Boothbay, Maine Waterfront Home on Hodgdon Island — Three-Bedroom Cape with Dock

Tucked on the shoreline of Hodgdon Island, where he grew up, Neil and Sheila Blake built a year-round, expandable three-bedroom cape twelve years ago to capture sweeping views of Sheepscot Bay and the channel to the Sheepscot River. Now in their early 60s and ready to downsize to nearby Boothbay Harbor, the couple has listed their 1.38-acre waterfront property for $725,000.

The homesite includes 165 feet of water frontage, a floating dock with 2.5-foot depths at mean low water, a ramp, a mooring, an attached two-car garage and a separate studio with its own one-car garage. The property’s accessible waterfront location places it about a half mile from the broad Sheepscot River, a popular cruising area for sailors, powerboaters and kayakers, with many anchorages, islands, coves and direct access toward the open Atlantic.

The house was designed to emphasize the water views and Maine coastal living. A traditional front entry opens into a broad foyer that leads directly to a centrally located waterfront living room and the covered porch beyond. French doors, birch floors and beadboard accents create a warm country ambiance. In the living room, large waterfront windows fill the space with natural light, and a fieldstone fireplace provides a cozy focal point for Maine winters. The Blakes frequently burn wood in the fireplace, sometimes using timber from their own wood lot.

The master suite sits behind the fireplace wall and includes a bay window framing views of the Blakes’ 38-foot 1966 Chris-Craft cabin cruiser, dock, and the bay beyond. The master bath is compartmented for privacy and features twin vanities. Adjacent to the bedroom, Sheila’s studio serves as her business office where she designs and crafts gemstone jewelry. From that corner of the house, stairs rise to an unfinished 32-by-60-foot attic with full-size windows on each end — a space the Blakes say offers easy potential to build additional living area and add dormers to capture even more of the spectacular water view.

On the opposite side of the living room is the kitchen and an adjoining waterfront dining nook. A wide Corian-topped breakfast bar separates the dining area from the food-preparation zone, which is fitted with appliances and pickled birch cabinetry. A formal dining room overlooks the front gardens, tended by Sheila on the property’s rocky slope. Beyond the kitchen, a den with a waterfront bay window provides a quiet retreat.

The main level also includes a guest bedroom, a full bath, a garage entrance and a laundry room. A south-facing patio forms a sheltered outdoor living area that is protected from north winds, making it pleasant in cooler months. The Blakes also host outdoor lobster bakes and, during inclement weather, use the concrete-floored, aboveground walk-out cellar. That lower level offers additional family space, including a guest bedroom with a full bath and a separate exterior entrance.

The detached studio, located steps from the house and adjacent to the gravel driveway, opens via sliding glass doors onto a wooded side yard threaded with walking paths that Sheila cleared and landscaped over the years. She has terraced the property into perennial gardens, seating areas and grassy paths that slope down the granite ledges to the water. Specimen trees, carefully planted and nurtured, now provide privacy and shelter for the sitting areas. Sheila describes her attachment to the gardens and the trees she has watched grow, noting how they add year-round interest to the yard.

Neil keeps the family boat, originally his father’s, at the floating dock or on the mooring in front of the house. The property’s convenient boating access makes it easy to cruise to local restaurants and harbors; the Blakes have cruised to destinations such as Somes Sound and Northeast Harbor, and they regularly explore the islands, guts and coves that define midcoast Maine’s boating landscape.

The vinyl-sided home is equipped with a well, hot water baseboard heat and domestic hot water supplied by an oil-fired furnace. The property operates on a private septic system, and the Blakes hold a septic permit for four bedrooms, which allows the potential to add another full bath or build a one-bath cottage on site. Annual property taxes are approximately $4,900.

Practical conveniences are nearby: by road, Boothbay Harbor’s supermarket, shops, banks and medical services are less than four miles away, and U.S. Route 1 is about 15 miles north, providing connections to I‑95 and Portland, Maine.

This waterfront real estate listing is exclusively represented by Carol Buxton of West Boothbay Harbor, Maine. For more information, the property is listed at www.duPontRegistry.com. The Blakes’ carefully maintained home, private dock and cultivated gardens offer an appealing package for buyers seeking a classic Maine waterfront property with boating access, ample outdoor space, and potential to expand.

February 2014 issue