Boat Ownership in Florida

[FootballFan]

Getting closer to our next step, moving our boating experience to Florida.

Looking at Sedan Bridges in the 45-50 range, 2009 or newer.

I have done searches on locations, marinas, and insurance. Lots of good information - however - a lot of it is from postings a few years back.

Would love feedback on current conditions, Specifically:

Insurance:

Read a lot about insurance in several threads around the 2007-8 range. Have conditions changed? There was a 6 or 10 county area that had an automatic 10% deductible for named storms - Is that accurate? What are rates like as a % of boat value? Impact of keeping a boat there, but living out of state? Any strategies for managing this?

thanks in advance, I am sure there will be more questions.

 

[Ididntdoit]

I kept my boat on merritt island -the insurance (as well as storage) was a third of what it would have been in palm beach or miami dade - its just a much longer run to the keys! As an "absentee owner" there were only 2 companies that would write it - I was with Progressive - NBOA is a great resource for insurance.

 

[FootballFan]

Appreciate that input. Trying to get a feel for what costs are going to be - not just insurance but in general.

If you don't mind me asking, as an absentee owner, how did you approach the "who is watching the boat" question. Do you rely on Marina staff? Did you hire a local captain to check on the boat once a week?

thanks

 

[JC3]

Football Fan, I have been an "absentee owner" 2007. We have our boat in a gated marina so no worries there. The biggest thing is being away from the boat for 3 or 4 months at a time. One time longer. I always spend the first 3 days cleaning. Last 2 days final maint because i will be gone for awhile. The Florida sun is just brutal on a boat but thats boating. Bottom always needs cleaning and a thousand other little things to do. That being said, I would not do anything differently. We bought our boat for semi retirement and its almost here. I almost know the boat pretty well after all these years. If we can get by just a little longer (daughter jr in college) we will have it "woped". Early spring the boat is going to get a make over it deserves. The maint of boats left unattended is almost overwhelming but if you can get to the boat every 3 months or so, have a good maint person/mech etc... its doable. If you would like to email me just leave it on this thread & i will leave my email address for you. BTW, the places you can go and the things you can see are almost unlimited. Keys, Bahamas, fishing, cruising all year round make it all worth while to me and my family. Good luck, JC

 

[Gofirstclass]

One thing to keep in mind is that there are huge differences between a "boat policy" and a "yacht policy". You're about to make a big investment in a boat--don't cheap out and buy the lowest cost insurance you can get.

Spend some time talking with the Marine Insurance people you see advertising in boating magazines. As them the questions you have, rather than just fishing for info on here. Don't get me wrong, this is a great website, but you're asking people who are only vaguely familiar with their boat's insurance to give you answers that you likely will base your insurance purchase on. Would you also ask us to give you information on how to do open heart surgery on yourself?

 

[Mystic Dreamer]

I find the Tampa/ St. Pete current yacht insurance market is about 1.5% of agreed value annually, which I think is common throughout Florida. If you want Bahamas coverage, it is a little more. Named storm deductible 10% is the norm... just a fact of life of boating in paradise.

Lots of "absentee" owners in Florida. Talk to the dockmaster of the marina you are considering. They typically will have resources for boat checks, diving, cleanings, etc.

 

[ttmott]

The most comprehensive policy at the best competitive rates for me were through McGriff, Seibels & Williams, Inc as brokers. I believe they have me in their MSW Marine Insurance Program with Progressive as the underwriter. Deductables depend upon the part of the boat (ie the electronics have a different deductable than the engines for example) and I don't recall a separate deductable for named storms but it could be there. There is no requirement to haul out in preparation for a storm, that is the owner's / marina's decision. Also the Bahama's rider is only like $150 per year. This is for Central Florida East Coast.

 

[FootballFan]

Football Fan, I have been an "absentee owner" 2007. We have our boat in a gated marina so no worries there. The biggest thing is being away from the boat for 3 or 4 months at a time. One time longer. I always spend the first 3 days cleaning. Last 2 days final maint because i will be gone for awhile. The Florida sun is just brutal on a boat but thats boating. Bottom always needs cleaning and a thousand other little things to do. That being said, I would not do anything differently. We bought our boat for semi retirement and its almost here. I almost know the boat pretty well after all these years. If we can get by just a little longer (daughter jr in college) we will have it "woped". Early spring the boat is going to get a make over it deserves. The maint of boats left unattended is almost overwhelming but if you can get to the boat every 3 months or so, have a good maint person/mech etc... its doable. If you would like to email me just leave it on this thread & i will leave my email address for you. BTW, the places you can go and the things you can see are almost unlimited. Keys, Bahamas, fishing, cruising all year round make it all worth while to me and my family. Good luck, JC

email sent in PM -- thank you

 

[FootballFan]

Thank you all for your comments on this thread. Trying to sort through a lot of issues. One challenge is the chicken and the egg - trying to at least get some idea about insurance (cost + requirements, with requirements a big question at this point).

