I have spent a lot of time in the last three months working with clients who are interested in having a place where they have access to the water.
In our area of Carteret County that generally means finding a "water access" community. Here on the Southern Outer Banks, that usually involves a place which has a boat ramp and access to navigable water.
My wife and I have been boating down here on the coast for about a year. We have had to figure out a lot of the boating information for ourselves so it is still fresh in our memories.
That has turned out to a very helpful skill when it comes to dealing with water access communities.
The fact that I have a 20 ft skiff on a lift behind my house has been very useful. We were very active boaters last year and made a number of trips including one down to Beaufort, NC where we logged 67 miles in visiting Shackleford Banks and some of the area's wild ponies.
It was a while before we got a lift so we got plenty of experience using boat ramps.
Also our home is on the White Oak River which is a wonderful river. It is something of a challenge to navigate since you need to understand channel markers. As I take people around and show them "water access" communities, my personal experience certainly has helped some of my clients.
Since we deal with people coming for retirement and often moving from a lake or the interior of the country, they often have many boating questions. I have had clients walk away from a community and not even bother looking at the listings there because a boat ramp did not match what they needed.
I do not make any effort to present myself as a boating expert, but I have found in many cases that you do not have to be an expert to know that water access communities have ramps which are often used very little. Unfortunately a boat ramp and the channel from it to a main channel is something that needs to used often. If they are not used and are in an area where there is silting, you can end up with a ramp where the biggest thing you can launch is a kayak.
I was lucky that when we bought, we ended up in a community with great water access. Two years ago, I did not know enough to evaluate that myself, but today I do.
Not only does our community have great access, but it is maintained which seems to be a rarity. We had a dredge in to work on our channel just this month.
One of things that works well for evaluating any community is checking what types of boats are parked in the yards. It is also helpful to actually talk to the boaters who use the ramps.
If you are new to boating on the coast, it is a whole different world, and a good boating course is one of the first things you should do. It will put you in contact with the local Coast Guard Auxiliary which is comprised of people with lots of local boating knowledge.
If you are buying property, make sure you carefully evaluate any boat ramp and check the subdivision covenants for any boat size restrictions and storage requirements.
I have had some exciting times with my boat. That happens a lot more regularly if you can get it in the water without a lot of aggravation.
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