Boat Ramps in Chocowinity/Washington NC

[SamLust]

I will be hauling my Hunter 260 down to Chocowinity NC in July. My cousin has a house on the Pamlico River that she insists we use. Back of the house is on her own sandy beach right on the river, front of the house is on a creek with her own boat slip with about a 200 yard run to the river. Someone had to help her out and it seems to be me.

I know this has been covered in the past but I haven't been able to dig it up from the archives. I know there are two or three ramps in the area between Washington and Chocowinity, but I haven't found specific information about location, size or capability. My truck/trailer rig is about 40 feet long and trying to jockey that around while being lost isn't fun.

Another, lesser thought; Anyone know of any 4th of july festivities in the area?

I appreciate any help you can give me.

Sam

 

[Paul Brinkley]

Hi, Sam. If you have the time, order an NC Coastal Boating Guide from
http://www.ncwildlife.org/Boating_Waterways/Boating_Publications.htm#2
its free and will show you all of the NC Wildlife boat ramps and privare marinas in coastal NC - it is a handy thing.
If you don't have the time, here is a summary for the area.
Cypress Landing Marina 100 Marina Dr, Chocowinity - no ramp or lift
Carolina Wind Yachting Ctr. 411 W. Main St, Washington - no ramp or lift
Broad Creek Marina 353 McCotter's Marina Rd, Washington - ramp
McCotter's Marina 179 McCotter's Marina Rd, Washington - ramp and lift
(Broad Creek & McCot ter's are both about 9 miles east of Washington, off hwy 32-
I have never been to either so can't tell you more)
Dinah's Landing - boat ramp in Goose Creek State Park- about 10 miles east of
Washington off hwy 264 - free - its where I launch my MacGregor 26S several times
each year.
There is a Wildlife ramp on the river at Mason's Landing just west of Washington, but it
is upstream of the hwy 17 bridge- never been there either.
There used to be a ramp at Whichard's Beach, but it is no longer available - gone to condos, I think. There is a ramp at another location near Chocowinity, but it is private and I don't know if they will let you launch there anymore.

If yiou have someone to take you tow vehicle and trailer to your sister's, I would recommend Dinah's Landing, since it is free. I don't know how deep you need to get to launch your 260- its plenty deep for my Mac (centerboard model, about 20" draft).

Hope some of this helps. Some of the others in the are may chime in with better info for you. Fair Winds, -Paul

 

[jibes138]

I think you covered it

I was going to suggest McCotter's since that is a large sailing center with a ramp. There is a ramp farther up the river in Washington where power boats launch but you'd have to see if you could fit under the Route 17 bridge between Washington and Chocowinity. If the mast was down and the draft was adequate you might get away with it.
Other options that I know of would be a long way down river, such as Bellhaven where River Forest Marina has a ramp at their repair yard. That is a long slog up the Pamlico River to get to Washington though.

 

[Chris Burti]

Dinah's landing can be found on Google maps as can McCotters.

McCotters has a ramp and adequates space to manuever your rig. You can park there for a reasonable time as well. If you really want to make life easy, let them put it in with the lift and power wash it when they take it out to get the most of the river scum off. $3.50/ft in and $4.50/ft out with power wash.

We keep our boat there, but have no financial interest in recommending them.

 

[Benny]

Perhaps this helps:

City of Washington
Department of Parks, Recreation & Civic Center
310 W. Main Street, Washington, NC 27889
Telephone: (252) 975-9367
Fax: (252) 946-8433
Please click here to send us an email


Boating - Washington Waterfront

• Boat slips with electricity and water available for a charge of $1 per day per foot of vessel or $260 per month, paid in advance. Short-term docking also is available for $7.50 for up to six hours per slip. Long Term Leases now available for boats 35’ and under.
• Additional boat tie-ups are available at no charge for up to 48 hours along five 80-foot parallel docks. Water and electricity are not available at these locations. Stays longer than 48 hours on Free Docks, .75 per foot per day as long as there is no demand for Free Docking.
• Reservations are accepted for boat slips by calling the Washington Recreation Department at (252) 975-9367, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday - Friday (closed holidays). Call early for popular weekend, special events, and holiday periods. Reservations are not required (nor are they accepted) for tie-ups at the parallel docks. This area is available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
• Dock attendant is on duty on the west end of Stewart Parkway.
• All vessels are required to register with the dock attendant.
• Boat slips can accommodate vessels up to 35' long (up to 80' on face dock) and 15' wide with drafts up to 10'. Longer vessels can be accommodated along the ends of the boat docks and along the parallel docks.
• Boat slips have standard 30-amp maritime connections with provisions for 50-amp connections.
• Canoe launch area available from the dinghy dock on the west end of the bulkhead.
• Pump-out station available for $2 at boat slips with assistance from dock attendant.
• Shower facilities are available for registered boaters.
• To open train trestle, phone (252) 975-1017 or blow horn; a trestle attendant should be on duty at all times.
• The Washington waterfront is approximately 25 nautical miles from the Intracoastal Waterway, and 65 nautical miles from Ocracoke. Channel depth is 12-25 feet at the Washington waterfront. Thin water east of the train trestle.
• Time limit for free docking may be waived prior to and following special events. Call the Recreation Department at (252) 975-9367 to confirm schedule.
• Water, showers, and pump-out station may be unavailable during cold weather.

Rules and Regulations for Boaters on the Washington Waterfront


<UL>A no-wake zone is in effect on the Pamlico River between the U.S. Highway 17 bridge and the railroad trestle. No-wake zone may be lifted for special events.

 

[SamLust]

Fantastic information. It's printed and in the tuck. I feel a lot more comfortable that I won't be wasting a lot of time. Vacation, you know. Hurry up and have fun! Thanks very much.

Sam

 

[mr14yak]

Thanks/ More questions

Hi all, newbie here just saying thanks, and with a couple of newbie questions. I am considering my first sailboat (have been looking for quite some time now). This forum has some great info! Because of slip fees and increased costs and maintenance on larger boats, I feel that a trailer sailer would be best for me. I am even slowly swaying the admiral to agree. Although I don't have a 1/2 ton or 4wd, I do have the towing package on my Tacoma truck. Towing around eastern NC shouldn't (hopefully) be a problem.
I did search the forums, but have been unable to find one crucial piece of info.When launching/retrieving a sailboat on a single axle trailer, how important is ramp length? I regularly launch a 17' boat at Dinah's Landing, but my trailer wheels nearly reach the end of the ramp at low tide. Launching a sailboat with 2 feet of draft would probably mean that I would need to extend the tongue, and roll the trailer wheels off the end of the ramp. Would this be a serious problem when I pull the boat out of the water?
Sorry for the long post. And thanks in advance for any info!

 

[Paul Brinkley]

mr14yak- I regularly launch my Macgregor 26S at Dinah's landing. My draft is less than 2', about 19" I think. The ramp is adequate for me. The 26S is a water ballast centerboard boat which does ride fairly low on the trailer. Basically, I can launch anywhere a power boat can. How easy it will be for you will depend on the combination of boat and trailer you have. Good luck. -Paul

PS- Where are you from in eastern NC? I'm originally from Plymouth. -P