Just got off the phone with Progressive, they told me it was over their dollar limit.

Appreciate the input about boat vs yacht coverage - good information.

thanks all

Still gathering input if anyone thinks of anything.

This will be absentee ownership. Not solid on specific location - FLL, MIA, or Fort Meyers.

thanks

 

[joelkoz]

Still gathering input if anyone thinks of anything.

This will be absentee ownership. Not solid on specific location - FLL, MIA, or Fort Meyers.

FootballFan -

I was in your situation about 3 years ago. I wanted to get a boat in Florida to use as a "condo" as well as a boat, so I wanted something large. I was going to be an absentee owner living in Indiana and flying in to use the boat, so that was also an issue also for me.

While trying to get specifics on costs like you are, most answered "if you have to ask, you can't afford it." I didn't find that particularly helpful. "Expensive" means different things to different people. That being said, owning a boat of this size DOES have a LOT of costs involved that you wouldn't think about at first, so depending on your financial situation, the dream may be "costly" or "impossible." First and foremost, acquisition costs is NOTHING compared to the care and feeding of one. Insurance is only one part, and frankly, its the least of your worries. But, to answer your question, insurance is usually based on hull value, and it works about to be about 1.5% of the boat value per year.

For a boat of that size, you'll have no choice but to keep it in a slip if your keeping it in South Florida. You just can't dry dock a boat of that size unless you are only going to be using it VERY few times a year, as the haul out fees can be near $500 per haul out. Even then, you'd have to pay yard fees for dry storage. I am unaware of any place that has dry storage for a 50ft+ boat in South Florida intended for anything OTHER than repairs.

Slip fees in South Florida run anywhere from $1 to $3 per foot per day, with slight discounts for monthly an annual leases. The closer you are to an inlet, the more expensive the slip. My slip fee, for example, is around $21 per foot per month for storage in Delray Beach. It takes me 50 minutes to get from my marina to the Boca Inlet to get out to the ocean. Since I'm so far away, the slip fees are a little cheaper.

So, right there, for a 50ft boat worth $500k, you are looking at around $7,500 per year for insurance, but at least $12,600 per year for a slip fee. Also - that does NOT include electricity. I pay around $150 per month for electricity, as I run my A/C units 24 x 7 x 365. Running the A/C keeps the interior dried out and prevents mold from forming. It also keeps the interior equipment cool, and it exercises the A/C equipment. Nothing is worse for boat parts than to sit idle for months in the salt air.

Next, because your boat is in the water all the time, you'll need to have the bottom painted annually and cleaned monthly. I have mine scraped twice per month for a charge of about $2 per foot each time. Bottom paint, including haul out, is about $80 per foot per year (or another $4k).

Next, you need to think about oil changes for the engines (about once per year unless you REALLY use the boat a lot), which will run about $1,400 for twin diesels. Then oil changes for the generator (about $200 every 100 hours). Annual service on the air conditioning units (about $1,300).

You'll want to have the boat waxed two to three times per year (about $18 per ft each time), and the boat washed to keep the crud and salt water off of it twice per month ($2 per ft per wash).

You'll have other things also, like replacing zincs, generator impellers, cleaning out A/C and generator strainers, etc. They don't add up to much relative to the above costs, but they are still a couple of thousand per year all combined.

The above is just the general carrying costs NOT including the cost of capital. If you have to finance the boat, you'll have interest of course, and have principal if you are looking at cash flow (and depreciation if you are looking strictly at expenses).

If you want to leave the dock (which of course is the whole point), you'll need fuel. Diesel runs about $4.25 per gallon where I get it from (Delray Beach), but I've seen it over $5 further south, and $6 per gallon in the Bahamas. Depending on how fast and how far you want to go, you can expect between 0.3 and 1.5 miles per gallon. My 56 Sedan Bridge, for example, will idle doing 6 kts w/ an economy of 1.4 MPG. I can cruise at 22 kts, but then I'm looking at 0.4 MPG. Thus, a "fast" trip down to the upper Keys or Bimini (about 60 miles) can run you about $1,200 round trip (unless you happen to have a LOT of time and want to/can cruise slowly, in which case you can pull it off for 25% of that). Note that going slow saves fuel, but puts more hours on the engine and generator, thus more oil changes for both.

