Tor,
I may have just lucked out on timing (the marina appears pretty full).  This is the BridgePointe Marina.
There is another marina across the harbor (town side) that looks a little more upscale.  I never inquired there.  I'm paying a little less than $300/mo for a 50' slip.  Electricity is metered.  The operation is pretty laid-back and not a little dis-organized.  When I originally inquired about a berth I was told they had this 50' slip, but there was a boat in it that was going to move.  When I got here on Friday the manager showed where my slip would be and that the powerboat in it was moving this weekend.  Yesterday afternoon I noticed the boat had left so I moved into the berth.  This morning I got a knock on the hull and the guy who owns the powerboat says I'm in his slip.  I said I was directed here by the manager and he said OK and put his boat in another open slip.  The marina office is closed on weekends.
So I guess the rule is don't vacate your slip on a weekend.
I did inquire at the Mathews Pt. Marina, which is closer to Oriental (across the Neuse).  Their rates were lower, but they also said my draught was at the limit of what they believe they can accommodate, although there is another P424 in that marina.  I had already decided to check out this marina so I didn't ask about the Mathews Pt. live-aboard policy, but I have been told they do accommodate live-aboards.
I think the place that has very limited space for live-aboards is Oriental.  Every place I inquired there would allow live-aboard only for transients.

On Sun, Jun 14, 2009 at 10:55 AM, Silver Heels < ([email][/email])> wrote:

Tor,
My understanding is that this area rarely gets serious attention from the Hurricanes.  Maybe a lot of rain and wind, but very little storm surge.  I really haven't looked into it in great detail, but I would guess the upper Neuse is pretty much off the surge path.  I certainly would avoid all of the coastal areas, plus anything in the vicinity of Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds.  My experience from a number off Hurricanes on the Chesapeake is to position oneself with as much watershed as possible between you and the coast.  I think New Bern does that.  Hope I don't have to find out.

On Sun, Jun 14, 2009 at 3:58 PM, Silver Heels < ([email][/email])> wrote:

Tor,
I can't argue against finding a real hole, but I think NC gets its reputation for Hurricanes because it sticks way out there and intercepts the hurricanes that re-curve off the coast.  Those Hurricanes eventually head NE toward New England, but not before they plow through the NC Sounds area.  I think if you look at the storm tracks in this area, those that go well inland do so north and east of this area.  Storm surge still does most of the damage to boats and marinas.  In Beaufort you have all of those boats on moorings, which don't handle surge very well.  And of course Beaufort is basically open to the surge coming from the ocean.

The best Hurricane holes are probably on the Chesapeake.  You can go way up the rivers on the western shore and find little coves that will provide all-round protection.  The Chesapeake gets significant storm surge only when the Hurricane tracks up the western shore, drawing water into the mouth of the bay.  In over of 30 years on the Bay the only storm that came close to that worst case track was Isabel in 2003.  We got about 4' of storm surge on the Patuxent, which did little damage.  That same surge in Annapolis caused major damage.

This marina has floating docks, which can be problem is one of them breaks loose (as happen at the Ft. Pierce City Marina in 2004).  At least the pilings are tall enough for a 6' surge.

On Sun, Jun 14, 2009 at 5:08 PM, Silver Heels < ([email][/email])> wrote:

BTW,
You must be getting a lot of T'storms down that way this afternoon.  Looks like that weak front is south of here, but still lying right in your area.  Hope it cools off a bit tomorrow.  I'm more worried about heat stroke spending the summer in NC than I am of Hurricanes.

On Sun, Jun 14, 2009 at 5:31 PM, John Stevenson < ([email][/email])> wrote:

Tor,
August & September in the Chesapeake.  You'll have to get north of Annapolis in August to avoid the worst of the Sea Nettle season.  It'll be as hot as Florida most days, but south of Annapolis you can't jump in the water to cool off unless you're wearing a nettle suit or have an inflatable nettle pool to hang off the stern.  By September things start to improve.  October is usually the best cruising month on the Chesapeake.  For some reason it always seemed that the nettles started to disappear around labor day.  Maybe they have calendar.

On Mon, Jun 15, 2009 at 7:20 AM, Silver Heels < ([email][/email])> wrote:

Aaron,
 
It's a different world outside the Northeast. I was paying about $300/mo. where I did my refit in NE FL, including liveaboard, water, and the (metered) electricity.
 
Tor
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Silver Heels, P-424 #17
http://www.SilverHeels.us
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Original Message

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Tor,
Are you planned to use the ICW from Wrightsville Beach or go outside to Morehead Cty?
If considering the ICW you may want to check on the activities at Camp Lejune.  I was held up for over an hour just north of the Onslow Beach Bridge for a live fire exercise last week. 

On Mon, Jun 15, 2009 at 1:21 PM, Silver Heels < ([email][/email])> wrote:

Definitely don't wear your turban while on deck

On Mon, Jun 15, 2009 at 4:22 PM, Silver Heels < ([email][/email])> wrote:

Thanks, Dale.

Look forward to meeting you.

On Fri, Jun 19, 2009 at 2:00 PM, dale < ([email][/email])> wrote: