St. Petes - Liveaboard Marinas?

[neelie]

Does anyone know of any Marinas in the St Petersburg area which allow long term live aboards ?

Thanks.

[Tampabayfireman]

Both the Harborage and St Pete Marina allow liveaboards, but the latter has a 4 yr waiting list depending on size. Just south of St pete is the Regal Point marina, again with liveaboard spots.

[neelie]

Hi
Thanks for the info. I coudn't find anything online and was wondering what was out there.

My wife arrives in a week to start work there and we hope to get a boat by the end of the year. Looking for a blue water capable 42 - 45 footer.

Thanks Again

niels

[HattmanDo]

Hello
What do you recommend as a good source to research live aboard options in the st. pete area?

[Remedy]

Regatta Pointe marina is a great choice. Located in Palmetto just over the skyway on the Manatee river

[benrachor]

I just got a Captains position working for a tour boat company in downtown Tampa. I've been looking for liveaboard marinas in the Tampa Bay area. I'm trying to stay close to downtown so I can dingy to work in the mornings. :-)

I'm looking to buy a +/- 30' foot Sea Ray in the spring. The only marinas I've found that allow liveaboards are in the St. Pete area. Thanks in advance for your help.

Thanks,

Capt. Ben

[jongough]

Hi,
This post is to let you know that OpenCPN wind display is now working. I installed the software again but still had the same problem. I noticed in the NMEA debug window that the heading information seemed to be being repeated, so I rechecked the wiring.

On my old system, Nobeltec VNS, all was working OK, but with OpenCPN when I put a route in and activated it the wind instrument display stopped updating. The issue was that I was sending HDM information to the autopilot, the wind instruments and radar (they all needed to be on one send serial line for Nobeltec) and receiving it back. Even though filtering of input and output was on the bus gets ALL the input information. It appears that this was interfering with the input from the wind instruments as they pass through the messages.

Anyway, the issue was sorted out by making a single connection to the auto pilot for send and receive and a separate connection to the other instruments. I could then restrict the messages going to the auto pilot to the APB message needed and remove the APB message from going to the other instruments.

Regards
Jon

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Tampabayfireman

Both the Harborage and St Pete Marina allow liveaboards, but the latter has a 4 yr waiting list depending on size. Just south of St pete is the Regal Point marina, again with liveaboard spots.

I don't think the waiting list is all that long any more, although it was a couple of years ago.

On the west side of St. Pete there's Pasadena Marina. I lived there two years. Nice marina, and well sheltered. I rode TS Debbie (and Isaac, but Debbie was the real story in St. Pete) in that marina. I had a nice rolling ride sometimes, but I love that. The tide was too high to get off the boat most of the time for several days, but the boat was sheltered from waves.

[Rob Harv]

What's the scoop on the Loggerhead Marinas?

It looks like they have sep rates at each site and they don't (at least at St. Petes)
allow live-aboards. Yet, you supposedly have privledges at all marinas in their net. Does each location have their own restrictions as well as rates?

So, what happens when you sail from one to another?
Do they ask you to make up the difference in dockage fees?
And, since there is a no live-aboard policy- what are you supposed to do when you arrive at another marina, stay one night and move on?

I am trying to get some experienced advice and background before I "request a slip" from the contact page for them.

TIA

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Remedy

Regatta Pointe marina is a great choice. Located in Palmetto just over the skyway on the Manatee river

I personally am not currently recommending Regatta Pointe. Email me (OP, I'm not here just to gossip). Twin Dolphin, right across the river, is an option.

St. Pete Marina no longer has a 4 year waiting list. You might be able to get right in. The Harborage usually has openings, but they crowd all the live-aboards together as they'd signed up for some giant block party. And, those slips are far away from the marina's facilities.

But the biggest drawback for me for both those marinas is that they're on the east side of St. Pete. It's at least a 4 hour sail to the Gulf of Mexico from there (they're close together).

On the west side of St. Petersburg is Pasadena Marina. Pasadena is sheltered except for a few slips. I stayed on my boat for Debby and while I rocked and rolled a little bit, it wasn't extreme. It has a pool, laundry facilities and nice shower rooms. Everything at Twin Dolphin is a notch up from Pasadena for the same money, but you're in Bradenton, not St. Pete, and it's a 4 hour sail to St. Pete. It's a one-hour sail out the Manatee to the Gulf of Mexiso, but the Manatee River is beautiful and usually the wind is from some point of east or west, making it sailable much of the time.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Rob Harv

What's the scoop on the Loggerhead Marinas?

It looks like they have sep rates at each site and they don't (at least at St. Petes)
allow live-aboards. Yet, you supposedly have privledges at all marinas in their net. Does each location have their own restrictions as well as rates?

So, what happens when you sail from one to another?
Do they ask you to make up the difference in dockage fees?
And, since there is a no live-aboard policy- what are you supposed to do when you arrive at another marina, stay one night and move on?

I am trying to get some experienced advice and background before I "request a slip" from the contact page for them.

TIA

Loggerhead is not accessible for sailboats because of a low bridge in your way.

[TMT2]

I live in Tampa and did some extensive research on live-aboard options for our Gulfstar M53 in the Tampa/St Pete/Bradenton/Tarpon Springs areas just a few months ago. St Pete and Harborage marinas had some openings but I found the prices in the $700-$800 range (for a 53 footer) if you were not a "resident" in the respective town/city limits (Residents get nearly 20% discount). I found Most marinas want a 1-year contract or the price goes up - and you should expect to pay a "live-aboard" fee at a commercial marina in addition to advertised slip fees (around $250 per month in this area). You may consider leasing a private slip - I found a few "opportunities" by cruising Craigslist Tampa but limitations in private slips are pump-out, 50 Amp service and laundry/showers/amenities that a marina normally has. Another option could be to rent a small bungalo/apartment near a desirable marina that does not permit live-aboards but has good services and is a nice place to keep the boat. I currently have a slip at Tampa Harbor Marina up near the Gandy Bridge in the bay for $10 per ft (per month) power, water and security (nice place) are included in that price. They do not permit live-aboards but they do permit you to stay for extended periods on your boat (I stay a week at a time sometimes twice per month). They have a restaurant, pool, bathroom (8am-6pm) but no public shower facilities and 24hr security with cameras and the staff are friendly and attentive. There is a Publix, WalMart, Walgreens and fast food, hardware and convenience stores all within 1 mile of the marina. When you do the math - a small place (on land) close by (bike range) could be reasonable/possible? Hope this helps you with "options?"

Steve
Gulfstar M53 Ketch "Take Me There"
Tampa FL

[the_alpine]

Check out Tierra verde marina.

[Mknebes]

I live just behind the Tierra Verde Marina and they definitely have liveaboards there but right now it has pros and cons. It is under construction with a recent tear down of the old resort and they are in the process of building a GREAT new resort and marina- if you can get grandfathered in it would be an awesome spot. They don't have facilities in place right now- at least I don't see a spot for a shower- but I'm sure they will be coming along. Our island is fantastic with great access to the st Pete beach, Fort DeSoto Park and it's a quick 5 minutes and you are on 275. It's very quiet, clean, and maintained. For sailing or getting out to the gulf- it can't be beat. Out the grand canal- no bridges and you are at the southern point of st Pete beach/ passé a grill, on your left a bit down is Egmont Key- you can see the skyway bridge from the marina- so we find our access to everything can't be beat. Good luck!

Monica

[Mknebes]

Oops- there is a seven eleven, Mobil, hardware station right there as well with restaurants nearby, too!