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Old 17-02-2018, 10:37   #1
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Fort Lauderdale/Miami info- where to sail a small boat?

We've decided to jump into sailing with a small day sailor like a Catalina 22. We recently moved to Fort Lauderdale area and I have no idea (other than looking at charts) where there are good places to launch and sail? It looks like I'd have to head south to Biscayne bay. I don't know if Dania area has anything to offer a small sailboat. I see lots of bridges that are shorter than the 30' mast height of a C22. Where should be we looking to sail?
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Old 17-02-2018, 13:35   #2
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Re: Fort Lauderdale/Miami info- where to sail a small boat?

Biscayne bay is the place to sail. I live in Tamarac and keep my boat all summer at Dinner Key in the Grove. A smaller boat can be easily sailed on the northern part of the bay up by 79th street causeway.
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Old 17-02-2018, 14:31   #3
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Re: Fort Lauderdale/Miami info- where to sail a small boat?

If you are asking about launching from a trailer there is a very nice launch area in Fort Lauderdale on SE 15th ST at the Eastern end, South side.

There is also a service yard there.
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Old 18-02-2018, 05:52   #4
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Re: Fort Lauderdale/Miami info- where to sail a small boat?

Thanks for the advice. Do you leave your boat in a wet slip or pull it out after using?

Dinner key rates show $19/ft and it looks like there's a 30' minimum? That's $570 a month to keep a boat in the water. That seems steep for a $5k boat.
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Old 18-02-2018, 08:32   #5
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Re: Fort Lauderdale/Miami info- where to sail a small boat?

Look into the mooring field at Coconut Grove Sailing Club. They have room for boats less than 25' as of now. You'll have to call for rates, but the sailing grounds are world class, and it's all a short sail out the channel.
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Old 18-02-2018, 08:38   #6
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Re: Fort Lauderdale/Miami info- where to sail a small boat?

You will fit under all of the ICW bridges. For shallow drafts Biscayne Bay is very nice, only 1 bridge to wait on. You will learn slips make sense only if you place a very high value on your time. Generally trailer and launch makes more sense.
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Old 18-02-2018, 08:55   #7
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Re: Fort Lauderdale/Miami info- where to sail a small boat?

You’ll use her a heck of a lot more if you keep her in the water!
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Old 18-02-2018, 09:03   #8
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Re: Fort Lauderdale/Miami info- where to sail a small boat?

Welcome to sailing- one of the best things to do in life. Here are a few thoughts for you:

1. Most sailing is done in relatively sheltered waters rather than the open ocean, partly because of sea conditions, but also because it's a pleasantly slow business and you'll have more fun when there's somewhere you can sail to on a short day sail.

2. Even for a small boat like a Catalina 22, South Florida waters are shallow and the bottom is hard. What look like wide open sailing areas in the Intracoastal are frequently just a few inches deep, so a swing keel or dagger board is helpful.

3.The marked channels are quite narrow, so a good engine that starts easily is essential. For a small sailboat, an electric start outboard or all-electric outboard is best, as reaching over the transom to make a pull start or change gear can be extremely annoying. You will be motoring a lot.

4. A 22' sailboat on a trailer is only convenient if you're simply pulling the boat out of the water and leaving the trailer and boat in the marina or yacht-club yard. Actually raising and lowering the mast single-handed is something that will take several maddening hours, and after a couple of times, you'll only want to do it when you've got to move the boat a long way by road. The one exception to that I've seen is Tony Smith's Tristar trimaran, with its wind-up rig. I had a MacGregor 25 for several years and just kept it in a marina slip, after a couple of near misses taking the mast down on my own.

5. I live in South Florida and agree with the advice to look for a marina or private slip giving access to Biscayne Bay, Card Sound or Florida Bay.

6. A large dodger and bimini are essential in Florida, even if you're not subject to instant skin damage in the sun (I am), it's very uncomfortable if you can't sit in the shade. Many Floridians who enjoy the outdoors have considerable familiarity with dermatological terminology.

The exception to most of those concerns (not #6) will be if you start small and get a Hobie Cat or similar trampoline catamaran. They are incredibly good fun, draw very little water and are light and easy to trailer. However, there's no bathroom, so when the time comes, you have to slide into the water to relieve yourself, and the more civilized members of the family may not go along with that.

Good luck, have fun.
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Old 18-02-2018, 21:30   #9
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Re: Fort Lauderdale/Miami info- where to sail a small boat?

Sailed a 19.5 keeled sailboat to Nassau and Exumas. From Miami. Just got to pick your weather. Had a 5 hp outboard for aux power. Didn’t use it much.
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Old 19-02-2018, 04:43   #10
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Re: Fort Lauderdale/Miami info- where to sail a small boat?

Zimm,
We leave the boat on a mooring for $350 a month. The $19 a foot rate is for yearly leases. The rate doubles without the lease.
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Old 19-02-2018, 05:05   #11
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Re: Fort Lauderdale/Miami info- where to sail a small boat?

I seem to recall the marina at Black Point has/had a fenced yard for small sail boats to leave their masts up. They also have a police presence to keep weekend boat ramp antics under control. Run by the county.
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Old 19-02-2018, 05:10   #12
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Re: Fort Lauderdale/Miami info- where to sail a small boat?

My first sailing experiences were in South Florida. Yes, Biscayne Bay is the nicest sailing ground and the southern part of the bay - south of the Rickenbacker Causeway - is the nicest for a sailboat. That said, there is a lot of thin water in the south bay so a boat with a centerboard or swing keel will pay dividends. Dinner Key and the Coconut Grove Sailing Club's mooring field are probably the best bets for keeping your boat. The US Sailing Center, just north of Dinner Key, may be a possibility for keeping your boat on a trailer but rigged and ready to go. The Miami Yacht Club has a mooring field east of Watson Island on the MacArthur Causeway. Finally, Matheson Hammock Park might have wet slips and/or dry storage available. (There are, of course, numerous private marinas all over South Florida...) As you can easily see, in the Ft Lauderdale area there is no protected water wide enough for sailing; if you keep the boat closer to home, you'll be limited to sailing in the ocean. On the other hand, ocean sailing off South Florida is often calmer than in other parts of the country as the proximity of the Bahama Islands means there is little fetch for the build-up of large surf along the beaches south of the Space Coast.
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Old 19-02-2018, 07:53   #13
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Re: Fort Lauderdale/Miami info- where to sail a small boat?

Dinner Key Marina is closed to all wet slips after Hurricane Irma. Bids are out for reconstruction but over half of all the slips were damaged. Unlikely to open to wet slips again until...who knows?
Dinner Key mooring field is available for boats under 40 feet (I believe) and some draft restriction too. Those are a set fee of about $350/mo or $25/day. There is a water taxi to your mooring ball, but restricted to daylight hours and winds less than 15 kts. The mooring field is out there a bit, but still rowable in the right conditions, and pretty easy dinghy ride. It's exposed in high winds.
You can make out the Dinner Key mooring field in the photo I posted above: it's the boats furthest out.
I post this in regard to your question, but also anyone like myself that was looking forward to a slip at Dinner Key. Construction has yet to begin on repairs.
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