Boat Relo question to the Tampa, St. Pete area (I'm from the "rest of the world")

Chris R

Chris R

Member
Mar 17, 2008
751
Bloomington, Il - formerly in Gig Harbor, WA
Boat Info
In between boats, now. Former boat: 2008 340 DA
Engines
8.1 Horizons w/V-drives
This is a tough one. IMO, we live in boating mecca; however, work calls and we are being relo'd to the Midwest (aka not a boating mecca). We have a couple of choices: sell the boat here, or move it. The air-travel convenience of Florida is appealing to where we'll be living. Plus, we both have parents living on the Florida west coast (Siesta Key and Port Charlotte).

Here are my questions: I'm looking to see what nice marina's, or yacht clubs (with moorage) there are from Tampa down to the Longboat Key area. And, do any of you use the rack style of moorage I've seen there? Finally, I have no idea how much a move of this nature would cost, of if would even be feasible; thus, if any of you have any ideas, please feel free to offer.


Thanks for the advice guys....
 
You may have a few problems racking V-Drives. Most of the boats I have seen on a rack have I/O's or outboards. I'd be concerned that the forklift drivers would line up the forks wrong.

Before you pick a marina, you probably need to decide where you want to boat. I would divide your choices into Tampa/Hillsborough county, St. Petersburg/Pinellas county, and south of the Bay/Manatee and Sarasota county. Each has a different flavor of boating and places that are within easy reach.

How do you use your boat?

Also, get a quote on insurance before you make the move - there is a price to be paid for year round boating in a hurricane prone area. You may find it difficult to get insurance when you do not live here - absentee boat owners often do not properly execute a hurricane plan.

Look at Shell's Island's thread for some pictures from the Venice area (a little south from your original post but Sarasota and Bradenton are similar)
 
I have looked into this a bit. The shipping alone for my boat (float on float off) was between 19500 and 35k depending on time of year etc. I am not sure about the rack storage, but my insurance company told me thanks, but no thanks, you are on your own. So for now, I am sticking to the West Coast......but someday I will be in Ft Lauderdale (at least that area) with my/a boat.
 
I just trucked from Sarasota to Huntsville Alabama for less than 4000 including haul out.
Smith's Boat Salvage from Jackson Missippi will do the deal for you.
Other posters are very right about the insurance stuff. Under 35 feet gives you an advantage, though as most won't write new 35+ feet policies in Florida since Charlie.
Marine Max in Sarasota is a very good location, and may be able to accomodate dry storage, although it's not covered.
PM me and I can talk to you about the marinas around the area. I like Sarasota best because I was born there, and because it's inbetween all the other West Coast destinations. I can go North or South and take long, short, or extended trips.
 
What part of the midwest? I wouldn't write us off as a non-boating mecca. In MN we have over 10,000 lakes and 2 major rivers. Both rivers will accommodate your boat easily. Northern MN is on Lake Superior. Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan are all similar. There are more boats per-capita in MN than any other state and we're in the top 10 for money spent on boating. The midwest is a lot more than farms and pastures.
 
Chris R said:
The air-travel convenience of Florida is appealing to where we'll be living. Plus, we both have parents living on the Florida west coast (Siesta Key and Port Charlotte).

Thanks for the advice guys....
Click to expand...

Why are you not looking at the Port Charlotte Area? IMHO...SouthWest Florida is one of the nicest areas to boat in Florida (and the costs are less than in Tampa).
 
A 340 is a very popular boat in the midwest. Depending on the area you are moving to boating may be better than you think.
 
I just had my new (to us) 550 Sedan Bridge hauled from the Detroit area to Portland, OR. If you want the name of the trucker send me a PM and I'll provide that information to you.

Here's my 550 on his trailer...
P5150913.jpg


and my 330 that I traded being lifted off my trailer prior to being loaded on his trailer to go back to MI.
P60110151.jpg


BTW, if you want to do the haul yourself, I have a trailer that was custom built for my 330. Same hull as yours and you could save a lot of $$$ over what a trucker would cost you.
 
Tonka Boater said:
What part of the midwest? I wouldn't write us off as a non-boating mecca. In MN we have over 10,000 lakes and 2 major rivers. Both rivers will accommodate your boat easily. Northern MN is on Lake Superior. Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan are all similar. There are more boats per-capita in MN than any other state and we're in the top 10 for money spent on boating. The midwest is a lot more than farms and pastures.
Click to expand...

Central Illinois. Chicago is two hours away from where we will be, and I don't really want to deal with the winterization issues.
 
Nacho Boat said:
Why are you not looking at the Port Charlotte Area? IMHO...SouthWest Florida is one of the nicest areas to boat in Florida (and the costs are less than in Tampa).
Click to expand...

