Cheap Storage On Florida's West Coast

[Blowfish]

Hi all,
I'm looking at moving my Pearson 365 from the Chesapeake to the west coast of Florida. I'm looking for recommendations for cheap places to store on the hard during hurricane season. I'm not too particular regarding location, I just want to be able to reach good cruising grounds within 4-7 days of sailing. I'm looking at the west coast due to insurance costs, which appear to be $1,000 a year cheaper if the boat is on the west coast. Also, I am not familiar with that area, so if storing in Alabama equates to cheaper costs but still fits the 4-7 day bill, then great.
Thanks!

[Dick Pluta]

I just moved my Islander Freeport 41 to the West Coast last spring and the best place I found is the Glades Boat Yard in Moore Haven. It's on the Caloosahatchee River, aka the Okoochobee Waterway. If memory serves $4.50 per foot plus the usual suspects, hauling, washing, stands etc. They also have a DIY work yard, $17 per day. No slips.

Dick Pluta
AEGEA

[forsailbyowner]

St pete has a couple of yards on salt creek that are reasonable, although they don't compete with glades. Check to see if locks are up and operational, when I was down there in spring they were planning on having them closed for maintenance.

[Tropic Cat]

I 2nd the motion for Glades. Except that it's Glades Boat Storage and I think it's in LaBell, FL, between Fort Meyers and Moorhaven on the Okeechobee canal. They have a working yard there. I thought their prices reasonable.

Glades is where I discovered my Catalac on the hard, and I spent some time there. It's a little disconcerting driving into this place as you drive through a herd of cattle on the way in. I'm not kidding!

[Dick Pluta]

Amen to the cattle thing. We had to shoo one off the road to get out. La Belle is, indeed the nearest town but their mailing address is Moore Haven.

I just spoke to Rick from Tiger Marine who is doing some work on my boat. He said the Waterway has been closed all summer and is not yet open. I forgot to mention that in my earlier post. The other issue is the there is a bridge with a 47 foot limit. The lake is low right now and you might get away with a bit more. We have 50 feet and had to do the Okoochobee Limbo with Captain Billy. For $180 he loaded our port deck with barrels that he filled with water until we were heeled about 20 degrees, which gave us enough clearance to get through. Not cheap for a half hours work, but it beats the hell out of going around Key West.

Dick Pluta
AEGEA

[Blowfish]

THanks guys, great suggestions! I checked on the locks and they should be open by the time I get down there.