# East coast of florida!!



## sailforlife (Sep 14, 2016)

Hello Friends looking for the best live aboard marinas in the East coast of FL any advice would be greatly appreciated!! 

Ps. If you can provide monthly cost even better!

:captain::captain::boat :


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## capta (Jun 27, 2011)

I don't know if it is still allowed, but back when, you could rent a slip very reasonably behind the small motels in the Las Olas Isles in Lauderdale. Very convenient to town and the beach.
Unless you are well heeled, you probably won't find a reasonably priced marina slip anywhere south of St Lucie.


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## sailforlife (Sep 14, 2016)

Anyone have any experience with the Titusville marina?


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## capta (Jun 27, 2011)

I know it can get cold up there in the winter! I've seen snow in Jax. Really, snow!


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## Don L (Aug 8, 2008)

There's no "best" and even to give suggestions you would need to list what you want in a marina.


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## sailforlife (Sep 14, 2016)

Don0190 said:


> There's no "best" and even to give suggestions you would need to list what you want in a marina.


Safety, Clean showers and bathrooms ,easy access to ICW , Cool town with restaurants and shops.

:captain::captain::svoilier:


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Having done both, I strongly prefer to be at a marina with a travel lift too. When you need it, having to motor elsewhere can be a real PITA. Often, the marina will just tow you over to haul out. Don't even need to be home. 

Thru hull repair, stuffing boxes, transmission, prop repair, etc, are all reasons we've needed a quick haul in the past. For that matter, hurricance hauling is critical too and the yards always take their own first. 

Can't help with specific recommendations, but as far as I can tell from up here, FL is moving the other way from liveaboards and trying to make it more difficult.


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## Don L (Aug 8, 2008)

You ever heard of ActiveCaptain? In the 10 hours you have been waiting to get the lowdown on all the marinas in FL you could have read real reviews for ones in the locations you are interested in.


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## cdy (Nov 10, 2013)

Marina availability along the east coast of Florida has changed dramatically since Irma - many small marinas and private docks were destroyed - the boats that survived then looked to remaining marinas for openings - sucking up slips and probably increasing rates into 2018 - there really is nothing overly affordable along the intracoastal with the amenities you want - forget West Palm and south if you are on a budget and want a slip - you might check out Ft Pierce - has a new city marina - Stuart could be a choice. Green Cove Springs - Reynolds Park Marina if you don't mind being on St Johns River - its neighbor GCS Marina has liveaboards and decent rates but only mooring balls that have vacancies - but the bathrooms are horrible.

Titusville Marina is a possibility - but maybe no vacancies - the town is nothing to write home about - the beach is close however and great views of rocket launches.


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## Don L (Aug 8, 2008)

GCS is a ****hole! I’ll leave it at that.


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## cdy (Nov 10, 2013)

I assume you are speaking of the marina - Reynolds which is about a mile away has much nicer facilities - the marinas are located south of town -not easily walk-able - and its a small town - nice park on the river - a couple of decent restaurants for lunch - but not a hotbed of activity . The St Johns is actually quite nice for sailing between Green Cove and downtown Jax - if your stick is 45 feet and under you can cruise all the way down to Sanford. 

GCS Marina is popular because - it has cheap rates for long term out of water storage and its a do - it yourself yard which is hard to find. The bathroom facilities make the rest room at a 7-11 look luxurious.


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## Don L (Aug 8, 2008)

I got married in gcs 35 years ago and spent dec 2016 there. It’s a ****hole and the town isn’t much better. It may be cheap but you can’t walk to anywhere. You go there for a cheap diy yard or boat strorage, neither of which is the thread topic.


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## sailforlife (Sep 14, 2016)

Don0190 said:


> GCS is a ****hole! I'll leave it at that.


So you are saying you are not a fan ? :laugh:laugh :2 boat:


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## Don L (Aug 8, 2008)

sailforlife said:


> So you are saying you are not a fan ? :laugh:laugh :2 boat:


Even the air was bad and I went through a whole bottle of allergy pills. I'm sure glad I never fell in the water!!

It was a cheap monthly mooring, but once you factor in having to rent a car it is a false economy.


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## Skipper Jer (Aug 26, 2008)

sailforlife said:


> Anyone have any experience with the Titusville marina?


I stayed there for a night or two a few years back. Nice place, great people.


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## travlin-easy (Dec 24, 2010)

I found the Marathon City Marina very nice while living aboard in the Florida Keys, great weather most of the year, but some folks thought it was too hot and humid in July and August when the weather there was not nearly as bad as Baltimore at the time. My Morgan 33 Out Island was tied to the bulkhead of the marina near the end, and it cost me $758 a month including water and electricity.

A mooring ball cost about $300 a month and included a weekly pumpout done at your boat by their pumpout crews, a parking space for your car and dinghy dockage. It had a six washing machine and dryer room with stainless steel clothes folding tables, but it was a bit pricey. There were lots of showers, and they were cleaned three times a day by the crew. They had three work shops that you could use for any of your repair projects. One guy fiberglassed his dinghy there and it took him about a week to complete the project. Another guy custom made a hardtop bimini from scratch, and it took him a month to make, but it looked fantastic when it was done. They also had bike racks that allowed you to lock your bike in place, free post office other than postage, UPS dropped stuff off there as well, great tiki hut next to the dinghy dock, free barb-b-que grills, happy hour with live music every Friday night, happy hour every day at the tiki hut at 4 till 6 p.m. or until you decided to quit, one block from the American Legion, two blocks from Home Depot, half mile to the Liquor store, 1 mile to the Publix store, same distance to K-Mart, propane refill across US1 from the marina entrance, large park adjacent to the premises, 1 mile from large WM store, ice machine on premises that cost $2 for 6-pounds, free Wi-Fi, large library, and some very nice people. Last year it was hit pretty hard by the hurricane, but in reality, hurricanes rarely hit the lower keys. You can verify this with a quick google search. 

