Hilton Head Boat slip search

[ChesapeakeGem]

Ahoy!
Im looking for a slip in the Hilton Head/Bluffton area.
We have a 33ft Pearson that drawls 4ft. I see ones for $100,000.00 but I was hoping to put that toward a home.
We are in a working waterman slip on the Chesapeake Bay.
Ive done some google earthing and it doesnt look like their are many slips in this area.
I dont need water electricity would be nice
A picture attached of Sandy in our harbor before the waters rose 6 feet

[FSMike]

Have you looked on activecaptain.com?

[Kettlewell]

What are you looking for in a slip? From your post it sounds like you want to purchase one. But in a previous thread it sounded like you were looking for a cheap rental slip. Hilton Head is high rent for South Carolina. I doubt you will find a regular marina slip for less than $500-$600 per month. Your best bet for a cheaper rental slip would be to prowl local classified ads or CL to find a dock behind someone's house for rent. If you extend your search up to the Beaufort area you will find there are some marinas up there worth looking at. Port Royal Landing has a good reputation. There may be a rental mooring available off the Beaufort waterfront for less money.

[ChesapeakeGem]

No I havent Ill look into it thank you

[ChesapeakeGem]

Im looking for a slip like we have now, electricy, ten minutes from our house, easy sailing from our dock, and $500.00 per year. Im hoping that is possible, doesn't sound like it from your reply. I'll look into your suggestions.

[Kettlewell]

There are very few docking opportunities as good as that within the USA. I think your only hope will be a private dock, but probably not that cheap. There are some places in North Carolina I have seen for $150 per month, but they are rare. I don't know how long you are planning on staying on Hilton Head, but if you have a job there you might not want to be as far away as Beaufort--that would be a longish commute.

[ChesapeakeGem]

We are considering relocating to the HH area, after selling our two homes and buying a home it looks like the slip will be as much as our expected low mortgage payment. We are so spoiled with our location except for the winters. Im amazed at how much waterfront land their is in the HH area and so few marinas, how do the working watermen find places for their boats at a reasonable price? I know their must be small commercial crabbers there.

[Kettlewell]

Not many commercial fishermen still call Hilton Head home. It is too ritzy. There are a few based at commercial docks up Broad Creek on Hilton Head. There are tons of creeks in the area, and the commercial boats are not where the pleasure boats are. If you are open to other areas, I would search around other towns in SC or NC. For example, McClellanville and Georgetown have more commercial fishing boats. Though in terms of a town to live in, I don't think you can beat Beaufort. From the sounds of what you are saying I'm not sure you know the area all that well. If I were you I would head down there first and see what there is to see. You might also want to check out some of the lesser known towns and marinas in North Carolina. I have seen marina slips for around $150 per month in areas off of Pamlico Sound. The kind of thing you are looking for is only going to be found when you are on the scene, talking to other boaters, commercial fishermen, and scanning the local papers and bulletin boards.

For me, the bottom line is always to plan on living in an area for a period of months before I decide on putting down firmer roots. Have you lived in SC through a summer? Much worse than the Chesapeake, IMHO. After my son was born we managed to survive the hottest summer in 100 years in SC, but we swore never again and we moved.

[ChesapeakeGem]

We are searching for an area that doesnt have such long winters, a job is not a problem, although we wish to live frugally, we like living and boating amongst watermen and their way of life. HH is rizzy, well im a jewelery designer that would be nice but not willing to give up our wholesome,lifestyle, our slip neighbor today a watermen told us how he is tending to his grandfathers oyster bed and planting spat to help the bay. I guess I will have to look beyond demographics and take a road trip, BTY I specialize in Water oriented jewelry. Love to do watermen shows and support their way of life. Thank you for all your knowledge, wisdom is key for this 50 year old empty nester couple. Im thinking a liveaboard during the winter is the way to go.

[Kettlewell]

I lived in Beaufort, SC, for several years and my son was born there, so we know the area fairly well. Both Hilton Head and Beaufort, and nearby Savannah, are good places to sell jewelry like you describe. Both Beaufort and HH have interesting art communities, small but interesting galleries, lots of performances and live events, and some great local culture. HH has been mostly taken over by the condo/golf/resort crowd. Even nearby Daufuskie Island is now the site of a major ritzy development, though some of the local people still live simply on another part of the island. When we were there Lady's Island Marina across the river from Beaufort was a great funky place to liveaboard, if you didn't mind dealing with some of the characters. Now, like many places in the area, it has been spruced up and the rent is probably 4 or 5 times what we paid back in the day. The proprietor Jackie Ford would have taken you under his wing if he were still alive. He used to call us up at least once a week for a shrimp boil or an oyster roast. All the watermen knew him and owed him one, one way or another, so they would pull in and drop off a five-gallon bucket of shrimp or whatever was the best they were catching. After living there it is hard to ever eat seafood that is that fresh and good. We used to go gigging with him for flounder after dark. It was terrifying blasting through the unmarked marsh channels at full speed, seemingly navigating by sense of smell or sixth sense alone. Then we'd put out a bright light and try to "gig" or spear the fish, which wasn't easy for us, but Jackie pulled them right in. His "Daddy" lumbered off most of the big cypress trees in the area, so Jackie's family home had 3-foot wide cypress boards that ran around the base of the room up to window height. I helped Jackie move around some old boards he had that were probably a good 40 feet long, 18-24 inches wide, and 3 inches thick, without a knot in them. Solid cypress. Check out the Beaufort area, but I think you'll find that it too has become too ritzy now. You may have to prowl off the ICW a bit to find some real watermen's communities.

[ChesapeakeGem]

Wow! now thats what Im looking for. Great story about the blind boating, im sure our sailing captains (skipjack sailing vessels, wooden that still oyster under sail) do the same, I have a guy who helps me around the house he is 62 that used to be a cook aboard a skipjack for years, he spoke of having to use cotton to fill holes in the deck. Your knowledge has been so helpful,it has helped us understand what is important. Our sons are 20 and 23 in college now, kiss that little man everyday and this is the season of your life to invest your time in your child and family.

[Kettlewell]

Look for a PM from me.

[ChesapeakeGem]

OK I will

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by ChesapeakeGem

Im looking for a slip like we have now, electricy, ten minutes from our house, easy sailing from our dock, and $500.00 per year. Im hoping that is possible, doesn't sound like it from your reply. I'll look into your suggestions.

I pay close to that per month in North Charleston, SC and it's by no means a high end marina. I don't think you will find much near the ICW for $500 per year.

[s/vPainkiller]

We keep our boat in Beaufort, SC. The cheapest we've found in the area is $10.00 per foot. So we're at Marsh Harbor Boat Works, which is more of a working yard than marina. It's just off the ICW north of factory creek. It's not much on creature comforts and the water's a little thin at low tide. But that's why it's cheap.

Kettlewell, I remember Jackie! I kept my boat there for a bit about 20 yrs ago. He was in fact a character. That was before they remodeled the marina.

Scott