Then, things just "go wrong" and break, and have to be fixed: A/C repair, ice maker repair, refrigerator repair, head repair are all things that can run you $1k to $3k each time they need to be fixed/replaced. Its hard to predict those expenses. Its more frequent the older the boat, and the more (or less!) you use it. A sitting boat can have more problems than a boat being used frequently. Things just wear out or break in the harsh environment. I'd budget for at least a couple of "$2k" repair bills per year for stuff not mentioned above, and make sure you can handle more if you happen to be really unlucky.

Now, it IS possible that you can do many (or ALL) of the things above yourself, and you can save SOME money. IMO, "Do it yourself" is not the best option for an absentee owner, as you'll spend most of your precious and limited time with your boat working on it, and not enjoying it. Personally, I use "Yacht Management of South Florida" (http://www.myyachtmanagement.com/), and they take care of most of the stuff above. They are GREAT! They handle just about everything, including picking me up and dropping me off at the airport as I fly in and out. As an absentee owner, I slept much better at night knowing they were watching over AND CARING for the boat while I was away.

Now that I live in South Florida, I handle the VERY easy stuff (such as cleaning out the A/C and generator strainers, pumping out the heads, and minor electrical issues like changing bulbs and fixing faulty switches), but THEY also do it when I'm not there. The A/C strainer, for example, needs to be cleaned once or twice a month even if the boat is just sitting there. If I was ever away for more than 2 months, they obviously can and will do that for me.

As I said, boating is not cheap. The above may either sound to you like "yeah, I knew it was expensive" or "holy CRAP that is a lot of dough!" Both are true, but if owning a boat will really put a strain on your finances, it won't be enjoyable at all. Worse, you'll start thinking like "I can't afford the extra expense of fuel, so I won't go out this day/week/month", and then it just because a financial drain with enjoyable "return on investment."

If you CAN swing it, its one of the greatest things ever! It was a perfect escape for me from the long Indiana winters, and by allowing me to bring my wife and son down for extended stays, it enabled me to convince them that THEY would enjoy living in Florida also, and thus the recent move.

If you CAN'T swing the above, or it would really strain your wallet too much, all it not lost. I spent two years PRIOR to purchasing my boat as an out of state member of the Palm Beach Boat Club (formerly Freedom Boat Club) at http://www.thepalmbeachboatclub.com They have a "yacht club" membership that has several 45 ft+ yachts in their fleet. You can join that club and be "all in" for $300 or $400 per month once you've paid the membership fee (which IIRC is $5k or something). With that, the monthly fee is your ONLY expense outside of fuel. You just bring the boat back, pay to fill the boat back up, and walk away. They take care of ALL the other expenses - slip, insurance, maintenance, etc. Its ALMOST perfect. The only "catches" that I found was that you can't have the boat over night on a Friday or Saturday night (that is, you can ONLY take the boat for Friday, Saturday, OR Sunday, but not 2 in a row). If you can boat on the week DAYS however, then you could take the boats for up to four days in a row (with Friday or Sunday being ONE of those four days). Also - no taking the boat to the Keys or Bahamas. I used the club for a couple of years as I "tried out" the concept of living out of state and flying in to spend time on the boat. It was also nice to learn to handle larger boats using someone else's!

Finally, if the rules or availability of club boats is not for you, you can get creative, and if you can find just one or two other people who want the same thing you do, then you could form a private partnership and own the boat jointly. If you did that, you can take all of those fixed expenses above and divide by two or three to get your annual costs. Of course, you'd have to come up with ways to deal with "who is going to get to use the boat over Christmas break."

In any event - good luck! Hopefully I've either calmed your mind or opened your eyes. Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[FootballFan]

Joel,

Really appreciate your post, thank you, lots of valuable information in that.

I have made some progress, spent last week in the area. Have a pretty good idea on the marina, have a caretaker lined up.

Still looking at boats. I have mine that I currently own in TX on the market. Have a couple of prospects for buying it.

You have filled in some budget numbers that I was looking for.

thank you so much

 

[copb8tx]

Joel,

I've often dreamed about keeping a live-aboard boat in South Florida and visiting as time allowed. Thanks for killing the dream!!

