Channel Walk and Shoreline were built in several phases. The original section dates to 1972. More recent sections date to 1987. Older units have slips along Lee’s Cut, while the newer units have slips in a protected harbor. These units were not designed or finished to be luxurious. They had 9-foot ceiling heights, contractor-grade finishes, and always felt a little cramped. While some remain as they were built, some interiors have been substantially modified. But they get a nice piece of real estate. The complex occupies the entire northwest corner of Harbor Island, with the intracoastal waterway to the west and Lee’s Cut along the north and east sides. Lee’s Cut leads to Banks Channel, which separates Harbor Island from Wrightsville Beach. You can take Banks Channel south to Masonboro Inlet if you can clear two 8-foot bridges at US 74 and Causeway Drive. South of Masonboro Island lies Masonboro Island, a 7.5-mile-long undeveloped barrier island that can be accessed at several locations off the intracoastal waterway.
Like the housing units, the boat docks were developed at two different times. The older development, roughly the eastern 2/3, has docks along Snows Cut. I counted 39 berths. They are on floating platforms next to a bulkhead with half a dozen access points with aluminum gangways. These slips are 35-foot-long doubles with piles and full fingers. They have a wooden deck surface and utility pedestals for every two slips. No power lifts were visible.
The second docks and newer construction are along the western side of the complex, with a harbor having been cut into the island. Slips in this harbor have floating platforms accessed by wood-framed gangways from a fixed wood platform surrounding the perimeter. This forms double berths with piles in between. Slips are 25 feet in length. One dock runs down the middle, with slips on both sides. Other slips are along the bulkhead on both sides. There appear to be 50 slips in the harbor.
Although there is no ramp in the complex, a public boat access and ramp are on the same bit of land to the west, less than 50 yards away.
Participation is very strong.