One of the things I really enjoyed was my weekly trips through Sister Creek and offshore sailing to the outer edges of the reef where I found lots of wonderful fish to catch and eat. I managed to catch dinner as often as I wished, mostly mahi, king mackerel, flannel mouth grunt, porgy, an occasional grouper, yellowtail snapper, mangrove snapper, mutton snapper, Spanish mackerel and cero mackerel. Once in a while, I would catch a spiny lobster right from the bulkhead wall, but the season is often closed when I wanted one most.  

The sailing opportunities in the keys varies with wind direction, however most of the time when Hawk Channel was choppy and the offshore seas were towering, I was able to slip beneath 7 mile bridge and go to the gulf side and have a wonderful day of sailing on relatively calm waters with a great wind. Because the gulf side of the keys is relatively shallow, just 5 to 7 feet in most places, there was not enough depth for the waves to build. However, there are lots of coral heads that you had to be aware of, most of which are listed on the charts, though. Great mangrove snapper fishing near those coral heads, and some of those snappers measured up to 18 inches long. They tasted sooooo good! 

It's rainy season in the keys when summer rolls around and there are usually daily rain storms, but for the most part they are short lived, but can be strong. The same holds true for most of south Florida, though. Throughout winter, the temperatures range from 70 to 80 during the day, and down to the low 60s or less at night. There is an occasional cold front that will come through and drop those daytime temperatures down to the mid 50s, which is when all the locals can be seen wearing heavy coats, while the Yankees from up north are still walking around in shorts, tee shirts and flip flops. Everything is relative.

So, the rest is up to you and how much your budget can tolerate.

Good luck,

Gary


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

From Key West to Jax is what, eight or nine hours if the roads are clear? That "east coast" can be a very different place depending on where you are. From Fort Laud south, liveaboards are often shunned and prohibited until you hit the Keys. And then if you live in the Keys, you have a problem in hurricane season. Even if you have a car, there's only that one evacuation route and it bogs down easily.

Unless you're looking for the Keys lifestyle, I'd say not to look at Palm Beach county or southwards, the prices only go up and the crowds with them. Snow in Jax...It happens, but the odds are you can survive for the 48 hours till it goes away and becomes the stuff of legend again.(G)


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## Don L (Aug 8, 2008)

hellosailor said:


> From Key West to Jax is what, eight or nine hours if the roads are clear?


9:07 if it goes perfectly

and 25-30 degrees

:ship-captain:


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## RegisteredUser (Aug 16, 2010)

He's not really serious yet - just doing/asking for research at this point.
This site is a playground....


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## RegisteredUser (Aug 16, 2010)

Never been there, but I've heard many people like Indiantown, inland 25-30 miles, and less expensive than the coast.
With marina and boat storage costs increasing on east and west coasts in FL, there have been more boat friendly developments along the Waterway between the coasts.


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## sailforlife (Sep 14, 2016)

RegisteredUser said:


> He's not really serious yet - just doing/asking for research at this point.
> This site is a playground....


Found a guy to work the boat starts in 2 weeks. Hopping to splash by March need a marina soon.

:ship-captain:


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## cdy (Nov 10, 2013)

Indiantown is good place to store the boat - on land - and/or work on it - crappy place to be if you want to sail - have to motor back 30 miles or so to Stuart area and go through one lock -


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## travlin-easy (Dec 24, 2010)

I agree, Indiantown is a great hurricane hole, a bit pricey, and I think you can find a better deal in Stuart, which is a shot run to the ocean and some great sailing and fishing.

Gary


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## fallard (Nov 30, 2009)

travlin-easy said:


> I agree, Indiantown is a great hurricane hole, a bit pricey, and I think you can find a better deal in Stuart, which is a shot run to the ocean and some great sailing and fishing.
> 
> Gary


Twenty years ago we did an overnight at Indiantown and continued on to Manatee Pocket in Stuart, where we left our boat for a week and a half. The marina in Manatee Pocket was rather pricey-over $500 IIRC. It was a very nice marina, but was 98% sport fishermen.


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## travlin-easy (Dec 24, 2010)

Yep, Manatee Pocket is very expensive. I stayed at a boat yard at the back end of the creek. No charge there, but when I left them and went down to the Yacht Club, which is now in the hands of the adjacent condo development, the rates were outrageous. About $120 a night for my 33 footer, and they wanted extra for water and electric, which I refused to use. I just need a place to tie up for the night. Later, I learned that there were several private marinas in the area that charged very reasonable rates, but most did not permit live aboards.

The place where had the repairs done and stayed for a week, I believe, was A & J Boatworks http://www.ajboatworks.com/ 
. I spent a week there while they worked on my boat, nothing major, only cost me about $350 for them to replace my Obendorfer Pump and redo my packing gland. Had to wait for the pump to be shipped from Rock Hall, MD, though, which is why it took so long. They refused to charge me slip rent and I lived on the boat while I was waiting.

Gary


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