;-) Kidding!!

Seriously, that was a great write-up. Thanks for taking the time to share your experience.

 

[Arl798]

Hey footballfan...

As a Canadian still working and living in Canada, with a boat in the Keys, maybe I can offer a few pieces of info. First off I try and get down to the boat once a month, but some times I am away 2-3 months. I use Bluewater Yacht insurence out of Jupiter Florida. My boat is a 1999 and only 40 feet long so we aren't in the same realm of price/year insurance but I can tell you these guys charge 3% hull value for a claim and double that for a named storm (6%). They have a hurricane box they call it that stipulates if your in those waters from July 1- Nov 1 then you have no coverage.

I can't tell you if there a "good" insurance company as I have never had a claim. The only way to know if they are good is how they treat you once you do have a claim. It is a Lloyd of London Policy though.

As for Maintenance, I run my AC units faily often on the timer and use a whole lot of those moisture weeping materials and when I get back my boat smells like the day I left it.

I have a few friends who I met in the Keys that go by every once and a while and check on it for me. (Take them boating and they are happy to help while you are gone)

All I can say is if you are on the fence about buying a boat JUST DO IT. Best decision I have ever made and is OH SO FUN.

Good luck

Joel,

Really appreciate your post, thank you, lots of valuable information in that.

I have made some progress, spent last week in the area. Have a pretty good idea on the marina, have a caretaker lined up.

Still looking at boats. I have mine that I currently own in TX on the market. Have a couple of prospects for buying it.

You have filled in some budget numbers that I was looking for.

thank you so much

 

[joelkoz]

Joel,

Really appreciate your post, thank you, lots of valuable information in that.

I have made some progress, spent last week in the area. Have a pretty good idea on the marina, have a caretaker lined up.

Great! So where are you thinking of boating? Personally, I really wanted to be on the East coast for access to the Bahamas.

You've also got some logistics to figure out, such as getting to your boat. Rental car? Or cheap used car to put in storage? I was scouting out self-storage units near the Ft. Lauderdale airport that I could take a short cab ride to until Yacht Management told me they'd pick me up from the airport, and they'd let me keep a car in the "long term storage" parking they manage for free, so that pretty much settled that!

 

[joelkoz]

As for Maintenance, I run my AC units faily often on the timer and use a whole lot of those moisture weeping materials and when I get back my boat smells like the day I left it.

I used to set my A/C to the "DH" setting to run in de-humidify mode, but then I just got lazy and started raising the temperature setting to around 80 when I left. I then purchased a couple of the Eva Dry "mini" dehumidifiers, which are AWESOME. Perfect size for a boat. I got this one for the salon:

http://www.amazon.com/Eva-Dry-Edv-2200-Eva-dry-Dehumidifier-Mid-Size/dp/B001QTW6KQ

and two of these (one each for each bathroom):

http://www.amazon.com/Eva-Dry-Edv-1100-Eva-dry-Electric-Dehumidifier/dp/B000H0ZDD2


Even w/ the A/C running at "live aboard" temperatures, my wife pointed out that our bath towels never dried in between showers. As soon as I put the "petite" dehumidifiers in place in the heads, the shower stall and towels would be bone dry the next day after showering at night, so they actually work really well! I used to use a variety of other drying products (like the pellets) but I found that they were fully saturated by time I got back, and I hated having to keep re-stocking. The mini electric dehumidifiers do have to be emptied once per week (at least), but they are very effective, and no more re-stocking.

I also got a couple of these air purifiers for each state room (and one for the salon) which I also run 24 x 7 x 365:

http://www.amazon.com/Dometic-Portable-Purifier-Photocatalyic-Purification/dp/B005IPJZ0I

Between these two things, I don't have any smell problems either, and the cabin feels a lot more comfortable. I certainly notice when the dehumidifier is NOT running.

 

[Northportdiver]

Joel, excellent article !!
I have been in Florida since 1977, and was a marine mechanic for 14 years until a 55 foot SeaRay gave me a double hernia.:smt089
Your article should help many many readers in making an INFORMED decision.
Good job!

Edward

 

[IanBat]

I 2nd the dehumidifier. I put one in our 330 2 years ago. Boat always smells and feels fresh, and I have an excuse to go down at least once a week and empty the tray.




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Alex F]

FootballFan -

I was in your situation about 3 years ago. I wanted to get a boat in Florida to use as a "condo" as well as a boat, so I wanted something large. I was going to be an absentee owner living in Indiana and flying in to use the boat, so that was also an issue also for me.

