Boat storage in Charlotte?

I am moving to Charlotte in Dec and looking for a place to keep my boat for the winter. I'm a cold weather rider so wouldn't mind getting a set or 2 in over the winter, but not required. Anyone from the area have any suggestions? I am not sure what lake I will focus in on in the summer, I'm just going to live uptown for a few months and get a feel for the area.

Thanks!

I had a great experience keeping my boat at Westport Marina in Denver on the west side of LK Norman, it was a little pricey but the service was what I called the country club of boat storage. If you are living in town the east side of Norman will be closer to access from 77. Mt. Island is also a good riding lake off of 16 and a bit closer to town. Good luck, hit me up in the spring !

hey, i am moving in 2 weeks to south charlotte, lake wylie area. just over the nc boarder. we are keeping our boat here until spring, but i have been getting prices of 3k a year for a slip, is that the average. I was also told by a few marinas that they require a lift for inboards, they do not want them in the water? not sure what thats all about

I want to say that the place I kept mine was about 2500 for the year indoors, just call an hour before and it will be in the water, pull back to the dock , tie it up, get your stuff and leave and they fork lift it back inside, it was awesome ! I just did a month to month under 300.

Doug - have you looked at Tailrace Marina on Wylie? Looks the closest to downtown and quite a few slips

Todd,
I live on Norman and that's where you want to be. I have kept my boat bu in two places off Ex 28 when I lived in Downtown CLT before I purchased a place with a dock.
Holiday Marina is one of the best places if you want inside storage for skiboats with towers. The Rusty Rudder is right next door for some great drinks and food. It's centrally located on the lake and just off I-77 ex 28. Crown Harbor Boat storage is another good place located off Ex 28 and Centrally located on the lake.
For in water there is a place called Marina Shores at Blue Stone Harbor of ex 28 next to Rusty Rudder, They will allow you to put in a lift or just keep your boat in the water.

Morning Star Marinia is off Exit 28 also but is a long way from the Sand Bar and main Channel. There is only one way to get around the Pennisula and that is a small channel we call The Cut. This seperates Norman into almost two different lakes, South lake is a little stagnet because of very little water circulation and the only Lake Bar closed Midtown closed two years ago.

Westport is OK but they lost the use of the county road that seperates the lake from their storage buildings, meaning they can't use their fork lifts to bring your boat down, they use a tractor and what we call " The Wagon Train" to bring the boats down from storage up top. this means your boat is handeled twice as often. Once by the forklift up top and once by the forlift at the water. My exgirlfriend kept her boat at Westport and moved it to Holiday this past spring because 1) it took twice as long to have your boat brought down(they only bring two at a time) and 2) the dirt and dust from the wagon train dirt road all over her cover had her pissed her off caus eshe was always cleaning it

We plan in buying a lake front home next year. Niot sure what lake it will be but we need to be closet the Charlotte I can live anywhere in nc or sc but I want to be centralized. I will most likely tow all of 2013 until we find the lake we like and home on the water that works best for location.

I understand Norman is the nicest lake to be on, but if I am downtown Norman can be quite a drive if I want to go for a set on a weekday. Prob 45 mins at least with traffic. Wylie is ~20 minutes from downtown in contrast.

how does the lakes in the area compare, norman, wylie, mt island, wateree, others i would like to hear from people who have been there for some time. thanks

interesting, makes since now, I was in the first bld. beside the dock, i remember them asking me how many times per week would I be out and I said 5 and they said then we are going to put you in bld #2 which is the one by the water, the whole thing was awesome, never even used my cover, only thing was they got black dock rubber on the boat but it comes right off

oh yeah, if you are looking to buy, look into Overlook Mountain on Mt. Island, even if you are not on the water they have slips and a great storage lot and launch, the lake is sweet

I understand Norman is the nicest lake to be on

Depends on ones perspective. If you are coming form downtown CLT and your boat is on the 77 side of the lake, forget a quick afternoon set as traffic sux. If your boat is on the west side, then traffic going up 16 is not as bad. On a good day, Buster Boyd bridge on Wylie is 15 minutes from downtown CLT. You can use that as a gauge depending on where your boat is kept. Wylie only has one on the water restaurant, but it the lake is not nearly as populated and crowded as Norman. Wylie has two great sandbar party spots and a couple of nice coves to ride and or drop anchor in. Mtn is the least populated, but is far smaller then Normal and Wylie. Wylie has about 5 public (free) boat launches. All have been upgraded in the past few years, so they are in good shape. Buster Boyd is the busiest, so we typically launch at the Southpoint (Belmont) ramp on the north end or Big Alison Creek on the south end. Never launched at Copperhead. The other one is over on the Tega Cay side of Wylie. We launched there once when the water level was REAL low and it was the only ramp open.

South Carolina has about $.18 cents per gallon less gas tax then NC. This makes a huge difference when fueling up the boat and tow vehicle.

I will be living by t bones? I think. We have been looking at lakefront homes. We like the sc side Of lake Wylie. Not sure where we will end up. I want a small house. It's just the two of us but I want lakefront. I will check out mt lake. Thanks

We are on MIL and as Mike said, it's a MUCH smaller lake than either Wylie or Norman. We LOVE MIL, and think it's Charlotte's best kept secret! Downside is no fuel stations on the lake, nor anything commercial, so if you want it with you on the boat, gotta bring it with you. We're 15 minutes from Uptown (downtown), and 15 minutes from the airport, etc...
Send me a PM and I'll fill you in on the neighborhoods in the area, and try to provide any insight into Wylie or Norman. I've been on both, but not a ton...

i have been looking at taxes and it seems they are all over the board. Usually you would think that most homes within the same area and cost would be close. The mrs likes tega cay. we like the wooded feeling and that the homes are all so different. now thats towards the end of tega cay, but we are more concerned about location and layout. we have a large range for our budget, but we don't use half the house we have now. so we really don't want to go overboard. we don't need a 5 bedroom, but it seems that the smaller homes are all 40 plus years old. it would be nice to find a 1500 to 2000 sq ft home, 3 bedrooms on the water with a 2 car garage. something around 300 to 400k

i just don't see the need to spend 500k, but we really want to be lakefront. every time we talk about a new home or a second home, we keep going back to our friends that have waterfront lots and the feeling of being able to pull up to the lift and be home. no hurry to grab stuff, unload, cover etc etc. anyone selling there place

If your looking for a place on Norman, I suggest looking on the North side. Take hwy 16 up to 150. Tons of great houses up there, and less expensive. sure it takes 45 min to an hour from Charlotte, but I know people who live off 77 that have to wait that long anyways. My neighbor is selling his house, and it would be a great weekend place, or a great full time if you were good with only 2 bedrooms. His lot is amazing though, with about 230 degrees of water view from his patio.

If you are looking to store your boat though, West Port is your best bet. Great coves super close, and if you get the 'shoebox' slip then you dont even have to worry about that 'boat train'. Super cheap in comparison, and you can get to in in about 25 min from uptown.

I have a portable boat garage for my boat. I bought it form Quickgarage . com. It is perfect for protect your boat in off season.

Whatever you do, don't use River City Marina off Highway 150. Not good people. Kept charging my card after I took boat out and wouldn't refund and lied and stalled and lied until I gave up. Unfortunately didn't notice it until too late and card company couldn't help. Dirtbags.