New to coast

Hi everybody! Im John Kohut moved to Wilmington last year following the d1eath of my wife of 15 years. I have a small handyman business in town. Love the area...decided to buy a small boat looking at Catalinas and Morgans to live aboard. Trying to find a marina that allows live aboards. would prefer a slip north of Wilmington (found a nice lady in Jacksonville area) would like to move closer to her if possible. Going to need to take a coast guard class of some sort. My sailing has been limited to a lido 14 at the lakes in Western Nebraska for the last 20 years... I did grow up in Laguna Bch California where my family had a 30 foot Morgan. Any help would be appreciated I guess I should mention. Im not in a position to purchase a slip...so I am going to be looking to lease one. Any Ideas on the type of boats I should be looking at would be helpful as well. My timeframe is anytime in the next 6 to 12 mos. (my current apartment will be coming up for lease renewal)

Best Regards Everyone,

John Kohut

Welcome John. Wealth of information and advice on here. Just take your time. Use the search function. Look up past threads that seem relevant, but most of all get out there and walk the docks. Go boat tyre-kicking. We all did that. But just be mindful not to waste too much of any broker's time if there is no hope of a sale. But no-one minds a quick look and a stats sheet printed off. Impulse viewing sometimes leads to impulse purchases, after all. By the way, in the end you'll find the boat chooses you. Not the other way round. So patience is a virtue.

John
Welcome aboard TF
I'd encourage you to look into US Power Squadrons...you may find one locally and they offer many education opportunities and some squadrons include on the water training. In addition you will expand your network of folks with similar interests.

Hi John,
Welcome to the forum! Best to determine what kind of boating you will do as that has significant bearing on the type of boat you may want. Local day trips, cruising the ICW, or going to the Bahamas, should factor into your choice. Lots of useful information in the archives.

Ted

Welcome aboard John. You said that you are looking for a live aboard Catalina or Morgan. Those are sailboats of course and this forum is dedicated to trawlers- motor boats or occasionally motor sailors.


But do take a look at trawlers. A trawler will give you more living room than a sailboat for the buck or the foot. A 30 footer will be on the minimal end. Look upwards to 34 or even 36' trawlers as there are a lot available in that size and pricing is competitive with smaller sailboats.


For example 32' Morgan sailboats are available for under $20,000. At that price you can find a Mainship 34, Marine Trader or similar and those will have a third more living area than the Morgan.


Good luck, David

Welcome aboard.
We relocated to Wilmington to boat the East Coast, etc. Had several sail boats in So Cal before moving here.
I'll send you a PM with my phone number. Give me a call if you want to discuss my findings of this area.

Welcome aboard John. We began our new lifestyle this summer. Our home port is Southport, NC. We learned quickly the difference between being a live-aboard vs. a 'cruiser.' We settled on Deep Point Marina as they do month to month, or yearly slip rates. Facilities are very nice; they have access to the beach, which is rare. Free laundry a pool and a great group of folks who frequently get together for bonfires or BBQ's. We're heading south now, and dearly miss our adopted family in Deep Point.

For marinas nearer to Jacksonville, look in Hempstead (Harbour Village, for one, very nice), Snead's Ferry (Swan Point or Old Ferry, the latter the closest to J'ville). Also, Swansboro (Caspers, right downtown, or Dudleys) The issue with all of these is the nearby inlets are not deep draft friendly, and some, like Old Ferry, need a high tide to get in and out of with a keeled boat. Also, pumpout facilities at them seem to come and go or are limited. Worth intense onsite evaluation and discussion with management. We looked into all this once when Ann was teaching in J'ville, and decided against because the lack of weekend cruising options and destinations.