While trying to get specifics on costs like you are, most answered "if you have to ask, you can't afford it." I didn't find that particularly helpful. "Expensive" means different things to different people. That being said, owning a boat of this size DOES have a LOT of costs involved that you wouldn't think about at first, so depending on your financial situation, the dream may be "costly" or "impossible." First and foremost, acquisition costs is NOTHING compared to the care and feeding of one. Insurance is only one part, and frankly, its the least of your worries. But, to answer your question, insurance is usually based on hull value, and it works about to be about 1.5% of the boat value per year.

For a boat of that size, you'll have no choice but to keep it in a slip if your keeping it in South Florida. You just can't dry dock a boat of that size unless you are only going to be using it VERY few times a year, as the haul out fees can be near $500 per haul out. Even then, you'd have to pay yard fees for dry storage. I am unaware of any place that has dry storage for a 50ft+ boat in South Florida intended for anything OTHER than repairs.

Slip fees in South Florida run anywhere from $1 to $3 per foot per day, with slight discounts for monthly an annual leases. The closer you are to an inlet, the more expensive the slip. My slip fee, for example, is around $21 per foot per month for storage in Delray Beach. It takes me 50 minutes to get from my marina to the Boca Inlet to get out to the ocean. Since I'm so far away, the slip fees are a little cheaper.

So, right there, for a 50ft boat worth $500k, you are looking at around $7,500 per year for insurance, but at least $12,600 per year for a slip fee. Also - that does NOT include electricity. I pay around $150 per month for electricity, as I run my A/C units 24 x 7 x 365. Running the A/C keeps the interior dried out and prevents mold from forming. It also keeps the interior equipment cool, and it exercises the A/C equipment. Nothing is worse for boat parts than to sit idle for months in the salt air.

Next, because your boat is in the water all the time, you'll need to have the bottom painted annually and cleaned monthly. I have mine scraped twice per month for a charge of about $2 per foot each time. Bottom paint, including haul out, is about $80 per foot per year (or another $4k).

Next, you need to think about oil changes for the engines (about once per year unless you REALLY use the boat a lot), which will run about $1,400 for twin diesels. Then oil changes for the generator (about $200 every 100 hours). Annual service on the air conditioning units (about $1,300).

You'll want to have the boat waxed two to three times per year (about $18 per ft each time), and the boat washed to keep the crud and salt water off of it twice per month ($2 per ft per wash).

You'll have other things also, like replacing zincs, generator impellers, cleaning out A/C and generator strainers, etc. They don't add up to much relative to the above costs, but they are still a couple of thousand per year all combined.

The above is just the general carrying costs NOT including the cost of capital. If you have to finance the boat, you'll have interest of course, and have principal if you are looking at cash flow (and depreciation if you are looking strictly at expenses).

If you want to leave the dock (which of course is the whole point), you'll need fuel. Diesel runs about $4.25 per gallon where I get it from (Delray Beach), but I've seen it over $5 further south, and $6 per gallon in the Bahamas. Depending on how fast and how far you want to go, you can expect between 0.3 and 1.5 miles per gallon. My 56 Sedan Bridge, for example, will idle doing 6 kts w/ an economy of 1.4 MPG. I can cruise at 22 kts, but then I'm looking at 0.4 MPG. Thus, a "fast" trip down to the upper Keys or Bimini (about 60 miles) can run you about $1,200 round trip (unless you happen to have a LOT of time and want to/can cruise slowly, in which case you can pull it off for 25% of that). Note that going slow saves fuel, but puts more hours on the engine and generator, thus more oil changes for both.

Then, things just "go wrong" and break, and have to be fixed: A/C repair, ice maker repair, refrigerator repair, head repair are all things that can run you $1k to $3k each time they need to be fixed/replaced. Its hard to predict those expenses. Its more frequent the older the boat, and the more (or less!) you use it. A sitting boat can have more problems than a boat being used frequently. Things just wear out or break in the harsh environment. I'd budget for at least a couple of "$2k" repair bills per year for stuff not mentioned above, and make sure you can handle more if you happen to be really unlucky.

Now, it IS possible that you can do many (or ALL) of the things above yourself, and you can save SOME money. IMO, "Do it yourself" is not the best option for an absentee owner, as you'll spend most of your precious and limited time with your boat working on it, and not enjoying it. Personally, I use "Yacht Management of South Florida" (http://www.myyachtmanagement.com/), and they take care of most of the stuff above. They are GREAT! They handle just about everything, including picking me up and dropping me off at the airport as I fly in and out. As an absentee owner, I slept much better at night knowing they were watching over AND CARING for the boat while I was away.

