Docking Options for FL catamaran?

[Thenaz007]

Any advice for docking a 47' x 26' catamaran in FL without breaking the bank? Slips appear to be $100K and up plus fees. It almost looks like a small home on a sizable canal might be a better deal and able to be financed? Can I dig my own slip extension into property off a canal to avoid excursion restrictions? Really Appreciate the help!

[DotDun]

Originally Posted by Thenaz007

Any advice for docking a 47' x 26' catamaran in FL without breaking the bank? Slips appear to be $100K and up plus fees. It almost looks like a small home on a sizable canal might be a better deal and able to be financed? Can I dig my own slip extension into property off a canal to avoid excursion restrictions? Really Appreciate the help!

Florida is a big state, need to narrow to the area you're looking at.

You slip pricing looks very reasonable compare to 'sizable canal' property in my geography.

[crazycat]

Don't know where you are looking in Florida, but Miami and Ft Lauderdale don't have many good options for us cat guys. Miami is a bank breaker Ft Lauderdale is better the river is a option but deeper inland on the wide parts

[valhalla360]

$100k to buy sounds pretty good. If you put that in mortgage terms, it's around $600/month. You would be hard pressed to rent a slip in a nice marina for anywhere close to that for a boat your size.

I wouldn't say you couldn't dig a slip into your property but it's probably a lot of hassle with local zoning and enivironmental clearances, etc...

[Knucklehead]

Since I do not live in Florida, but, having sailed up/down the ICW, two things come to mind.
- 46 ft Cat mast height might be more than the 65 ft heights of the bridges. Thus restricting where to dock
- cheaper to buy house on canal with appropriate sized pier, dock boat, rent house voila!


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[Thenaz007]

The $100K slip I was referring to has an add'l $300 in monthly condo fees. Investing 5 years before cruising has limited appeal. I am also considering having a cheap place in Florida within a few hours of Orlando for family / snowbird / retirement. If I found that inexpensive ($250K) river home that just happened to be consistent with nestling a 47 X 26' Cat alongside I could work on killing two birds with one stone.

[DotDun]

Originally Posted by Thenaz007

The $100K slip I was referring to has an add'l $300 in monthly condo fees. Investing 5 years before cruising has limited appeal. I am also considering having a cheap place in Florida within a few hours of Orlando for family / snowbird / retirement. If I found that inexpensive ($250K) river home that just happened to be consistent with nestling a 47 X 26' Cat alongside I could work on killing two birds with one stone.

Better check bridge heights on that river.

[scuba0_1]

Tampa, st pete. Charlotte Harbor. North ft Meyers, lots of docks they're

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[Thenaz007]

I am actually considering 40-47' cats - I understand the bridge and ICW mast height clearance concerns. If I prep for the bigger cat then it still remains an option :-)

[DotDun]

Originally Posted by Thenaz007

I am actually considering 40-47' cats - I understand the bridge and ICW mast height clearance concerns. If I prep for the bigger cat then it still remains an option :-)

Oh, your OP sounded like you already own the boat.

New 44-47' cats are taller than ICW bridges (FP, Leopard, Lagoon).

Your reference to a 'river' doesn't imply ICW to me...there are a lot of rivers in Florida that are not part of the ICW, hence my caution.

Good Luck!

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Thenaz007

The $100K slip I was referring to has an add'l $300 in monthly condo fees. Investing 5 years before cruising has limited appeal. I am also considering having a cheap place in Florida within a few hours of Orlando for family / snowbird / retirement. If I found that inexpensive ($250K) river home that just happened to be consistent with nestling a 47 X 26' Cat alongside I could work on killing two birds with one stone.

That's why I said it sounded pretty good. For our 34X14 cat we were looking at $700/month in miami for a marina slip a couple years back and we could fit in a normal slip. So, $100k plus $300/month condo fees isn't bad for the market.

Another alterantive to consider is if there is a mooring field in the area. Those are usually much cheaper, though less convienent.

