Some Advice Wanted for Corpus Christi, Texas

[Gator Bait]

Heading to Corpus Christy, TX. on Aug 1st 2014 to buy my next sailboat and go cruising with my son (21) and his girlfriend for the next 4-? years.
I could use some advice on where is a good place to stay while looking at boats, brokers or marinas that you would suggest to look at and any other suggestions.

I am a 40 year old Desert Storm Veteran on 100% disability so I have Income and base privileges for life (including base marinas)
I don't have a ton of money to put down (just over 10k) I know I need 20% for a down so I'm not looking for anything big.
There is also a service dog going with us.

[petrified]

I dont have your answer. But go to the searchbar and type in texas. A texas forum meetup group should pop up. Read through some of that if you can , and post on there.

[Ex-Calif]

Agoda is my go to tool for hotels globally. PC based or tablet/phone based are both available.

Take a good look at Google maps as well and then you can reach a compromise on price location...

I find the ratings to be largely spot on.

[Gator Bait]

In case you see the SLC, Ut. as where I'm leaving from, I've been up here for a few years having surgery and physical therapy getting ship shape again. I'm originally from Jupiter, Fl. and spent my first 25+ years on the water as well as the lakes up here.

[Gator Bait]

I thank y'all for the quick response. My son laughs that I'm always doing research on boats and locations but just decided to go there instead of buying online (done that before) gotta take risks

[bobconnie]

Yall might try the Galveston, Huston area of Texas, theres many boats in that area, and some real good Boat brokers to in fact I met this most honest boat broker I have ever known there! Just a thought theres probley 5 times as many boats there than in Corpus! just my 2 cents

[SailRedemption]

Kemah is just north of Galveston, and Texas City too. Lots of marinas and what not in those areas. I saw boats from that area when I was searching. Good luck with it, and thanks for your service friend.

[Sailmonkey]

Corpus Christi is an ok spot for boat shopping, but Kemah is where the volumes of boats for sale reside. You may be better off shopping in kemah then moving the boat to Corpus after purchase.

[a64pilot]

I'm confused, sorry.
Are you trying to find a place to stay in Corpus Christi while you boat shop?
Have you tried CCAD? Corpus Christi Army depot? They may have a BOQ of something available I'm not sure as I have never stayed there, but if you can stay on post it's usually a lot cheaper and you have earned it.

I wouldn't think Corpus Christi would be the place to boat shop though, but I don't have a lot of experience with Tx and boats. I only had a Jet ski when I lived at Ft. Hood

[MadSailors]

We currently live aboard in the Corpus City Marina. What everyone says about Kemah having more boats is very accurate. There are several boats for sale here in CC. A few not listed with any broker. What type of boat are you looking for? A friend has a great Catalina 310 for sale for $55,000 that would be well within your budget. There is a beautiful Nautical 56 that has been well cared for, they are asking $175,000. There are several others that I can think of off the top of my head, many of which I have been aboard.

As for brokers in the area I can tell you there is one that many people would avoid at all costs and take extreme care when purchasing a boat listed with the company. Won't call them out publicly.

As for places to stay other than hotels I just don't know. Wish I could be of more help there.

PM me if you would like more info.

Julie

[Tx J]

Howdy Gator,
As others have mentioned, Corpus Christi isn't that big a market, Clear Lake/Houston/Galveston is far larger; but Austin is also pretty big (lakes).
The drawback to Austin (and bigger Dallas) is it is all lake sailing, and if you buy a boat there and are going to the Coast, it will cost you $3-6K more for transport.
Looking at the Texas craigslist pages and brokers' will give you an idea of what's out there for each market.

As far as base stuff, the CC-NAS (of which the CCAD is part of) has nice housing, but with a long waiting list (not sure if your status gets a precedence). The base housing is priced about the same as the local economy stuff, but is more convenient of course.
CC-NAS recently opened a new base marina on CC Bay, with about 90-100 slips, but I don't think it is accessible to most sailboats with a deeper draft (it's geared for bay fishing O/B's). Bing their weblink and give them a call.
There are a number of other marinas around in the general area (50 mile radius), they vary in quality and pricing. There are some smaller ports between CC and Galveston, but not much to the south until you get to SPI/Port Isabel.

The heat and humidity is comparable to your native FL, and hurricane season is getting going (TD TWO is looking fishy). You might not want to rush on down ;] .
WX: NWS Corpus Christi TX

Another major factor is any type housing availability in most of South Texas is extremely tight now due to the Eagle Ford Shale oil boom, and rental rates have skyrocketed in many places (I've seen craigslist wanted ads for desperate sounding people looking for a liveaboard hulk, FWIW). And this area is huge, from San Antonio to Kingsville to Laredo to Houston.

[xeon_tsd]

Just to chime in on location.... Much larger choice in Kemah. You can always move it down the coast.

If your still looking for a broker, I used (and still like,and even talk to mine) Rick Weiler at Little Yacht Sales.

[Gator Bait]

Thank y'all very much for your insight. A special thank you Sir in the Apache, you guys always had my 6.

As for location, I'm as mobile as you get. All that I'm bringing is a duffle bag and a backpack. I'm selling (or sold) everything I own.

I have been researching locations for over a year all over the world and since we will just be renting a car to get there figured I've always enjoyed Texas and thought it would make a good jumping off point. Galveston area is (was) my 2nd as well as NOLA (lived there for years in my mid 20's).

I guess I was looking for insider info that I haven't looked for on google, craigslist, Military.com, etc. Definitely looking into billeting (on base hotel) and bases with marinas.

I had spoke to a guy in CC that told me that marinas in TX have a lot of boat auctions and I could possibly get a steal by going with cash in hand.

I appreciate every one of your post as I have been checking this every hour on one laptop while looking at your suggestions on my sons.

Brian

[bstreep]

Julie (Mad Sailors) and others have made some great points. She knows where there are some deals. If you are looking, by all means, go to Clear Lake/Kemah. It's reported to be the 3rd largest boating center in the US. You may find some deals in the CC area, if you look, as some people just don't want to take a boat up to Clear Lake to sell.

As for places to stay. NASCC has some "vacation" rental units available, that you probably qualify for. Otherwise, you can rent some places relatively inexpensively.

[mholubec]

If you are still needing a broker in corpus a good reference is
Don Lemke
361-779-4889


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