Now that I live in South Florida, I handle the VERY easy stuff (such as cleaning out the A/C and generator strainers, pumping out the heads, and minor electrical issues like changing bulbs and fixing faulty switches), but THEY also do it when I'm not there. The A/C strainer, for example, needs to be cleaned once or twice a month even if the boat is just sitting there. If I was ever away for more than 2 months, they obviously can and will do that for me.

As I said, boating is not cheap. The above may either sound to you like "yeah, I knew it was expensive" or "holy CRAP that is a lot of dough!" Both are true, but if owning a boat will really put a strain on your finances, it won't be enjoyable at all. Worse, you'll start thinking like "I can't afford the extra expense of fuel, so I won't go out this day/week/month", and then it just because a financial drain with enjoyable "return on investment."

If you CAN swing it, its one of the greatest things ever! It was a perfect escape for me from the long Indiana winters, and by allowing me to bring my wife and son down for extended stays, it enabled me to convince them that THEY would enjoy living in Florida also, and thus the recent move.

If you CAN'T swing the above, or it would really strain your wallet too much, all it not lost. I spent two years PRIOR to purchasing my boat as an out of state member of the Palm Beach Boat Club (formerly Freedom Boat Club) at http://www.thepalmbeachboatclub.com They have a "yacht club" membership that has several 45 ft+ yachts in their fleet. You can join that club and be "all in" for $300 or $400 per month once you've paid the membership fee (which IIRC is $5k or something). With that, the monthly fee is your ONLY expense outside of fuel. You just bring the boat back, pay to fill the boat back up, and walk away. They take care of ALL the other expenses - slip, insurance, maintenance, etc. Its ALMOST perfect. The only "catches" that I found was that you can't have the boat over night on a Friday or Saturday night (that is, you can ONLY take the boat for Friday, Saturday, OR Sunday, but not 2 in a row). If you can boat on the week DAYS however, then you could take the boats for up to four days in a row (with Friday or Sunday being ONE of those four days). Also - no taking the boat to the Keys or Bahamas. I used the club for a couple of years as I "tried out" the concept of living out of state and flying in to spend time on the boat. It was also nice to learn to handle larger boats using someone else's!

Finally, if the rules or availability of club boats is not for you, you can get creative, and if you can find just one or two other people who want the same thing you do, then you could form a private partnership and own the boat jointly. If you did that, you can take all of those fixed expenses above and divide by two or three to get your annual costs. Of course, you'd have to come up with ways to deal with "who is going to get to use the boat over Christmas break."

In any event - good luck! Hopefully I've either calmed your mind or opened your eyes. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Joel,

Thanks for taking the time writing very informative and helpful post.

I have couple of questions.

...Annual service on the air conditioning units (about $1,300)...

What kind of service is that for A/Cs?

...Bottom paint, including haul out, is about $80 per foot per year (or another $4k)...

What's included in the $80 p/f charge, just hauling, blocking, painting and relaunching? Is this for one coat or two? Do they prep the bottom first (just power washing or slight sanding as well?

...You'll want to have the boat waxed two to three times per year (about $18 per ft each time), and the boat washed to keep the crud and salt water off of it twice per month ($2 per ft per wash)...

These prices seem to be on the high side for FL, at least in comparison to other regions. Is this due to your location?

 

[ocgrant]

As a new arrival in south florida I love this place. I went through the shock when my yacht arrived. From insurance issues to where to keep the boat I went through it all... I have to say I worked it all out and love it. I decided to keep the boat in ft Lauderdale off the new river very protected in a small marina. It is great in fresh water, very private and great marina owner. Miami is awesom but you have to deal with the exposure during storms. Ft Lauderdale gives you more options and protection for sure. I chose ft Lauderdale because of that. I work in Miami and live in ft Lauderdale but boat everywhere as 1 hour and I am where ever I want to be. Just got back today from all day in lake Sylvia which was awesome.

 

[FootballFan]

I did want to stop by this thread and add another thanks to all who have been adding to the knowledge base in this thread.

Regarding my direction - still headed that way. In the past few weeks, sold my TX boat. Continuing to learn and look at options. Have been getting some input and assistance from folks on here. Who knows, maybe one of these days I will make it there - sure hope so.