Need to Hear from Florida Liveaboards

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by brianontheroad

We're t Dinner Key Marina in Coconut Grove in Miami -- 225 mooring balls, $295/ month, they have a pump out boat that will come to you on the mooring, shuttle service to and from shore between 7am and 5pm, a great bar on the water, little islands with picnic tables overlooking biscayne bay, great sailing wind everyday (US, Canada and Great Britain Olympic sailing teams are training here daily) and I can see the bottom from the cockpit.

Key Largo is a about 30 miles south and Bimini in the Bahamas is 50 miles east......you can do worse

How far is:

Grocery
Chandler
Propane
?

[brianontheroad]

There's a swanky Freshmarket the next parking lot over....veggies are the same price or cheaper than the regular supermarket but better quality, "Regular Supermarket" about 1.5 mile walk away, or there's a bus that stops at the Marina parking lot (25 cents) several chandleries close by, West marine ~2 miles (same Bus) with some local competitors in the same vicinity, propane swaps for 20lbers in that same plaza or fills for the odd shapers a little further (all bus-ible/walkable)

[Tropicyachty]

Liveaboard in Fort Lauderdale is almost all gone, when RE was hot the built condo's and screwed the yachting community. The entire yachting scene is heading further north in FL.

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by brianontheroad

There's a swanky Freshmarket the next parking lot over....veggies are the same price or cheaper than the regular supermarket but better quality, "Regular Supermarket" about 1.5 mile walk away, or there's a bus that stops at the Marina parking lot (25 cents) several chandleries close by, West marine ~2 miles (same Bus) with some local competitors in the same vicinity, propane swaps for 20lbers in that same plaza or fills for the odd shapers a little further (all bus-ible/walkable)

Excellent!
Thanks.

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by 02buster

ft Lauderdale is one big ghetto with pockets of really rich people. there is no middle class. its either your rich or dirt poor begging on the street.

No offense intended, but this is just completely ridiculous. Ft. Lauderdale is not some third-world country. It has a fairly large middle class. As does all the rest of Florida. Yes, there are people begging in the streets, but not EVERYONE!

And, once again, the violent crime rate is actually LOWER than the national average. Not by much, but it is LOWER!

We get it. You don't like Florida. No need to exaggerate so much to make your point, though.

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by Tellie

Many condo properties come with dockage space and are a real bargin right now. This is the direction I'd be thinking.

This is the direction I am actively looking right now!

[AllezCat]

Just arrived in Miami.
paying $6 per foot at Miami Beach Marina.
leave to anchor out in the morning. Probably over by coconut grove - is this possible?
Or do you have to use the moorings?

thx

[North26West80]

I moved to Fort Lauderdale ten years ago because I thought the community offered a good environment that supported my primary goal of preparing the boat for cruising and having a base to operate from. It has been a huge success. Here for example is a short list of how I've benefited.

1. Live in a house on a canal where you can keep your 40' and 6' draft boat just outside the back door and have deep water access to the ocean. Best of all, my workshop is 50 steps from the boat. (With the market what it is there are great deals to be had and lots of on-the-water rentals available.)
2. Shop at the largest West Marine in the country, or Boat Owners Warehouse or Sailorman or several others.
3. Great dive shops everywhere you look.
4. At McDonalds Hardware Store (not the hamburger place) I can buy stainless, hose, wire, fittings, metric nuts and bolts, abrasives, electrical and just about any hardware you never new you needed until today. They have it all and you'll be elbow to elbow with other boaters.
5. Buy stainless hinges, knobs, locks, teak board, teak plywood, Starboard, plexiglass, Corian or exotic hardwoods at Seafarer Marine. Or have them fabricate any of the above into boaty things like sampson posts or whatever.
6. Buy large 6v Trojan Batteries at Nationwide Battery.
7. Buy charts, guidebooks, navigation software and all that kind of stuff at Bluewater Books.
8. Haul the boat at any of several boatyards. Mine is five minutes away.
9. Buy engine parts and spares from the authorized dealer for my engine.
10. Buy Balmar alternators from East Coast Battery and Electric.
11. The canals are the best hurricane holes in Florida and I've been through at least three good ones so far. The boat is the least of my worries in a hurricane.
12. Fabricate dozens of different stainless brackets, parts and even a new stern rail. There are several good machine shops that are accustomed to marine needs and usually the owner has a boat too.
13. Buy Sunbrella, stainless tubing and fittings for fabricating all things canvas yourself (I do) or hire it done. For a while Sailrite had a store here and that was wonderful, but sorry to say no longer. But there are other places.
14. Buy HiMod rigging terminals, rigging wire, rope and sail repairs at Nance and Underwood Rigging. Good friendly there advise too.

