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

[Tenedos]

We live and cruise in PNW and love it here. We were previously in San Francisco and this is not comparable to what we had back there (even when we sailed down to Ensenada and back to SF).

We have the opportunity to work from the boat and with reliable Internet, we work and cruise. We are currently in Broughtons in British Columbia and it is absolutely gorgeous. That being said, winter does suck in PNW and gets really depressing. It is not cold per se but short, dark and cloudy days make it hard on the soul during winter.

We have been debating whether we should just sail south back to California and Sea of Cortez but summer is so good here, it is difficult to leave. This brings us to alternative thoughts. 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.

Hurricanes in Florida is an obvious worry and not sure if it is practical to leave a boat there during summer months. Also hearing insurance is getting harder and we have no idea about slip prices. Also, not sure if cruising in and around Florida is appealing between October and April.

Before this gets more serious, any suggestions or thoughts about the sanity of the idea?

[Chotu]

Ignoring expenses, it all comes down to time. Do you have enough time to maintain two boats?

I have a few different interests and hobbies like that myself. It starts to get a little frustrating when everything breaks at once. For each toy you have, you have to sacrifice time to maintaining it. I’d say that’s the main thing to think about.

[nightowle]

Living in Seattle, we could heartily agree with your plan. Makes huge sense. If not FL I'd consider Mexico somewhere. Baja, or Puerto Vallarta area. Perhaps Zihuatanejo. Boats are less expensive to maintain in Mexico b/c of labor rates, but parts can be pricey unless you hump them down there yourselves.

[Kijit]

We've actually had the reciprocal thought, since I have aging parents in the PNW and we live on Chesapeake Bay. We have thought about getting another boat in the PNW so that we could spend some extended time out there with my parents and also do some cruising in a new area. The two things that have kept us from seriously looking into it are the maintenance issues and the seasons are the essentially the same. I don't want to get to each boat just to work on it every time I get to it! For seasons, we could head out in the middle of summer when it is hot and humid on the Chesapeake, but in winter it would kind of be like pick your poison! Anyway, the seasons work for you, so I think what you are thinking of is a great idea if you can deal with the maintenance issues.


Gerhard

[rphdiego]

Great idea! We live and work in the PNW and own a boat there for summer cruises. We just bought a 40' monohull in Grenada and plan on spending winters there. The boat is stored on land at a secure yard that will strap it down incase of a hurricane. Professional labor is around $70 per hour. Easy to ship large items with a broker based in Miami.

[DreaminFred]

We’ve been doing a similar program, but our current thinking may complement yours. Have a Beneteau 40cc in South Georgia and have cruised Fl/Bahamas last few winters. But we live in PHX, possibly the nicest place in the world Nov-March weather-wise. For that reason we’re going to cruise Chesapeake to Maine next summer-fall. Maybe you (or other competent sailors) would like to use our boat with minimal financial commitment? 2nd party takes care of the boat Nov-April, we take care of the boat May-NOV. NOt looking to share ownership, just use and maintenance costs.

F

[Dooglas]

Sounds good to me. I boat in the Northwest and BC. A friend has a boat based in Cape Coral (Pine Island area) near Fort Myers. I have visited him frequently. All of my Florida boating experience has been in the winter months (November to April). It is a great time on the water in South Florida. It appears to me that slips, summer storage, and maintenance are no more expensive in Florida than back home. Don't know much about recent insurance changes or restrictions.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Tenedos

We live and cruise in PNW and love it here. We were previously in San Francisco and this is not comparable to what we had back there (even when we sailed down to Ensenada and back to SF).

We have the opportunity to work from the boat and with reliable Internet, we work and cruise. We are currently in Broughtons in British Columbia and it is absolutely gorgeous. That being said, winter does suck in PNW and gets really depressing. It is not cold per se but short, dark and cloudy days make it hard on the soul during winter.

We have been debating whether we should just sail south back to California and Sea of Cortez but summer is so good here, it is difficult to leave. This brings us to alternative thoughts. 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.

Hurricanes in Florida is an obvious worry and not sure if it is practical to leave a boat there during summer months. Also hearing insurance is getting harder and we have no idea about slip prices. Also, not sure if cruising in and around Florida is appealing between October and April.

Before this gets more serious, any suggestions or thoughts about the sanity of the idea?

I am from the PNW and have done a similar thing. We had a boat in Florida, twice actually. But when we did we didn't have one in the PNW. The proximity to the Bahamas is what I really like. Florida is great Oct-May or so. Too hot otherwise.
Beware it can rain like heck on an hour's notice in Florida on a sunny day. I've been in afternoon rainstorms that the sky turned dark like nightime after a clear blue start! Constant sheet lightning with no thunder for 1.5 hours.
PNW is more drizzly but grey and depressing in the winter for sure.

So winter in Fl or the Sea of Cortez is great, and spring/summer in the PNW. Done both those, like 'snowbirds'.

[bullislandken]

That could be a working solution for me. Can I communicate with you directly about that plan?

[bullislandken]

That was for Dreaminfred.

[mickand]

Hurricane season/summer storage - plenty spots to leave a boat on the hard - power required to run a dehumidifier.
Slips in winter season - Getting expensive and scarce.
Anchorages - many many.
Bahamas - cruising around Florida, particularly Gulf Coast and Keys is fantastic, but proximity to the Islands adds another dimension - you could play there for years.
You only live once!

[waterman46]

Its a perfect plan if you have lots of time and deep pockets. You will love FL in winter. Get a multihull and cruise west coast there. Hundreds of great destinations for shoal draft, beam reaching north and south in flat warm Gulf waters. Key West amazing. But anything marine is much more expensive than PNW.

[Monepit]

That’s a great plan. We live in Florida and the winters are beautiful. Fort Myers beach would be a great place. The slip will be about 800to 1000 a month. You can put it on the hard at River Forest in LaBelle for about the same price. And it’s safe from hurricanes. We have many friends that do just that. We keep outs in St Petersburg close to home and travel to Ft Myers in the winter with plans to do the keys and Bahamas in the future.

[j.g.evans]

I approached what you are suggesting by having a boat in the summer in NJ and a boat in FL for the winter. I used FL for a base to store the boat over the summer and jump off to the Bahamas for the winter. Boating in FL is so-so while the Bahamas is terrific. I spent 12 years jumping off to the
Bahamas for 6 months at a time. The cost of living in the Bahamas was very low for I anchored rather than using marinas. Unlike FL there are no anchoring restrictions.

The fellow who bought my boat kept it in Fl and spent a fortune in marinas. This was not his plan.
You may want to check with catamaran owners about the cost of your plan. I stored my monohull sailboat inexpensively in grubby DIY yards. Many marinas and yards can't haul catamarans. Catamarans are very popular and thus will cost you more than a monohull.

[Peterbreit]

Monepit, which marinas in Ft. Myers Beach charge less then 1k per month? I spent the last 3 winters in the Matanzas Mooring field but would love to stay in a marina. Any suggestions are much appreciated. I also liked the Burned Store marina, but it got expensive too and is a bit shallow for my 6' draft. I also noted during last winter that several marinas do not like long term leases. Because they make significant more money with transient boaters. Mooring fields don't accept boats of more than 40' LOA. Obviously adding mooring balls but putting them closer together.