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Old 18-07-2017, 13:50   #1
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Floridians-Need some advice

We will temporarily be living in Florida while catamaran shopping. What would be a good "home base" in which to rent an apartment for six months or so that is relatively central to major harbors, close to highways, and might have some interesting things to occupy our time in between looking at boats as they come on the market?

Thanks in advance for your advice.
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Old 18-07-2017, 14:01   #2
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Floridians-Need some advice

Downtown St. Petersburg! Great food, reasonably priced and fun town.

East coast go to Delray Beach or Pompano Beach--- but along the ocean.
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Old 19-07-2017, 03:18   #3
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Re: Floridians-Need some advice

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, girlie.
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Old 19-07-2017, 03:41   #4
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Re: Floridians-Need some advice

I am in palm beach county. If looking for a cat, Fort Lauderdale or pompano would be good bets.
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Old 19-07-2017, 05:33   #5
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Re: Floridians-Need some advice

It's tough to say, because you basically have four major areas where boats get bought and sold -- Jacksonville, Miami, Ft Myers, and Tampa Bay. Look at a map and you'll see the problem. These are your major areas, but of course, boats get sold all over the state.

You could locate centrally in Orlando. Not too far from any of these areas, but not very close, either. Or pick one and travel to the others.

The Dade/Broward area, from Miami up to about Pompano, is probably the busiest area for boat sales. But then, it is also the most expensive area to stay in, and the boats that get bought and sold there probably average higher prices.

For modest priced boats, more probably get sold on the west coast between Clearwater and Ft Myers. Though a fair amount are also available in the Keys.

Good to remember that Florida is a big state, too. If you are based in St Pete, and want to go see something up in the Pensacola area, that's a good, solid seven hours of driving to get there.

Maybe the best plan is not a fixed base, but move around to different areas, looking at the boats available in each.

Good luck.
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Old 19-07-2017, 05:51   #6
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Re: Floridians-Need some advice

Just my opinion, Cats are in the higher end of the market and the greatest numbers are located in South Fla, near Ft Lauderdale and Miami. One canal in Ft Lauderdale will have more Cats than all of Green Cove Springs and Jacksonville combined. Go where the item is your looking for. I just counted 15 Cats on one street off Las Olas Blvd. Good luck, in your boat hunting.

Good news a ton of boats and ever marine service can be found. The bad news, S Fla is very expensive.
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Old 19-07-2017, 10:13   #7
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Re: Floridians-Need some advice

Eau Gallie has lower costs and is centrally located where you can day trip in/out of most Florida locations mentioned earlier in the thread. This will keep your lodging costs down. Orlando also has great summertime hotel pricing. Bundle your south Florida & Keys trips together. There is a good-sized cat yard on Key Largo - Atlantic side.
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Old 19-07-2017, 10:28   #8
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Re: Floridians-Need some advice

Anywhere SE Fl is good. A lot of inexpensive places along there. Canaveral to Lauderdale etc. Ft Pierce etc. Heck, talk to an old motel owner on Cocoa Beach!
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Old 20-07-2017, 09:05   #9
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Re: Floridians-Need some advice

nThanks for the input. We're retired, so will be able to make day trips or overnighters as needed. Cats don't come on the market all that often, so we anticipate a trip or two a month. The major ports are soooooo spaced out that it's hard to find a central location, except for central Florida, which is really not very interesting. Been to Downtown St. Petes and loved it, so it's already on the short list. Any other cities that provide some interesting cultural/gastronomic experiences with which to entertain ourselves between checking out boats that are new to the market?

Just some background, we live on the West Coast, and it's going to be more efficient and cheaper to just stay in Florida for a while, rather than try to fly back and forth to go see a boat that has been sold by the time we get there :/
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Old 20-07-2017, 09:34   #10
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Re: Floridians-Need some advice

We are Pac NW. rental cars are cheap in FL , we rented by the month once. on the SE coast of FL, it's an easy drive up and down the coast .
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Old 20-07-2017, 12:19   #11
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Re: Floridians-Need some advice

The canal in Fort Lauderdale with all the cats is a cat dealership called justcatamarans. might be the reason.
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