Dockage SOUTH FLORIDA

[dennismenace111]

I recently made an offer on a nice 29 footer located upstate a few hundred miles. Before I closed the deal, I started looking around for dockage in my area.

I looked and looked...online, in the newspapers, in local publications..the best rates I could find were around $12 a foot per month, non liveaboard...with a ton of restrictions as the docks were behind a private home.

Now, It doesnt make a hellofa lot of sense, to pay around $10k for a boat then have to pay $4k a year to dock it... by the time you add in insurance...its completly blown the budget.

Years ago, dockage for half that price was common.. guess the big marinas only want to do business with the super yachts or the guys that buy 500 gallons of diesel every month..

Im in the Ft Lauderdale area...anybody else running into this?

[nautical62]

The hurricane damage really upped both insurance and dockage rates.

I agree for many it doesn't make sense to spend 10K on a boat and then spend 500 a month or more on dockage and insurance. This is one reason there are so many cheap boats on the market. Many people who have a budget for boats in that price range, don't have the budget to pay for maintenance, insurance, and dockage that tends to go with them. This is why I recently sold my cruising sailboat. The costs (and headaches) just weren't worth it.

If you just want to cruise it a couple times a year and not take it out regularly, consider some place like Indiantown.

Welcome to the wonderful world of boat ownership.

[dennismenace111]

Id like to sail every weekend... I grew up in Miami sailing in Biscayne Bay...but now Im in Ft. Lauderdale.... My budget is tight as Im just getting ready to retire... Im pretty handy, being an A and P Mechanic for an airline. I can do most of the electrical and mechanical work myself. Maintenance isnt too much of an issue. Just that damned dockage. If you can find a marina, they want /$1000 a month... I found one dock but the water is shallow and I can only get in at high tide..

Since developers started taking over all the marinas to build hi rise apartments, there is just too much competition with the mega yachts. Im afraid Ill have to go over to the dark side and buy a power boat...God forbid...

[angelfish2]

Dennis, have you considered moving over to the Gulf coast of Florida? I grew up in Miami also, but really love living in Punta Gorda. I'm pretty sure you could keep your boat much cheaper over here.