Southern Ca VS North Carolina

[deluxe68]

Originally Posted by zeehag

you forget that i lived in sin diego f4om 1995 thru april 2011. on boats.
ii repeat
there are no slips in sin diego. there are no inexpensive anythings in san diego. i KNOW what there is,and is not in san diego.
you concerned about cost of living, go to carolina. is cheaper there. all of usa is cheaper than san diego. duhhh.
there are slips in SOUTH BAY nowvpricier ghan ever, there is,2aitingmlist in north bay for unholy pricing.

if you not in r i and az, why then does your info say so.........

I repeat, there are slips in San Diego. I was over there 6 months ago.
My info does not say I own a house in Arizona and Rhode Island.

[aquadreams]

Originally Posted by deluxe68

I repeat, there are slips in San Diego. I was over there 6 months ago.

"Who ya gonna believe, me or your own eyes?
- Chico Marx, impersonating Groucho Marx, Duck Soup



Best of luck in figuring out your choice.

- Joe

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by zeehag

you forget that i lived in sin diego f4om 1995 thru april 2011. on boats. ................
......................... if you not in r i and az, why then does your info say so.........

I have not forgotten your history, Zee. I think you must have meant to quote someone else. I'm not with any Rhode Island/Arizona info. and I have no San Diego experience or opinions.

[Don C L]

all this talk of how bad the cruising is here in CA... ah... that helps keep my favorite little coves less crowded (or empty!)

[scherzoja]

Delux,

If you are still looking at Ventura harbor, reconsider. Channel Islands Habor (CI)is better for entering in heavy seas. Ventura often gets closed when heavy seas run, but CI stays open.

Disclaimer: Although I spend ~20 years sailing the Santa Barbara Channel, it's been 20 years since I last was there, maybe engineers fixed Ventura.

DonCL can confirm/refute my Ventura assertion, since he is in CI.

[markpierce]

Somebody has left out thousands of San Francisco estuary (bays, rivers, sloughs, anchorages, marinas, adjacent-to-water restaurants) destinations. Far too many to identify.

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by scherzoja

Delux,

If you are still looking at Ventura harbor, reconsider. Channel Islands Habor (CI)is better for entering in heavy seas. Ventura often gets closed when heavy seas run, but CI stays open.

Disclaimer: Although I spend ~20 years sailing the Santa Barbara Channel, it's been 20 years since I last was there, maybe engineers fixed Ventura.

DonCL can confirm/refute my Ventura assertion, since he is in CI.

Yes, true, the entrance to Ventura is not quite as good as CI, but I really like Ventura too. The entrance to CI is larger and the breakwater is longer. CI can get interesting too in those conditions. It does depend on how recently it has been dredged too. But most folks aren't going out when things are that rough anyway from either harbor. Personally I wouldn't rule out Ventura based on that but it is certainly something to consider. You might get caught out if bad weather kicks up while you were gone and the entrance gets closed but weather that bad is usually well-known in advance. I have also seen Santa Barbara entrance get hammered on occasion too!

[Don C L]

Well if you had seen this harbor entrance today you'd say California is a horrible place to cruise! Waves were breaking before the breakwater, not just on it. Channel Islands harbor closed. Forecast said surf of 20 to 30 feet. Sorry I don't have any shots of it.

[donradcliffe]

It isn't exactly prime cruising season for either California or North Carolina right now.

[fuentes]

I believe you plan to live aboard. Have you looked into/considered the west coast of Mexico and/or east coast of Baja California? Much has been discussed about property and sales taxes for the boat. A TIP (temporary import permit) I believe around $50.00 will allow you to have your boat in Mexico for 9 years. No other taxes that I know of for Mexico nor USA. A 6 month visa is around $20.00/person. Cost of living very low compared to Calif. You have the Sea of Cortez for short trips and getting sailing experience. The west coast of Central and South America for extended cruising. Ask for input from the many US citizens that have their boats in Mexico. Seahag can probably help if interested. She lived in California, traveled Baja by land and is now in Guaymas I believe. You state you live in Arizona. There are many boat owners from Arizona that have their boats in Mexico. You can probably find a boat for sale that is already there. Just a suggestion! I have mine in San Felipe. It takes me 3 hours to the border in Mexicali. Have a nice day!

[prof_mariner]

We lived aboard boat(s) in San Diego off and on for about 6 years. We've also lived just steps away from the coast and ICW here in North Carolina. Although it might be possible to live aboard a boat here in NC, it certainly wouldn't be an easy life. This Winter we had a week where the temps dropped into the teens at night. We've also had as much as a foot and a half of snow. At the other extreme, our Summers are not just hot, but also very humid and the mosquitoes and no-see-ums are horrendous. We also get a lot more rain than what the West coast gets. And yes, we get hurricanes too. There are slips available, but if you have a sailboat you'll have to keep in mind the draft limitations and tides. A boat deeper than six and a half deep will be limited in where it can go and what slips it will fit in. Plus our sailing / yachting community here in NC is tiny compared to California. I'd guess that there are more sailboats tied up on Shelter Island than all of North Carolina combined. In all the time I've lived in NC I've only met one couple who lived aboard. And they had both heat and air conditioning on their boat.

On the other hand, the climate in San Diego (and all of S. California for that matter) is pretty close to ideal for living aboard. It doesn't rain that much, Winters and Summers are relatively mild, and the humidity isn't that bad. Slip availability fluctuates. We've been lucky and both times we were looking for a live aboard slip we got one. And when we were ready to leave, there was a waiting list for people to take our spot.

I've been in and out of almost every SoCal harbor, during good weather and foul. If the swell is up and the tide is down, any one of them could be a dangerous entrance. When we returned to California from Hawaii I had already decided that if we couldn't find a slip in San Diego, we would try Ventura. But honestly, they're all good. If you have a really hard time finding a live aboard slip, try "South Bay" San Diego and the marinas around Chula Vista. They tend to fill up slower than elsewhere.

[Gary Stoneking]

Originally Posted by pwmullins

In SC the maximum sales tax is $300.00 and the property tax for out of Charleston County is 6%/yr based on current value of boat. IF boat stays in SC for over 180 days/ yr, then you get charged property tax. Charleston is an excellent harbor with no restriction on mast height if you are coming from offshore. 3 marinas in main harbor, Charleston City Marina, Charleston Harbor Marina and one other, I forgot name. Good jumping off spot for Chesapeade and New England going north and Florida and the Bahamas going south.

Point of clarification: The state of South Carolina imposes a personal property tax that varies from county to county. The market value of the vessel times 6% times the (variable-by-county) mill rate. For example, a vessel valued at $20,000 located in Beaufort County is taxed $293 annually, not $1,200.

[zeehag]

ye know--if you want to avoid hefty taxes--cali aint the place--delaware is better, and you-have entire chesapeake bay for playing and practicing.
cali loves taxes and as they are broke and seeking more income.

[prof_mariner]

North Carolina has a (one time) 3% "use" tax on boats purchased here or brought from other locations. State registration is $90/yr or $190/3yrs. Property tax varies from County to County and some Cities also charge property tax so count on another 0.3% or more each year.

I don't recall what we paid in San Diego, but it wasn't cheap. I don't know of anywhere in the US that is "tax free", at least no where you can get to by boat. Florida and Washington have no income tax but other taxes make up the difference. And as one already mentioned, Delaware is a known tax haven and is famous for being very corporation friendly.

[Don C L]

Here's a shot of our sunny California Channel Islands harbor entrance yesterday.