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Marina

Marine Diving Services at Canoe Cove Marina - Sidney, BC

Canoe Cove Marina is home to much of Vancouver Island's offshore and racing sailing fleet. Regatta-ready hulls and offshore-ready bottoms are a big part of what we do here.

Location

About Canoe Cove Marina.

Canoe Cove Marina sits just north of the Swartz Bay ferry terminal, in a tucked-in cove on the Saanich Peninsula. Historically home to a significant portion of the region's serious sailing crowd - offshore cruisers, IRC and PHRF racers, cruisers preparing for Swiftsure or longer passages.

Water here is well-flushed via Saanich Inlet and Satellite Channel. Visibility is typically good, and growth pressure is moderate. The cove is sheltered from most weather, so boat movement is minimal - easier underwater work conditions than more exposed slips.

The culture here is different from other marinas. More owner-maintainers, more technical work, more pre-race and pre-passage inspections. Our work at Canoe Cove leans toward inspection and race-prep more than routine maintenance cleaning.

What Diving Looks Like at Canoe Cove

What diving here is actually like.

Visibility is usually 10-15 feet at Canoe Cove - good enough for detailed prop and hull inspection video. The cove's shelter means current and surge inside the marina are minimal.

Race-prep cleaning is different from routine maintenance. We strip slime to gel-coat, burnish prop and strut to metal-bright, and flag anything on the running gear or foils that will cost boat speed. Scheduled close to regatta dates so the bottom is fresh for the start line.

Offshore-bound boats get full bottom clean, running gear inspection, and zinc replacement as a package - usually a week before departure. We document with video so the owner has before-and-after records for insurance and logbook.

What we do here

Typical Canoe Cove Marina jobs.

  • Race-prep hull cleaning before Swiftsure, Van Isle 360, and other regattas
  • Pre-departure offshore inspections - hull, running gear, through-hulls, zincs
  • Routine hull cleaning on 6-10 week cadence depending on boat use
  • Underwater video surveys for insurance and pre-purchase
  • Zinc replacement including saildrive and folding-prop zincs

FAQ

Canoe Cove Marina questions.

Do you do race-prep cleaning at Canoe Cove?
Yes - regatta cleaning is a regular part of our Canoe Cove work. We strip to slick for racing, pay extra attention to prop and strut, and time the cleaning so the bottom is fresh for the race start. See our group-and-racer pricing for multi-boat fleets.
Can you do pre-departure inspections for offshore boats?
Yes. Full underwater walk-through of hull, rudder, shaft, prop, through-hulls, sacrificial anodes, keel-bolt visible inspection, and anything you specifically want documented. All on video.
Do you service folding and feathering props?
Regularly. Max-Prop, Kiwi Prop, Autoprop, Gori - we know them. Cleaning, zinc replacement, and inspection without removing the prop.

Service area

Canoe Cove Marina is part of our Sidney & the Saanich Peninsula coverage.

The Saanich Peninsula holds more boats per square kilometre than anywhere else on Vancouver Island. We dive at Van Isle, Canoe Cove, Tsehum, Westport, and Brentwood Bay every week.

See Sidney & the Saanich Peninsula →

Contact

Boat at Canoe Cove Marina? Get a quote.

Tell us about the boat and where it lives. We reply within a business day — usually faster.

Phone
Phone (778) 535-4506
Hours
Hours Mon–Sat, 7:00 AM – 6:00 PM · Emergency response available

Urgent — fouled prop, suspected damage, dropped item — call. We triage by phone faster than by form.

No spam. We reply with a clear quote, not a sales pitch.