Charleston Liveaboards - info please

[scgilligan]

Are there any year-round liveaboards here from Charleston, SC?
What are your monthly costs for a slip or mooring? What size boat?
Do you feel you have everything you need within easy reach? How is weather during summer, winter, etc. Do you use heater, A/C, or just deal with the changes? How is the tide? The wind?
What other information do you have as far as good and bad of living aboard in Charleston?
Curious, as I live in SC and that would be the first place I'd look to liveaboard when taking the plunge initially..

Any others that liveaboard on the SC coast are welcome to chime in with your location and information/recommendation.

[scgilligan]

No liveaboards in Charleston? That's hard to believe..I did a search on here and thought I saw a few people talking about Charleston over the last couple of years.. :-(

[jkangas]

I have several friends that are liveaboards in Charleston. At St. John's Yacht harbor. Very nice facilities. Dockage of course depends on size. Mid $400's for 50ish ft boats.

[jkangas]

Oh some AC in the summer and maybe a little heat if it gets cold out. Tides are in the 6 ft range.

[Hudson Force]

We only spend about three weeks of each year in Charleston, so I have little to say about Marinas, but the one mentioned above in the Stono River seems the most appealing for full time. Charleston is the top or close to it for all that can be nice in a good size city.

[DSDman]

I don't currently live there but have in the past (not in a boat) but have friends who live on their boat. Ashley River marina allows live aboards (condo marina but they lease the slips) as does the marina right beside the yorktown aircraft carrier. Yes you will need AC and heat. The sand gnats will eat you alive if don't close up the boat or have really good screens...it gets super hot there and nasty cold sometimes. There is also a marina out on Folly that has slips as well. Google "adventures in sailing groupon" and their ad will come up. I have no affiliation with them but they are friends and its a good price for a two hour tour around the harbor. Capt Mike can clue you in on the skinny for living aboard in Charleston for sure..he has done it for many years.

[Snows]

We're making the plunge next week, but won't be staying in Charleston very long. We hope to be headed south the first week in January. We've kept three boats at the Cooper River Marina (ccprc.com/index.aspx?nid=67) for the last three years and love it there. We drive down from Columbia every weekend to spend as much time there as possible. The staff is extremely friendly and helpful, and the rates are among the lowest in the area. The do allow liveaboards but they're usually at the maximum number allowed at any given time. The location up the Cooper River is a little out of the way, but it lends itself to a much more quiet and laid back atmosphere.

We use our A/C heavily during the summer, and heat lightly during the winter. I wouldn't describe winters as brutally cold, but low temperatures (most always above freezing) and a heavy wind can be quite chilly. The gnats or no-see-ums come out every evening when the wind dies, so you need to be buttoned up by then.

Daniel
svctime.blogspot.com

[scgilligan]

I just got an email from someone at Charleston Marina..I think it is on the Ashley River. Their available slips are 35' and are 13.00/ft/mo. That includes power, water, cable, Wi-Fi, and 4 pumpouts/mo. Does that sound reasonable? Does anyone have any experience with them?

Forgot to mention- liveaboard fee is 150/mo.

[Capt.Alex]

The City Marina on the Ashley River is one of the best marinas on the East Coast. The location is great, easy bicycle distance to everything you need or want in downtown. The staff there is also great. It is a bit pricey though, and depending on the size of your boat, it can be a long walk down the docks to where your slip is. I personally know one couple that have lived aboard there for about 15 years!

[Vasco]

Originally Posted by scgilligan

I just got an email from someone at Charleston Marina..I think it is on the Ashley River. Their available slips are 35' and are 13.00/ft/mo. That includes power, water, cable, Wi-Fi, and 4 pumpouts/mo. Does that sound reasonable? Does anyone have any experience with them?

Forgot to mention- liveaboard fee is 150/mo.

A bit pricey but par for the course for Charleston.

[scgilligan]

Originally Posted by Snows

We've kept three boats at the Cooper River Marina (ccprc.com/index.aspx?nid=67) for the last three years and love it there.

You have an extra that I can live on? ;-)

[Loquat]

I am thinking of doing the liveaboard thing also. Sold the house and renting for a year while boat shopping. Since I work downtown city marina is very desirable but as mentioned very expensive but great amenities. There is a surcharge at city of $150 to liveaboard +utiles. Not sure about St. John's but there probably is. If you don't need to be downtown then it probably isn't worth it.
Since there is no shortage of hotties in CHs I would think it necessary for a live aboard to have a nice girlfriend with a house!
If you want to go hard core you could anchor in front of city marina and dink it to the dock and I think it is only $150/mo for the bathhouse,dock,etc.

[liveaboardL]

>Are there any year-round liveaboards here from Charleston, SC?
Yes, there are some full timers living at the marinas.

>What are your monthly costs for a slip or mooring?
$2/foot for a day. There are people who own slips that you can do a year-rental from. Ive heard from $550 to $500/month w/ an annual agreement. They provide water, cable, electric, & there's indoor showers & laundry too. The showers are nice at the Harborage. The water is nice & hot, but it an take 5 minutes for the hot-water to actually start flowing once you've turned on the faucet.
BTW: This is a great feature for indoor showers. As an ex-trucker, Ive used many a much colder shower & luke-warm showers can make you sick when it's freezing outside. I've heard these extras were included in the rent, but I also heard electric is extra. Depends on who you're renting from.

>Do you feel you have everything you need within easy reach?
At the harborage you do. They have a bike rack & there's even an Earth-Fare maybe 2 miles away. EF sells water for $.40/gallon. West Marine is also 2 miles about 2 miles away & K-mart is a little further. Walmart on Folly Island is much further, & the road there is not friendly to bikes, very busy, nut always side-walked. Many grocery stores w/in 2 miles. It probably takes me 30 mins to get there on the bike.

>winter, etc. Do you use heater, A/C, or just deal with the changes?
Winter can get into the teens w/ windchill. But 2 small electric-space heaters are do fine, or so I hear. A heat-pump does good too, but mine stayed on a lot, which makes vibration... & noise & on a boat it doesn't make for restful sleep, neither does a fridge.

>How is the tide? The wind?
In Charleston, the tide can be particularly strong. Don't enter the marina when the tide is moving or the wind blowing. The tide is stronger going out to sea.

>What other information do you have as far as good and bad of living aboard in Charleston?

Well, the fish aren't biting much in the dead winter & neither are the crabs, even though my fishfinder says they're down there.

The Harborage marina can put your slip near a busy bridge, & there's a hospital nearby & an airport, so, sirens & roarings...
Lots of dolphins too.
Recently they're requiring city bike permits to be able to park your bike on the rack.
The internet is one of the worst I've used as a trucker, & that's a lot. You can have a full-bar connection, but you'll still be unable to use it 70% of the time. It's wifi. Sometimes, when it works, you can get a good download rate & watch youtube, but that only happens maybe 3% of the time. I use T-Mobile's 3g wireless USB device ($45/2 months & 2.5 gigs - if I recall correctly).

Best to you