North Carolina Liveaboard Marina's, need guidance, help.

[Socalbred]

I am looking for a liveaboard Marina, in North Carolina.
I have a 28' Dory. I have a small dog. I am a single man that will be living on the boat with the dog.

I need a good boatyard with a lift so I can do maintenance and repairs. (Painting, epoxy, gel coat repair)
I need a Marina close to a town and isn't too rural.

Places I have been considering are Oriental, New Bern, Beaufort however, I am open to ANY suggestion.

I am a novice sailor with absolutely no experience in boat ownership or sailing. I can manage most things, but a strong network of sailors to whip me into shape would definitely be appreciated.

I will be arriving in North Carolina with my boat in February/March of 2023.

Thank you for your advice.

John

[Khaos13]

Sounds like you're livin' the dream. Lot's of happy boat owner stories to tell in the future. I'm in Ft. Lauderdale and live aboards here are disappearing fast. Best of luck but don't give up! Keep us posted.

[wikakaru]

I am looking for a liveaboard Marina, in North Carolina.
I have a 28' Dory. I have a small dog. I am a single man that will be living on the boat with the dog.

I need a good boatyard with a lift so I can do maintenance and repairs. (Painting, epoxy, gel coat repair)
I need a Marina close to a town and isn't too rural.

Places I have been considering are Oriental, New Bern, Beaufort however, I am open to ANY suggestion.

I am a novice sailor with absolutely no experience in boat ownership or sailing. I can manage most things, but a strong network of sailors to whip me into shape would definitely be appreciated.

I will be arriving in North Carolina with my boat in February/March of 2023.

Thank you for your advice.

John

Hi John,

I lived aboard for 14 years, and spent probably 7-8 years living aboard in a few different marinas, the rest cruising. I never lived in North Carolina (though I did pass through there plenty of times) so my advice is more general than about specific marinas.

From my transits through the area, it sounds like you have the usual suspects covered. You might also look at Washington, NC, too, though I'm not sure what your threshold for "too rural" is. The Beaufort/Morehead City area is the epicenter for boating in North Carolina. Morehead City is more oriented towards the big sport-fishing powerboats, Beaufort is more oriented towards cruisers, and Oriental has a more "homey" feel.

I'm not sure how extensive your refit will be or how much time you need to spend on the hard, but you don't really need to choose the location of your liveaboard marina based on the location of a boatyard. Your boat moves, after all. If you are going to be a long-term liveaboard, pick your location based on where you are going to want to live, not where you are going to want to haul out. I suggest you approach this as two separate decisions: where do you want to live, and where do you want to haul the boat out.

I recommend that you go scout out the various marinas in person and see which ones you like. Think about things like how protected the slips will be in bad weather from all directions. In North Carolina that means hurricanes, too. Is the marina sheltered enough to withstand a hurricane? (OK, to be honest, no marina is sheltered enough to withstand a major hurricane, but will it withstand a tropical storm or CAT 1 hurricane?) Ask the marina management how they fared during Hurricane Florence in 2018 and Hurricane Isabel in 2003. Ask if they will require you to leave or haul out when a tropical system approaches. For some of the marinas farther inland, look especially at water depth and what the effect of the wind-driven as opposed to celestial tides will be. Will you sit in the mud for days or weeks at a time when the wind blows out of the sound? Will the docks be submerged when the wind blows into the sound? Beyond weather and protection, look at the shoreside facilities like laundry, showers, and bathrooms and think about how well maintained they are and how long you might have to wait to use them if there is a large liveaboard community. If you are a social person, look at the boating community there. Does the marina have a boater's lounge or clubhouse? Some marinas have an active live-aboard community and have regular events like pot-lucks, while others are geared more towards transients and/or long-term slipholders who rarely (if ever) use their boats. Nowadays an important thing to consider is how well the wi-fi works when everyone is using it.

One thing you might consider if you are planning on spending a lot of time on the hard is NOT living aboard during that period. Having lived aboard while hauled out many times, I can tell you that it sucks. All of your plumbing that normally requires the water the boat floats in--head intake, sink outlet, perhaps refrigerator cooling--don't work. Think about how you are going to cook , clean up, or even brush your teeth without putting anything down the sink. With a dog, think about getting the dog up and down the ladder. Plus, to quote Kevin Costner in Waterworld, the boat doesn't "move right". If you thought living on a boat was a challenging lifestyle, living on a boat in the yard is an order of magnitude harder. If it is just a quick in-and-out job that's one thing, but if you are spending months doing a bottom peel and blister repair, it will get old fast. Look for a boatyard with furnished apartments nearby.

Best of luck to you and smooth sailing,

Jim

[Socalbred]

Jim. I appreciate your input. Thank you for describing the towns in a little more detail for me.

Unfortunately I do not have the funds or the time to visit each area.
Google has provided 90% of the information I have needed. But a referral or personal experience goes a long way. I'm sure you can attest.

The refit will be modest. There is no rush.

If anyone knows a fellow sailor in the area(s) that I can reach out, again, it would be appreciated.

Thanks,

John

[Socalbred]

Sounds like you're livin' the dream. Lot's of happy boat owner stories to tell in the future. I'm in Ft. Lauderdale and live aboards here are disappearing fast. Best of luck but don't give up! Keep us posted.

I will man. I almost bought a boat in Ft. Meyers. Ended up buying a boat in NC, on a lake. 3 Months later, hurrican Ian hits. If there was ever a doubt on buying the right boat.

[Cathy Monaghan]

There’s alot of shoreline along the NC coast. Exactly where, or at least provide a general area, for where you’d like to keep your boat.

[Socalbred]

There’s alot of shoreline along the NC coast. Exactly where, or at least provide a general area, for where you’d like to keep your boat.

The first post, fifth sentence.

Thanks