days a week, and there is a client car park and restrooms with showers open around the clock. The yard's centrepiece is a 50-tonne travel lift rated for vessels to 23 metres (75 feet) with a 6-metre beam, used for hardstand lifts, loading boats on and off road transport, and pre-purchase or insurance survey lifts. The hardstand supports dry boat storage and explicitly welcomes DIY owners, with power and water at each hardstand position, though as an EPA-licensed site it applies noise restrictions on weekends and public holidays. Where Fenwicks really distinguishes itself is the depth of trade services on site. Antifouling and Propspeed application, covering propellers, rudders, struts, shafts, trim tabs and saildrives, is a signature line, alongside detailing from wash-downs and acid washes through to hull polishing, with maintenance washes for berthing clients. Named on-site businesses include Oceantec Marine for mechanical servicing, repowers and vessel management; EB Marine (Elmes Brothers) for shipwright work, fabrication, timber and fibreglass repairs, restorations and mast stepping; Bird Electrical for marine electrics, air conditioning, refrigeration and Garmin electronics; Offshore Marine for trimming, covers, clears and interior fabrics; and painter Greg Fry for varnish and high-gloss coatings. Office hours run Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm and 9am to 4pm on weekends. The combination of a capable lift, an accredited environmentally managed hardstand and a full bench of resident trades makes this one of the most complete maintenance facilities on the Hawkesbury.
Local sailing knowledge
The marina sits inside the Hawkesbury River rail bridge, so any approach from the sea or Broken Bay involves passing under a fixed span with 11.8 metres of clearance at mean high water springs. Motor cruisers take this in their stride; sailing yachts of any rig height simply cannot, which shapes the whole Brooklyn precinct's fleet. Once inside, Sandbrook Inlet offers flat, protected water in almost any weather, and Fenwicks' berths lie well up the inlet away from the ferry and hire-boat traffic nearer the village. Tidal range is around two metres at springs and the stream accelerates through the bridge narrows on a big tide, worth remembering when backing into a pen. The location is a genuine cruising crossroads. Downstream, Broken Bay opens out with Pittwater to the south and the Central Coast to the north; upstream, more than 54 nautical miles of navigable river leads to Windsor, with anchorages in Cowan Creek, Jerusalem Bay and Refuge Bay all within a day's potter. Ashore, Brooklyn is small but serviceable: Hawkesbury River railway station is close by on the Newcastle and Central Coast line, the Dangar Island ferry runs from the public wharf, and the village supports cafes, a general store, a pub and seafood outlets trading on the local oyster industry. For provisions beyond the basics, Mooney Mooney and Berowra Waters are reachable by boat, and Gosford or Hornsby by car. Fenwicks' position at the Brooklyn Road end of the village also makes it the natural haul-out choice for boats arriving by trailer from western Sydney or interstate, avoiding the congestion of the village centre while staying minutes from every other service in Brooklyn.