Long term boat rental?

[Reward]

My wife and I currently live on our boat in Boston part time. We are retiring this year and will be moving aboard full time this year. However, we'd like to head to southwest Fla. during the months of January and February. We love the liveaboard life and would like to rent/lease a boat in southwest Florida, rather than take our boat back and forth each year.
Does anyone know of any sources we could contact that lease or rents on a long term basis? Our only other option would be to rent a cottage near the water. I'd rather be on a boat!

[djmarchand]

Short term rentals for boat are an entirely different situation than short term rental of houses. That is because unlike houses, recreational marine policies do not cover commercial use, and rentals are commercial use.

And short term marine commercial policies are non existent or prohibitively expensive.

So you have to work though a chartering company that maintains a blanket commercial policy for all of its boats. And since January and February is peak chartering time in SW Florida, I don't think you will find anything affordable.

FWIW I looked into short term- 3-4 month two bedroom water front condo rentals in the Punta Gorda area in the winter and they were running $4,000+ per month even through owner rental websites.

David