We are looking everywhere. Some of it is the logistics of flying in for a weekend. Being that Port Charlotte is further south from the major airports it's just that much further to get to the boat. My dad lives in PC and really loves it.
 
Gofirstclass said:
I just had my new (to us) 550 Sedan Bridge hauled from the Detroit area to Portland, OR. If you want the name of the trucker send me a PM and I'll provide that information to you.

Here's my 550 on his trailer...
P5150913.jpg


and my 330 that I traded being lifted off my trailer prior to being loaded on his trailer to go back to MI.
P60110151.jpg


BTW, if you want to do the haul yourself, I have a trailer that was custom built for my 330. Same hull as yours and you could save a lot of $$$ over what a trucker would cost you.
Click to expand...

The only problem with hauling it myself is it would be beyond the towing capacity of my Dodge (2500 w/6.7 Cummins).

As I continue to think through all this, I may PM you with the trucker's name at some point.
 
Port Charlotte would be my next choice. I would be there now if I didn't work all the way up by the Sarasota/Bradenton Airport. I have lived here in Sarasota, and Tampa/St. Pete area too. Besides, Ft Myers has an international airport to fly into.
 
jeffk said:
Port Charlotte would be my next choice. I would be there now if I didn't work all the way up by the Sarasota/Bradenton Airport. I have lived here in Sarasota, and Tampa/St. Pete area too. Besides, Ft Myers has an international airport to fly into.
Click to expand...

Good point about Ft. Myers- thank you.
 
I keep my boat at riviera dunes on the palmetto river just north of longboat key, the facility is great,

There I a new marina called lager head in st Pete they can accommodate you in dry rack although it's not cheap

Scott
 
tn shenanigans said:
I keep my boat at riviera dunes on the palmetto river just north of longboat key, the facility is great,

There I a new marina called lager head in st Pete they can accommodate you in dry rack although it's not cheap

Scott
Click to expand...


Lager Head is not too expensive and you can negotiate with them especially if you sign an extended contract. The St. Pete area is nice but the water is much cleaner (like the Keys or bimini) the further south you go. Anything from Bradenton south is the cleanest water. IMHO I don't think you can go wrong anywhere on this coast.
 
Chris-I recently purchased a boat in the Ft. Myers/Cape Coral area. They do have a nice airport although it is a little bit of a drive from the water. the boating in that area is great. Many of the waterfront houses in the area have boat lifts and you might be able to rent one from someone with no boat. Not a long drive to Port Charlotte to see your dad. You might want to go down and rent a boat for a few days and scout around a bit.
 
glenncal1 said:
Chris-I recently purchased a boat in the Ft. Myers/Cape Coral area. They do have a nice airport although it is a little bit of a drive from the water. the boating in that area is great. Many of the waterfront houses in the area have boat lifts and you might be able to rent one from someone with no boat. Not a long drive to Port Charlotte to see your dad. You might want to go down and rent a boat for a few days and scout around a bit.
Click to expand...

Great suggestion. I'm thinking of doing that. I'm kind of leaning towards a couple of different marinas in the PC area (I found one that does dry stack up 45 feet, plus has some covered wet slips if I wanted top do that. Just got a quote from the hauler here (the local Sea Ray dealer swears by them) of 10,046.00. Point A-B in 7 days. I just need to find some time to get down that way. Target date to move it will be end of summer.
 
As I found out when planning to move from my 300DA to a 340DA there are a lot of limitations on a 340 on high and dry storage. You no doubt are finding that out also. I was at MM at Sarasota and they limited new customers to 320's. Bradenton to Venice is my "home area" and very nice boating. Like others have said...depends on what you like to do. I understand your desire to be rack stored as an absentee owner. I'm now in the water full time (driven by boat size) and have no regrets but I'm "just" 2 hours from my boat.

Good luck and let me know if you have any questions about specific marinas or areas on the gulf coast........
 
Chris:
we keep our 240 sundeck @ osprey harbor club. pretty new rack facility right @ nokomis/osprey line. right by Casey Key. We live most of the time in CT. but get down on business and pleasure once/twice a month. put more hours on this boat in three years then i have on my rinker 310 in ct in the last ten years. Racks are the only way to go. they are building new facility right next to osprey harbor also. otherwise Phillippi creek has a rack facility that is also pretty new but a little further up the ICW in Sarasota. Finally at venice gut Gulf harbor marina also has nice racks close to the gulf. Boating 12 months a year in florida is so much better than the 4-5months we get up North. A nice rack is so much better when you are not living where the boat is, also all costs seem to be considerably less, especially insurance if you are in the right hurricance force building. i would suggest you rent first,many offer month to month, before settling in one place.
hope this helps
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,186
Messages
1,428,174
Members
61,097
Latest member
Mdeluca407
Back
Top