Possible move to Clearwater area

Brando99

Member
Feb 18, 2014
85
Canyon Lake, Texas
Boat Info
2011 Meridian 391
Engines
Twin Cummins 5.9 QSB 380hp
Hi all,
We are looking at a possible move from Texas to the Clearwater area in the next 18 months. I am looking for marina recommendations. I have always been in fresh water so the move will be a big change for us. I will also be selling my current boat (2009 310 sundancer) due to the fact that it does not have seacore engines. So a boat purchase will also be in the picture. Again any recommendations will be greatly appreciated. We hope to get to the area in early April to check things out.
 
We hit that area a little bit. Seems like there are plenty of marinas. Be forewarned though Clearwater downtown is a little wired as it is dominated by Scientologists. They keep to themselves but it puts a hurt on commercial activity. I hear Dundien is nice with a nice marina.
 
We have kept our boat in Clearwater for a couple of years now.

There are several options for marina's, depending on the size of your boat. Not that many options for larger (over 45ft), that gets a bit more challenging.

We love the area, though it is on the north end of the west coast cruising area. Not much if you want to go north, this is the normal jump off point for the 200NM or so to the Pan handle area. We cruise a lot, so we are always getting on the boat and going south.

Reasons we stay there are two fold, we love the area, and second it is the most convenient spot for traveling in from Texas (we fly in and out of TPA).

As with any location, there are plus/minus considerations.

Ask away, will answer anything I can.
 
Clearwater area can cover a pretty big footprint. The West side of the peninsula is narrow intercoastal waterways, with plenty of opportunities to go outside into the Gulf of Mexico. Beaches are on that side. The East side of the peninsula is Tampa Bay. More notable boating closer to downtown St. Petersburg. Lots of canal homes just North of that. That side will deal with commercial shipping and cruise ships as well coming in and out of Port of Tampa across the bay.
Dunedin is old Florida, although it's losing it's uniqueness. Tarpon Springs is about as far North as you want to go. Winding river to the Gulf, lots of shrimp and sponge diving boats.
St. Pete Beach area (South of Clearwater on the gulf side) has tons of canal homes, condos, and marinas. It is also the tourist mecca, with traffic, and nightlife. If I were going to move to the peninsula, and didn't have to be in Tampa every day, I'd seriously look at Pass-a-Grille. Far South end.
Some of the best protected boating in the US, where you can still belly up to a beach, bar, or both.
 
We thought seriously about moving south, Pass-a-Grille around to St Pete area. For us it was the traffic from the Tampa airport to those locations. Clearwater is the closest trip, easy traffic.

At the end of the day, even without the traffic, we prefer Clearwater over the southern areas of the island.
 
We have kept our boat in Clearwater for a couple of years now.

There are several options for marina's, depending on the size of your boat. Not that many options for larger (over 45ft), that gets a bit more challenging.

We love the area, though it is on the north end of the west coast cruising area. Not much if you want to go north, this is the normal jump off point for the 200NM or so to the Pan handle area. We cruise a lot, so we are always getting on the boat and going south.

Reasons we stay there are two fold, we love the area, and second it is the most convenient spot for traveling in from Texas (we fly in and out of TPA).

As with any location, there are plus/minus considerations.

Ask away, will answer anything I can.


Thanks for the info. Boat size will be between 31 to 35 feet. I currently have a 2009 310 which became the 330. As I come up with questions i will definitely ask. When I google marinas in that area there seems to be many choices. Any marina recommendations to look at would be great.
 
Thanks for the info. Boat size will be between 31 to 35 feet. I currently have a 2009 310 which became the 330. As I come up with questions i will definitely ask. When I google marinas in that area there seems to be many choices. Any marina recommendations to look at would be great.

Pm sent.
 
We thought seriously about moving south, Pass-a-Grille around to St Pete area. For us it was the traffic from the Tampa airport to those locations. Clearwater is the closest trip, easy traffic.

At the end of the day, even without the traffic, we prefer Clearwater over the southern areas of the island.
Agreed. From Bradenton, it's all a hot mess up there, so I just fly out of SRQ. If you have to get to the airport more than once a year, then the more you can avoid the Frankenstein, the better off you will be.
 
keep your current boat....add closed cooling if your worried about it - shouldnt be a problem if the boat has lived in fresh water till now. also, look into rack storage, i rack stored my '05 300 (same size as an '09 310) - as far as seacore drives, they really wont be any better than regular drives if you intend to wet slip full time, inboards would be a better. choice (although not as sandbar friendly)
 
A the more you can avoid the Frankenstein, the better off you will be.
Susan lived in St. Pete years ago and introduced me to so many great idioms... "The Howard Frankenstein Bridge", the state of "New Hampster" and many others...LOL!!!
 
keep your current boat....add closed cooling if your worried about it - shouldnt be a problem if the boat has lived in fresh water till now. also, look into rack storage, i rack stored my '05 300 (same size as an '09 310) - as far as seacore drives, they really wont be any better than regular drives if you intend to wet slip full time, inboards would be a better. choice (although not as sandbar friendly)
I did not know I could add closed cooling. I will look into that. Thank you!
 