I could go on and on but I rarely have to look very long or far to find what I need. And best of all, ALL of the above is within 1-8 minutes of each other by car. If you are here without a car the airport is 8 minutes away and there are rental car companies and good taxi service and even bus service. Since moving here from California, I only put about 8K miles on my car because everything is so nearby. In California it was more like 50k.

So speaking for the needs of boaters, I highly recommend Fort Lauderdale. When the boat is all fixed up, the Bahamas and Keys are just over the horizon.

[Islandmike]

We have lived on our sailboat for the past 2 years in Jax Beach FL... We love it, would be glad to answer any questions you may have. Good Luck

[Hudson Force]

Sure, we are mobile now and anchoring out more, but we've spent many years living aboard in Florida at the dock and daily off to work since 1972. Heat, humidity, lightning, hurricanes, insects.......these are not problems for those that have known little else for most of their lives. My history doesn't allow me to be comfortable with fog, rocks, ice, bubblers and freezing dark winters. All might not be able to adapt to Florida and that's a fine choice, but for me....."Please, Brer Fox, please don't throw me into the briar patch!"

[S/V Antares]

I was mugged during the Miami boat show some years ago. I was held up twice at gunpoint while driving a cab in Washington DC. Politicians rob us at penpoint in DC everyday. I often go to Miami and love florida in general. I will not go to DC ever again if I can avoid it.

[sailorgal]

We've lived aboard in the Pensacola area for a couple of years. Our current marina is in a well-protected bayou about 2 miles from West Marine and shopping. We pay about $450/month plus electricity.

There are many beautiful areas to sail. Pensacola Bay and East Bay are big and very few boats sailing, especialy in winter. Santa Rosa sound is part of the ICW and very scenic. The pass to the Gulf of Mexico is not far, so easy Gulf access.

The weather changes slightly with the seasons. We get some cold days in the winter, sometimes below freezing at night. Summers are typical hot and humid, but tolerable. Prices are very reasonable.

We're planning to head south in a few weeks, but if and when we decide to return to the U.S., we'll be coming back to this area.

This area is a hidden treasure -- but don't tell anyone

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by sailorgal

We've lived aboard in the Pensacola area for a couple of years. Our current marina is in a well-protected bayou about 2 miles from West Marine and shopping. We pay about $450/month plus electricity.

There are many beautiful areas to sail. Pensacola Bay and East Bay are big and very few boats sailing, especialy in winter. Santa Rosa sound is part of the ICW and very scenic. The pass to the Gulf of Mexico is not far, so easy Gulf access.

The weather changes slightly with the seasons. We get some cold days in the winter, sometimes below freezing at night. Summers are typical hot and humid, but tolerable. Prices are very reasonable.

We're planning to head south in a few weeks, but if and when we decide to return to the U.S., we'll be coming back to this area.

This area is a hidden treasure -- but don't tell anyone

I understand completely! I am currently in Ft. Laudedale and it is were I was raised as a child. I love this place, but more for what it was in the fifties & sixties when the population was 35,000. My Florida home port is at your latitude and up the St. Johns River south of Jacksonville,- "small town", as Springsteen would say.

[sailorgal]

Originally Posted by CaptForce

I understand completely! I am currently in Ft. Laudedale and it is were I was raised as a child. I love this place, but more for what it was in the fifties & sixties when the population was 35,000. My Florida home port is at your latitude and up the St. Johns River south of Jacksonville,- "small town", as Springsteen would say.

Cool! Anywhere near Palatka? I lived in Gainesville for a short while and would drive over to the St. Johns river, to Palatka and Green Cove Springs. A couple of nice marinas in that area that allow liveaboards.

[flysci]

Originally Posted by AllezCat

Just arrived in Miami.
paying $6 per foot at Miami Beach Marina.
leave to anchor out in the morning. Probably over by coconut grove - is this possible?
Or do you have to use the moorings?

thx

Hi,

I've spent several months all told on a mooring at Dinner Key. There are anchorage areas to either side of the official mooring field that you can use for free. These areas are quite shallow though mostly, so it depends on your boat. And you don't get the free pump-outs or the water taxi service. Also I don't know where those at anchor leave their dinghies when ashore. But I'm sure there's somewhere, 'cause there's lots of folks anchored.

Margo