Boating in North Carolina: Lake Norman and the Coast
Of the roughly 215 boats and yachts for sale by owner in North Carolina on YachtBazar today,
the median asking price is just under $25,000 — this is trailerable-boat
country more than yacht country. Fishing boats are the largest type behind general powerboats —
25 of the by-owner listings we classified by title keyword, with dedicated center consoles (10)
counted separately — ahead of sailboats (13) and cruisers & motor yachts (7). The state's
most-listed makes point the same way: Chaparral, Carolina Skiff, Boston Whaler and Tracker
build runabouts, skiffs, center consoles and aluminum fishing boats, not motor yachts.
The top-five city list tells you where those boats actually live — and four of the five
aren't on the ocean. Mooresville, Sherrills Ford and Cornelius all sit on Lake Norman, the
reservoir north of Charlotte, and Charlotte itself is just south of it, so the Lake Norman area
alone accounts for four of North Carolina's five busiest by-owner markets — runabout, wake-boat
and pontoon water. Wilmington, tied with Mooresville for the most listings statewide, is the
coastal counterweight: it sits on the Cape Fear River with Wrightsville Beach and the
Intracoastal Waterway a few miles east, where the ICW runs behind the barrier beaches on its
way down the coast. North and east of there the Outer Banks change the boating entirely — the
broad, shallow Pamlico and Albemarle sounds behind the islands are skiff and center-console
water, while offshore crews run out of inlets like Oregon Inlet and Hatteras to fish the
Gulf Stream.
Wilmington, Mooresville, Charlotte, Sherrills Ford and Cornelius carry the most listings
statewide. See the by-owner fishing boats
for sale in North Carolina, boats
priced under $25,000 in North
Carolina — the band the state's median asking price falls into — or
North Carolina boat slips & docks if you need
somewhere to keep what you buy.
$89,9002024 Tidewater 2300 Carolina Bay📍 Wilmington, NC
$139,9992024 Centurion Fi23📍 Mooresville, NC
$15,0002009 Mariah R19.9📍 Timberlake, NC
$19,9992017 SeaRay 190 SPX📍 Mooresville, NC
$124,9002022 Cape Horn 24XS📍 Wilmington, NC
Contact for price2027 Robalo 246 Skyeck📍 Ocean Isle Beach, NC
$27,0002002 Carolina Classic 28📍 Beaufort, NC
$14,5002005 Cobalt 200📍 Cornelius, NC
$10,0001974 Bertram 28 Flybridge📍 Albemarle, NC
$25,0002018 Avalon catalina 2585📍 Timberlake, NC
$25,5002015 Caravelle Razor 237UU📍 New London, NC
$129,9502018 Sea Hunt 27 Gamefish📍 Wilmington, NC
$12,5001986 Paramount Skiff📍 Wilmington, NC
$25,8002023 Crest 230 deluxe📍 Terrell, NC
$12,3002026 Havoc 1760 VJST📍 Wilmington, NC
$79,9952019 Scout 251 XSS Bay Boat📍 Wilmington, NC
$79,8982020 Axis A22📍 Elizabethtown, NC
$10,9952006 Sea Ray 205 sport📍 Matthews, NC
$14,5002004 Boston Whaler 160 Dauntless📍 Holly Springs, NC
$122,9002027 Robalo 246 cayman📍 Morehead City, NC
$39,9992026 G3 Boats Angler V 164C📍 Sanford, NC
$82,5002018 Grady-White fisherman 216📍 Cornelius, NC
$96,5002027 Sea Pro 230 DLX📍 Cedar Point, NC
$74,9952022 Premier Solaris 230 RF 36PTX Tritoon with 250hp Honda and Aluminum Trailer📍 Henderson, NC