Melbourne, FL= Deep Canals?

[PUDDLE JUMPER II]

Looking to move to Melbourne, Florida in the next 6 months... Looking for areas which has deep canal access to the OCean Side.... Does Anyone have an idea of how I would start researching this topic??

Thanks...

Thomas & Kelly

[Vasco]

Get a chart of the area. Cape Canaveral to the north and Ft. Pierce to the south are the two inlets from the ocean.

[PUDDLE JUMPER II]

Suggestions for buying quality waterproof charts online these days?

[Saleen411]

Originally Posted by Vasco

Get a chart of the area. Cape Canaveral to the north and Ft. Pierce to the south are the two inlets from the ocean.

Sebastian for ocean access? Been years, but that's where I'd take my fishing boat.

Loved Melbourne...lived there during my college days.

[Vasco]

Originally Posted by Saleen411

Sebastian for ocean access? Been years, but that's where I'd take my fishing boat.

Loved Melbourne...lived there during my college days.

You're not going to get a 44 ft ketch under that bridge at Sebastian Inlet.

[Saleen411]

Originally Posted by Vasco

You're not going to get a 44 ft ketch under that bridge at Sebastian Inlet.

Oops, minor detail.....well, it has been some 40 odd years.

[gonesail]

yup melbourne is landlocked. no access at sebastion inlet for sail boats. cape canaveral is the way out and it is busy and complicated. but the indian and banana rivers are nice waterways with some cool old florida towns.

[PUDDLE JUMPER II]

Well crap gents-- I am soooo glad I asked you all... So, I guess I need to rephrase my question--- Where from St. Augustine to West Palm Beach has great Sailboat Ocean Access... I know this sounds stupid asking-- but I have not moved out there yet... I just ordered some charts for the east coast of Florida... Appreciate any help or advice you all have-- this has been a huge eye opener so far...

[seaclone]

I have lived in Melbourne for 30 years there are several good marinas and there are 20 deepwater canals best place to start is with a local realtor we go out of port canaveral if heading north and Ft Pierce if heading south

[pitlaw]

Port Canaveral is the closest outlet and has several marinas. Ocean Club very nice high end facility with floating docks. Port Canaveral Yacht Club, cheaper and a DIY club with nice people. One other the name of which escapes me. Really not too far from Melbourne, maybe 45 minutes depending on where you live.

[pitlaw]

Also its not complicated. Its deep water and there is deep water just outside the inlet. And you have the ability to lock through to the ICW if you want to go inside N or S. The cruise ships are there but they offer no real problems. And there are about 6'restaurants nearby overlookingnthe inlet. I had my boat there last winter.

[svmadhatter]

Our family recently moved to Melbourne Beach with a 42ft Catalina monohull which needs 4'10" clearance. We live oceanside and keep our boat in the Indian River near Eau Gallie bridge. The sailing in the Indian River is nice and there are areas that are deep enough for daysailers however, thus area has no ocean access for sailboats of much size/depth.
The Inlet at Sebastian has a bridge with clearance for only 37 feet- many sailing masts including ours exceed that.
Our ocean access options are either Cape Canaveral, which takes us approximately 4 hours to get out and includes timed use of a lock and a bridge that must open, or Fort Pierce which takes us 6 or 7 hours and has just one bridge that needs to be opened.
There are many canal options with suitable depths for keeping a sailboat in this area but all are with River/Lagoon access and none are with Ocean access that I've heard of. It's a fantastic area though and we wish you luck!

[Captain Bill]

There are marinas in Port Canaveral itself as well as a pretty nice marina in the Barge Canal just a mile or so from the Canaveral locks. Since you posted in the liveaboard forum I'll assume you plan to live aboard. Harbortown marina on the Barge Canal is liveaboard friendly and it has quick access to the beachline expressway which leads to I95 and down to Melbourne, assuming your work will be in Melbourne. From any Marina or canal in Melbourne it's a 4 hour trip on a 6 knot boat to Port Canaveral when you include going through the locks and waiting on two restricted bridges, it can be even longer if you don't have your timing perfect. Ft. Pierce inlet is at least 6-7 hours away but no locks and no restricted bridges. Ft Pierce has several marinas as well, but is a longer drive to Melbourne. Melbourne itself does not have much in the way of canals. On the Beach side the towns of Indian Harbor Beach and Satellite Beach have extensive canal systems and are accessible by sail boat, but if you get way up some of those it might add an hour to your trip to Post Canaveral. South Merritt Island and Cocoa Beach Canals are not accessible by sailboats due to low bridges. North Merritt Island has a couple of canals but I think the last time I looked at them on the chart they were only about 4 feet deep. Vero Beach is between Melbourne and Ft. Pierce and has a pretty extensive canal system and is only about 2-2.5 hours from the Ft Pierce inlet. Keep in mind that Port Canaveral is an all weather inlet, Ft. Pierce is not. Ft Pierce can get pretty sporty on a an outgoing tide and an strong east wind. I bought a house in Palm Bay last year and had a very good experience with a local Melbourne realtor. He's been in the area for 45+ years and really knows the area if you're looking to buy. Let me know if you're interested and I'll send you his name.

[rthompsona]

We moved to Merritt Island a couple of years ago. We looked for a home with deep water access for our 30' Hunter. We found that many of the "deep water" canals in our area lead to the Banana River which is limited by a 38' bridge to the North and another to the South. There is a nice description of the bridges on Space Coast Bridges.

There are some homes in Rockledge/Cocoa area on the Indian River that have very long docks to get to an area with some depth, but we did not find one the would work.

We wound up keeping the boat in a Marina on the Barge canal that leads to Port Canaveral and getting an old runabout to get around the canals.

A couple of considerations in this area.

-Our marina is on the inside of the locks so you have to go through the locks and the bridge to get to the ocean. It takes us 1/2 to 1 hour.
-Many of the waterways (including the barge canal) are manatee zones, with restricted speeds.
-A major reason to be inside the locks is that the Marinas there are generally considered to be safe in a hurricane so you are not required to remove your boat for a storm.

[jjt5795]

We have our Columbia 45 at Harbor town Marina in Fort Pierce. We love the marina and the inlet is very close. Getting in and out is easy but you do need to watch the out going tide when the east winds are kicking it up. That can make the entrance pretty hairy. I regularly take our boat out singlehanded.

You should check it out. Good luck.