Laws/ Advice for Setting a Private Mooring in Niceville/Destin FL

[Yjsailor]

I'm looking to buy a new boat in the (hopefully) near future. My dock limits me to 28ft and a 9ft beam. Also, the channel getting into our cove is shallow. My catalina 25 fin keel had, at best, a hard time getting out most days and impossible in the winter. Therefore, I'm entertaining the idea of setting a mooring ball just outside our cove so I can get whatever size boat I'd like.
My questions

Is it legal to set a private mooring ball anywhere you'd like outside of channels?

Do I need to get a permit and, if so, who do I get it from?




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[Stu Jackson]

Have you considered aksing your "town fathers?" Instead of us?

[delmarrey]

You need to contact the Harbor Master of your local. Otherwise it would be a state permit. It'll have to meet local regulations if approved.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Yjsailor.

[Tingum]

Trying to get an answer on a fla mooring is a challenge. Better to ask for forgiveness than permission.

[Scot McPherson]

Ask the local coast guard auxilliary, they won't have the answer but they'll know which agency you need to talk to. In Connecticut it would be the DEEP.

[FSMike]

Originally Posted by Tingum

Trying to get an answer on a fla mooring is a challenge. Better to ask for forgiveness than permission.

+1. Probably need local permission, which has probably never been done before, so authority will probably say no automatically.
I'd make up a mooring of 3 big Danforth type anchors chained to a central swivel/chain/buoy. That way it's easy to move if a reason to do so appears.
Keep your boat neat and use it often, you shouldn't have a problem.

[Yjsailor]

I don't think the panhandle has the same mooring dilemma as south FL. It's never been a problem here. I'll ask around locally but, I'm thinking there aren't any laws here or they're not enforced. I have seen a handful of boats moored but not too many. I need to find out before I buy another boat since it is going to influence the size/draft of the boat I get.


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[a64pilot]

What Yj said. I can show you several some moored right beside of a marina, no problems as long as it doesn't look like a derelict


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[Yjsailor]

Shouldn't be a problem keeping it up. We have a place on the water I can keep a dinghy at. That's kind of what I was thinking. Just keep it clean


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[skipmac]

I looked into a mooring in NE Florida and was told by the local companies that set the moorings that anywhere outside any locally controlled harbor you need a permit from the Corp of Engineers.

I was also told that if you don't set a permanent mooring you don't need a permit so my idea was to buy a great big old surplus anchor and drop that. Then it isn't a mooring.

[Randyonr3]

sometimes its a lot easier to say "I'm Sorry" rather than to Get Permisision. If its a subject in your area that is just kinda looked over, you might not want to bring attention to what you are doing..

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Randyonr3

sometimes its a lot easier to say "I'm Sorry" rather than to Get Permisision. If its a subject in your area that is just kinda looked over, you might not want to bring attention to what you are doing..

That was kind of the conclusion I came to when I researched the issue locally. Anchoring is no problem, setting a permanent mooring requires permits which you probably can't get.

However, if your boat is sitting out on the water no one is going to go down to the end of the line off your bow to see what's attached to the other end.

[onestepcsy37]

There is an "anchorage" off my sailing club in daytona beach. This is not a designated anchorage, just a convenient place off the icw where its deep enough to anchor. There are currently 18 boats ranging from 20 to 37 feet out there. All but a few are on moorings which they put down themselves. Most have been there for several years. Not one has been asked to move, although about once a year the police come around and give out tickets for not having an anchor light.

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by skipmac

I looked into a mooring in NE Florida and was told by the local companies that set the moorings that anywhere outside any locally controlled harbor you need a permit from the Corp of Engineers..

That is the information I got as well. I called and they sent me a twenty seven page application to fill out. I gave up on the idea.

I suspect most of the moorings in my area are put there without permits.