Boats aint cheap.

[TacomaSailor]

Gasparilla Marina in SW part of Charlotte Harbor about 25 miles North of Ft Myers.

They just gave me a quote of $756/month for a 51' x 28' slip for the catamaran we are trying to buy.

[TacomaSailor]

Originally Posted by Thenaz007

I am actually considering 40-47' cats - I understand the bridge and ICW mast height clearance concerns. If I prep for the bigger cat then it still remains an option :-)

You need to be really careful about the houses/marinas you consider! We have been working on the same problem (big - wide catamaran) in SW Florida.

We found a very nice marina with some great condos overlooking it. There were no overhead obstructions. But, after several phone calls and close examination of charts we found that there was a lock between the marina and deep water. The lock is only 19' wide.

We looked at several "inexpensive" canal houses in the SW / Yacht Club section of Cape Coral. We found a couple older homes with nice docks in the $250,000 range. Again, close examination of the charts showed overhead power lines on the two main canals out to deep water. Each power line was at 55-feet.

The identical homes on the deep water side of the power lines are $150,000 more.

Most of the canals are only 50' wide and I am pretty sure you can not put a 26' wide catamaran on a dock to block most of the canal. There are a number of 100' wide canals but, the home owners know there value, and charge a premium for the wider canals.

We found a nice home in St. James City, on the south tip of Pine Island, with a 100' canal and plenty of room for a big cat - BUT - it is 8-miles out to water that is more than 5-feet deep with a channel that is more than 400-yards wide.

The St James City location is pretty good but it is 8-miles to a little grocery store and 18-miles to any other kind of shopping.

All the Caloosahatchee River bridges (between Cape Coral and Ft. Myers) are 55' which is much shorter than the ICW standard.

... and so it goes.

[DotDun]

Originally Posted by TacomaSailor

You need to be really careful about the houses/marinas you consider! We have been working on the same problem (big - wide catamaran) in SW Florida.

We found a very nice marina with some great condos overlooking it. There were no overhead obstructions. But, after several phone calls and close examination of charts we found that there was a lock between the marina and deep water. The lock is only 19' wide.

We looked at several "inexpensive" canal houses in the SW / Yacht Club section of Cape Coral. We found a couple older homes with nice docks in the $250,000 range. Again, close examination of the charts showed overhead power lines on the two main canals out to deep water. Each power line was at 55-feet.

The identical homes on the deep water side of the power lines are $150,000 more.

Most of the canals are only 50' wide and I am pretty sure you can not put a 26' wide catamaran on a dock to block most of the canal. There are a number of 100' wide canals but, the home owners know there value, and charge a premium for the wider canals.

We found a nice home in St. James City, on the south tip of Pine Island, with a 100' canal and plenty of room for a big cat - BUT - it is 8-miles out to water that is more than 5-feet deep with a channel that is more than 400-yards wide.

The St James City location is pretty good but it is 8-miles to a little grocery store and 18-miles to any other kind of shopping.

All the Caloosahatchee River bridges (between Cape Coral and Ft. Myers) are 55' which is much shorter than the ICW standard.

... and so it goes.

FWIW, any (narrow) waterway (includes all waterways with ocean access, AFAIK) controlled by the USCG have restrictions on adjacent property owners to encroach only 25% of the waterway. Hence, unless you're up to applying for a variance to USCG/Army Corp of Engineers/etc., plan accordingly to your expectations of mooring a boat alongside a narrow waterway. Permanently mooring vs. moored for loading/unloading are considered different use cases (I believe).

[Sailingcouple13]

Look at "Gulf Harbors" New Port Richey, FL. Wide canals 150'+ no bridges, just north of Tarpon Springs,FL. Our overall length 50'+ with 25' beam no problem. Great value, Google map it we have many cats in here. Regulations here on our 150 ft wide canal allowed us to utilize 50 ft of the water way. Two hours from Disney, private beach.

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