Getting a boat in Florida for winter, is that crazy?

[rpackard]

For the past 16 years i have kept one boat in SE Ak for summer Cruising and a second boat in the sea of Cortez for winter cruising. I also have my sailboat on San Francisco Bay For spring and fall. Maintenance has not been a problem because I deal with one boat at a time. Contact me off-line if you want details. It is an excellent plan

[jak430]

DreaminFred
We would like to talk to you about sharing expenses.
We live in Phoenix and had a Boat in the Sea of Cortez Nd in Florida but are now boatless

[Tenedos]

Originally Posted by merrydolphin

I second the guy that recommended Grenada. Relatively inexpensive and you cant find a nicer area of the world to sail in the winter! The whole SE Caribbean is wonderful. Another option is to store the boat in Trinidad.

This would be nice but being in the US and having direct and easy flights to San Francisco and Seattle are important to us. Grenada and Trinidad would be harder for that reason unfortunately.

[Tenedos]

Originally Posted by DShant

Well that's for a big boat. I pay $3500 for a slip and $20k for insurance in Miami but I have a 105'. OP is talking about a 40'.
You have to hunt for a slip. You can't just go to one of the fancy new marinas or you will pay

Thank you for the information, super helpful (and that is a big boat!) This actually doesn't sound terrible. We pay about $1,000 for a 43ft monohull slip in PNW. And your insurance also seems inline with what we pay right now percentage-wise.

[Tenedos]

Originally Posted by Tenedos

We started debating if it would be a crazy idea to get another boat (likely a multihull in 45-50 ft range) in Florida. The idea would be to live and cruise in PNW between April/May and September and in Florida between October and March/April.

Reviving the thread after Ian. We almost wrapped up our cruising in PNW. After a haul-out in early November, we have the tickets to fly to Miami and will spend a few months there, exploring the area and the boats.

Ian made us doubt the plans though. Not sure what we will find when we get there, what to expect for insurance and storage for summer months. Debating whether to delay the plans to the end of of 2023 to see how things will settle and until the impact of economic downturn becomes clearer.

[CarlF]

Compared to cruising the PNW, cruising Florida is awful. Ugly, boring, few great anchorages, crowded, bugs.

But, the Bahamas are only a day away and are a perfect counterpoint to your PNW cruising. Haul the boat for hurricane season in Florida. Launch in November and spend the holidays in Florida when the winter “Norther” winds make the Bahamas a bit rough. Then March-May in the Bahamas.

[chubby]

Originally Posted by Tenedos

This would be nice but being in the US and having direct and easy flights to San Francisco and Seattle are important to us. Grenada and Trinidad would be harder for that reason unfortunately.

if i were in your shoes.. the sea of cortez is where i'd look.



..easy flight to work.
..same time zone.
..is lovely place with lovely people..

..and i'd go there just for the food
...fish tacos in the baja may be the single is one if the world great eating experiences (seriously)


a Peplink max BR1/2 modem paired with startlink plus 1 or 2 local unlimited internet sim(s) = your reliable fast internet (plus redundancy)


simple, and easy.


i love miami.. but as "home" (it is not a cruising area to me)

..i'd base a 2nd boat somewhere near puerto rico or BVI it i desired to be more eastern in winter (virgin islands or san juan would be an additional connection from MIA from a direct flight from SEA)