Local Info - Naples, FL Area

[Dick Pluta]

My wife and I have been looking for a house in the Naples area for some time. We have been focusing on Marco Island, but the pickings there have become slim lately. We have a 41 foot Islander Freeport with 5 feet of draft. I've decided to expand the search to Isles of Capri, but the charts there are not very useful. I'm looking for local knowledge about the bays on the Isles. Is there enough depth for my boat to get in and out? Is it reasonable to expect to dock it in that area? Any help greatly appreciated.

Dick Pluta
AEGEA

[Seadaddler]

Don't know much about sailing with 5' draft in naples but how about FT MYERS,good location for sailboat and plenty pickings and not as pricey as naples,PUNTA GORDA has many canals for house with a dock.

[capcook]

Originally Posted by Dick Pluta

. We have a 41 foot Islander Freeport with 5 feet of draft.
Dick Pluta
AEGEA

Might want to think about a different boat for the West FL coast.... better to look on the East Coast ... 5 ft is a lot of water for S.W. Florida where the real beauty is all the back water.... If you don't mind keeping the boat at a deep water Marina, you might want to check out Bonita Bay, I think that is the best community in S.W. Florida... on the water but direct access to US 41 so no long waits to get out.... You could get in and out of their Marina during high tide but not low tide... Devil's pass will be the bottle neck... but the area is really special...

Cheers

[Dick Pluta]

Thanks for the input, guys.

We have spent the last 2 winters in Cape Coral and the 5 feet isn't too bad. We did have one incident when there was a 5 day norther that blew all the water out of the river, leaving us high and dry and in a hotel. Other than that, with a little care, we've done OK.

We have been focused on Marco Island. There are some parts that are fine for our draft, but, as I said earlier, the pickings are getting slim and we are trying to expand our search area. Isles of Capri has what appears to be some nice areas, but the charts are hopelessly short on data. That was the point of my original question.

Dick

[zeehag]

5ft fits just fine into appalachiacola and port st joe...we were there with 4 1/2 ft draft and i will be there with 6'6 draft... i wont be able to go to appalachiacola, but there are places i can go in western fla. 5 ft draft is no big deal there.
ft myers and marco also was good fo r5 ft draft---ueseppe island was barely doable --we skimmed over a shoal at high tide..but there are well marked and deep places to sail a 5 ft draft in west fla.