One of my first ever Lego sets, and a always a core part of my town alongside the railway.

Wobbly crane aside (it's easy to knock it from the turntable) this is an ace model.

That said when I used to look through the catalogues I always wished I had the red crane, but that was probably a lot more money for Santa to find!

Now though, I think I prefer this one.

The containers and lorries/train trucks from 1990 to about 1996 all had a universal size (4x8), so this set works great with a railway and the additional container transport sets as the containers fit everything from train to truck to boat.

Good stickers too, the old clear ones last forever. Much better than the shiny new white stickers which seem to peel off after a few months.

I wish Lego sold the baseplates separately though; it would be brilliant if this set could be extended.

This set is one of my favorites of all time. I have one that I play with and one that is MISB. I personally like this and 6542 a lot better than the new 7994 harbor set.

Pros:
-Great freighter with an innovative derrick, and a hull that has space to put containers, cars, and even bricks in.
-Great crane, I like it even better than 6542
-Great truck with old style wheels
-Fishing Pole!!
-Dock with a lighthouse thing
-lots of railings

Cons:
-none

If you see this set, buy it misb because it is very rare. There are still copies out there, and if you really want this set you can still buy it.

An especially interesting set for several reasons:

Good starting point for a port;
An easily extendable boat (unlike the one in 6542)
Good atmosphere (fisherman, plus port light)
Great cargo (tractor plus classic motorbike)
A good truck with the older larger diameter tyres, which gives a better notion of scale than the (now) more common balloon-like tyres.
And finally, a great crane (although loading is easier with the one in 6542).

Minus points: The relationship of the lower part of the ship's conning tower with the hull, which I've modified from its original inverted slope configuration to a more blockier straight shape (closer to actual cargo ships)

My mom got this before or after I was born. When i was little I destroyed most of the models my mom made. The only part that I have intact is the crane cabin. The stickers are still on. I love this set.

this is DEFINITLY my favourite harbour-set, i like it even better than the 6542. this one has a really unique crane in realistic shape and function, the freighter is very detailed and good looking, there are enough minifigs and a lot of bricks for long building pleasure. of course, the stickers on the freighter suck, but who needs them?
add the police station 6540 and the bigger harbour-set 6542 and your costal site will be perfect.