Buying a deeded boat slip in Clear Lake Texas

[jwaring1]

I was looking on the Houston Craigslist and stumbled across an ad for a 50' X 17' deeded boat slip in the Wharf Marina on Clear Lake for $16,000.00 and a monthly maintenance fee of $40.00. I know the area and the marina and it is pretty nice in a recently booming area. I have looked at boat slips before and the sticker shock usually stops me in my tracks. I am looking for information from anyone who may know if this is a good deal.

[High Cotton]

I don't even know where that is, but I DO know that anything LESS than 10 times that price is a bargain in SOUTH FLORIDA......
and the funny thing is ...."Quality of Life" is better there than here!

[jwaring1]

Clear lake is between Houston and Galveston. The name is deceptive because it is a Gulf access bay off of Galveston Bay and it is definately not clear.

[captintommy]

The Warf is very shallow and silts in. You might want to try getting your boat into the marina on a day that is not an very high tide. You might get it in in a high tide and never get it out again. Check it out.

[AnchorageGuy]

Yes, access to the marina is limited and when north winds blow for a day or so the water all goes away. The condos are limiting the draft of vessels using the marina because of this. It is not in too bad condition but is not what I would call first class. A hard look and talking to other owners would be a first step.You did not say what type of boat you have.

[jwaring1]

I currently have a Catalina 27' sailboat that draws 4.5', and a Cheoy Lee 27 that draws the same. I talked to a guy in The Wharf Marina that had a 4.5' draft boat and he said that he had trouble getting out of Clear Creek when a strong North wind was blowing the water out of the lake. When I was in another marina in Clear Lake 3 years ago I had the same problem. I couldn't even get out of my slip during low winter tides, but I never actually liked sailing in cold windy weather, so this wasn't an issue. During the normal tides I had no problem at all. I have been told that Clear Creek and the channel in front of South Point Marina have been recently dredged and after seeing all of the new cronstruction next to the Wharf Marina I can definately see why $$$$. Does anyone know what the normal depth of the Wharf Warina is? There are quite a few sailboats that look like they would draw at least 5' and they don't look abandoned.

[Leighton]

As a non-US based sailer. Is it possible to sail from Lake Texoma to Galvaston with a 6' draft vessel.
Appologies for side tracking the thread but is is vaguely related question.

[Abaco]

Leighton,

You cannot. Lake Texoma has no tributaries that connect it with any other body of water.

[Leighton]

Thanks Abaco,

I did google the question but couldn't find the answer.

[bstreep]

We are in Waterford. It was just dredged a few months ago. We can't get out of our slip on the ugly days, either - even with recent dredging. I'd go to the slip on Saturday - the wind is supposed to be in the mid-teens out of the North. You might get a good idea as to how you would do...

Silting is a HUGE problem in Clear Lake - and VERY expensive to fix. Much of Portofino is too shallow, and they have just now gotten approval to dredge, after a couple of years of not being able to use some/much of the marina. I'm not sure how $40 a month can cover this - I'd expect occasional assessments.

[jwaring1]

I asked around the Marina and I was told there has never been any extra fees or assesments. I also was told that for any changes, other than the $1.00 increase to the monthly maintenance fee, to be made it has to be a majority vote by all the owners and the association.

[CptnBrent]

I live on the south side of the Wharf Marina on Clear Lake. I draw 5'4" and rarely encounter issues except during the winter months when the north winds blow the water out of the bay. These "wind tides" can be 4-5 lower than normal, on an extreme day. I can't say these are the days I'd like to be sailing anyway. The bottom of the harbor is "tea grounds", meaning even if the tide is abnormally low and you're dragging up to a foot of keel through the muck, you can power through it without much problem. Clear Creek itself is about 13' at the end of the Wharf docks on the west side.

The problem at the Wharf used to be getting around the point at South Shore Harbor. That was dredged about two years ago to control depth, which is 8', I believe. Take the marks around the point to the green side and you shouldn't have any problem. The channel has a tendency to silt towards the red side and there are two high points marked on the charts that *are* high points.

It's been a good experience having my boat here. The harbor is a real hurricane hole, and we had very little damage from Ike, unlike other less-protected marinas that had heavy damage or were completely wiped out. The docks are through-bolted, so they didn't float up and away like many of the less well-built or floating docks.

Capt Brent

[nimailni]

Does anyone know what is situation in Wharf Marina and/or Clear Lake today, in 2011?
I am trying to figure out should I buy a slip or not. I think it is taxable too. Any info is welcome. Thanks