advice on slip in NE to central Florida

[motoryacht lover]

Contemplating bringing my boat to Florida this winter. Diesel is relatively cheap and my kids will be leaving the house in 2 years. Also not that busy at work. Am thinking of going no further south than Stuart so as to save some money in fuel and price for slips. Figure for spring break Fort Lauderdale is whithin striking distance. Can any of the forum members give me some general info on this area and can you tell me where and who offers the most reasonable slip rates. So far Melbourne seems reasonable they have a slip for a 54 footer for apprx $760/mo plus electricity. That is 200 more a month than what I am currently paying in Wilmington, NC. Thanks for your time.

 

[J's Dream]

I'm in Melbourne, and you can do better than $760/month. Look at Cape Marina, in Port Canaveral; Harbortown Marina, in Merritt Island; Melbourne Harbor Marina, in Melbourne, and Telemar Bay Marina, in Indian Harbour Beach.

Telemar will probably be the most expensive...with not a whole lot near it. Harbortown has several forum members there, and is a very well protected full service marina.

www.capemarina.com
www.harbortownmarina.com
www.melbourneharbor.com

If you need any local info for the Melbourne/Beaches area, let me know.

Oh, and the prices they're quoting can most of the time be negotiated.

Jason

 

[GJH]

Two options in that price range I'll throw out there from personal experience:

http://www.fortpiercecitymarina.com/CityMarinaRates.pdf
http://grandharbor-marina.com/south-florida-marina-rates.htm

Fort Pierce has the advantage of being adjacent to a Class A inlet, making getting down to Palm Beach or Fort Lauderdale a breeze. The marina is right by a quaint downtown, such as that may be, with plenty of services and places to eat. Fuel is reasonable; there is also a commercial dock, Consolidated Petroleum (FKA Port Petroleum) nearby. Good staff at the marina too.

Loggerhead Vero Beach is a very nice facility with pool and workout room, part of an upscale condo/housing development. Not within walking distance of much, but Vero Beach is fun city, a few steps up from most others on the coast in sophistication and amenities. It is a bit of a schlep to the Ft. Pierce inlet from there. A very handy feature is that you get reciprocal privileges at other Loggerheads as long as you are under lease with them. We spent most of last winter at the Loggerhead Hollywood, another upscale and very secure facility. On our way down, we were able to stay at their nice place at Daytona (formerly Carribbean Jacks), Vero, and their at the time not so great Lantana facilities for no extra charge.

You should also look into the Vero Beach Municipal Marina too. It is a better location convenience wise, but not as upscale. A free bus stops nearby that takes you around town and to the beach. We have stayed on their moorings a couple of times, but they have slips as well. 772-231-2819

 

[Boatsb]

Fort Pierce is a great place for boating but a nasty place to live. It is the closest thing to a slum in the surrounding area that I have seen. Although the Marinas are nice and reasonable too the surrounding area makes it less than attractive.

Remember we get storms here so make sure wherever you go there is good shelter or a place to evac too.

I am in Harbortown. It has the best shelter of any marina in the area. The facilities are OK ( Pool and restaurant) and if I bring you in I think you get a free month for the referral. ( I may get one too but I don't remember). Tides are about 1/2 foot and the water is brackish. makes for a nice calm place to leave a boat

The inlet is through the lock to the port. The water is low salinity and the ICW and rivers are just through the manatee zone. If you are not fishing and running off shore a lot the port is crazy as you need to evac if there is a storm coming. They also have tides of about 5 foot there.

 

[motoryacht lover]

Thank you all for your responses.

 

[thoward]

Ft Pierce City Marina was great.