San Rafael Yacht Club

Located at the west end of the San Rafael Canal, it has a protected harbor offering visiting boats more than 300 feet of dock space and plenty of room to have a good time inside, too. The club’s main goal is to promote proper and safe boating practices and to provide a comfortable atmosphere of member camaraderie — which the cocktail lounge overlooking the harbor next to the expansive deck helps facilitate. Still run by volunteers and featuring events like the New Year’s Eve “hangover” cruise-in, the unstuffy San Rafael Yacht Club has been going strong since 1938.Despite contradicting accounts regarding its origins — some claim it was started by William McNear of the McNear brick company and former San Rafael council member Fred Jensen; others say a group of working-class men were the founders — what’s indisputable is that the 4,000-square-foot clubhouse was built from the ground up by its members, many of them contractors.