1308 E Yacht DriveOak Island, NC 28461Price: $1,230,000

Morning on the back porch is the reason to be here. The Intracoastal lies still and gold at first light, a boat easing down the channel, and across the water the far bank stands thick with trees and low green growth, wild and unbroken by rooftops. Along the eastern edge of the property lies the town's Veterans Park, an open buffer that keeps this stretch quiet and uncrowded. The water is the whole point. A PRIVATE PIER AND BOAT LIFT reach into the Intracoastal off the back lawn, so the boat is always ready and the day starts whenever you decide it does. Drop a line, run crab traps off the dock, or point the bow toward Southport and tie up for lunch at Provision Company or Fishy Fishy, then drift home as the light softens and the day winds down. When the mood turns toward sand instead of saltwater, the Oak Island strand is a few minutes away by car or cart. Inside, a vaulted great room, dining space, and kitchen open to one another and hold the water in view from nearly every seat. Wide-plank hardwood runs underfoot. The kitchen is dressed in gray shaker cabinetry, quartz counters, and a glass mosaic backsplash in coastal blues, with a full stainless suite and a window over the sink that frames the waterway while you cook. The primary suite carries a tray ceiling and its own French doors to the covered porch, and its bath invites you to slow down, with a freestanding soaking tub beneath the window, a tiled glass walk-in shower, a double vanity, and a private water closet. Two more vaulted bedrooms and a second full bath give everyone room to land. A cargo lift moves gear between levels with ease. Below, a workshop and enclosed storage swallow every rod, cooler, and trap, and a covered patio runs the length of the home for shade and salt air. Palms and mature landscaping frame it all; the boat waits on the lift, and the tide keeps the only schedule that matters here.