We just moved here to the south bay area and will sea trial a 260 'dancer in St Pete this week. We are looking at drystacking in Ruskin and then exploring all the anchorages we can in the area. Looking forward to learning all the places to go here!
 
Hi all,
We are looking at a possible move from Texas to the Clearwater area in the next 18 months. I am looking for marina recommendations. I have always been in fresh water so the move will be a big change for us. I will also be selling my current boat (2009 310 sundancer) due to the fact that it does not have seacore engines. So a boat purchase will also be in the picture. Again any recommendations will be greatly appreciated. We hope to get to the area in early April to check things out.

So any updates you would like to share?
 
So any updates you would like to share?
Still planning on making the move. Hopefully by August 2021. We are planning on the Cape Coral/Punta Gorda area as of now. I had a new 320 sundancer on order (that actually got to the dealer), but due to some unexpected family issues we couldn't finish the deal. I'm in the process of selling my 2009 310 sundancer. I had a buyer 3 weeks ago that spent 2 days looking at the boat and then decided to change his offer to $15K less then the agreed price. Hopefully it sells in the next few months and then I will purchase our next boat.
 
We have kept our boat in Clearwater for a couple of years now.

We love the area, though it is on the north end of the west coast cruising area. Not much if you want to go north, this is the normal jump off point for the 200NM or so to the Pan handle area. We cruise a lot, so we are always getting on the boat and going south.

As with any location, there are plus/minus considerations.

Ask away, will answer anything I can.

can you elaborate on the “west coast cruising area”? What is it? How far does it stretch? What are the destinations? I’m used to Chesapeake Bay cruising where there are a gazillion small shore towns and marinas to visit. Always somewhere to go! What’s cruising like on the west coast of FL?
 
If you are looking at a Map or Chart the northern area is Clearwater then south to the Keys. Clearwater to Fort Meyers you have the option of running outside in the gulf or inside on the ICW. Fort Meyers south is open water in the Gulf down past Naples, Marco Island, then a 4-5 hour run to the Keys.

There are good places every 20-30 miles down to Marco Island.

Overall, I don’t think there are as many options as the Chesapeake where you can jump back and forth both sides of the bay, but there are quite a few on the west coast of FL. Big difference is the seasons, you can be on the boat year around in FL.

We spend 2-3 weeks right after Christmas every year cruising. When you hit January and cold fronts are pushing south, they seem to die out somewhere between Clearwater and Fort Meyers. I have seen it cold and windy in Clearwater (40-50ish and windy when a front comes through), then talk with @carterchapman in Fort Meyers and it is 70 there.

Granted if you are in the Keys in January there may be the occasional front that will push that far south. Since it is open water back to Fort Meyers, you are stuck in the Keys till the weather clears. Once you are back in Fort Meyers you have the ICW that you can run in headed north.

We typically leave Clearwater in December with it 70’s, come back in January and it has cooled off considerably. Never so cool that you have to consider any winterizing.

Some of our favorite stops (besides Clearwater which we love):

St. Petersburg (downtown, city marina)

Anna Maria ( Galati Marina)

Long Boat Key

Sarasota ( Captain Jacks, one of the few places you can “reserve” a mooring ball )

Venice (Crows Nest)

Boca Grande (a favorite)

Useppa Island (private, need to have a contact or sign up for their sales pitch)

South Seas

Punta Gorda

Cape Coral

Downtown Fort Meyers

Fort Meyers beach

Naples

Some like Marco Island, not high on our list

Florida Loop: south to the keys, east to Miami, north to Stuart, west across the lake to Fort Meyers (or the reverse direction).

Couple of days you can be on the east coast of FL. Opens up the whole Bahamas.

Edited my post to add Boca Grande, how could I forget that.
 
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That is fantastic. Exactly what I was asking. Thank you!

But I can't get my head around the concept of "stuck in the Keys". #firstworldproblems :D
 
Edited my post to include Boca Grande - one of our favorites.

Yes, stuck in the Keys is not altogether bad...

All kidding aside, this is great. It's really hard to evaluate boating in another area without actually going there (which is tough to do right now). And no, I don't expect every place (any place?) to have the multitude of potential destinations that the Chesapeake has. But since I don't fish, any place I got to boat has to have destinations. They don't have to by cities or dock bars (although both are good). Decent anchoring spots, small towns, dive locations, etc., are all good. Lack of destinations is what concerns me with retiring south on the (eastern) ICW. But then, I don't know a lot about that stretch, either. And I have plenty of time to learn!

Thx again,
 

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