ICW slow no wake zones S. FL

Lucky's

Active Member
May 25, 2010
1,873
Jupiter, FL
Boat Info
2006 320DA w/Black hull;
(2) 2016 3-up Seadoo Sparks
Engines
350 Mercruiser MPI V drives
Question for you guys and gals to the south of me. So far the furthest south I've been is Jupiter, but this weekend we're gonna head to Peanut Island in PB and I know further trips to Delray, Boca and Lauderdale are in the near future. Heading south from Jupiter is it pretty much all slow no wake or are there some high speed areas? In particular for this weekend, whats it like from Jupiter to PB? We will be taking the center console this weekend and they're calling for 2-4 outside so we'll probably stick to the ICW. Thanks in advance.
 
Shaun, If I recall, there are a few stretches you can run, particularly in a center console. However, the closer you get to North Palm, it's no wake. Once you go under the US-1 bridge it'll open up all the way down to the Blue Heron Blvd Bridge ( maybe 2-3 miles)where Peanut island is. If you have time and/or haven't been to the PGA Blvd restaurants by car, there are 4 great spots for lunch right at the PGA draw bridge. Two favorites: Waterway Cafe has plenty of lay-along dock space ( first on rt after bridge S bound). Rt across the ICW from there is Panama Hattie's/Rum Bar, ( limited docking )best deal in town on Sundays! $ 10.99 all you can eat Pig Roast Buffet !(starts at 1600) You sit right on the edge of the ICW and watch boats go by. FYI No dogs allowed....Have fun, Tim
 
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Shaun, If I recall, there are quite a few stretches you can run, particularly in a center console. However, the closer you get to North Palm, it's no wake. Once you go under the US-1 bridge it'll open up all the way down to the Blue Heron Blvd Bridge ( maybe 2-3 miles)where Peanut island is. If you have time and/or haven't been to the PGA Blvd restaurants by car, there are 4 great spots for lunch right at the PGA draw bridge. Two favorites: Waterway Cafe has plenty of lay-along dock space ( first on rt after bridge S bound). Rt across the ICW from there is Panama Hattie's/Rum Bar, ( limited docking )best deal in town on Sundays! $ 10.99 all you can eat Pig Roast Buffet !(starts at 1600) You sit right on the edge of the ICW and watch boats go by. FYI No dogs allowed....Have fun, Tim

Thanks for the info, Tim!!
 
Shaun, I forgot to mention, if all goes accordingly to plan I'll be around the corner from you at Sunset Bay arriving Dec or Jan. First round is on me...:grin:
PS Are you familiar with the hump just West of the " Cross Roads" on the St Lucie/ICW ? If so has that been dredged at all ? I'm aware of the Inlet dredging in 2012, but they didn't come across the ICW to that " hump " that has done a number a few big boats a low tide !! Tim
 
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Jupiter to WPB is slow slow slow. Couple areas you can get on plane but not many. There is also one area that reads no wake for 35' and over, 25mph for under 35'. And from WPB to Lauderdale, full day trip on the inside. Takes about 6-8 hours with all the bridges and no wake zones, unless you go offshore then it only takes a couple of hrs.
 
Shaun, I forgot to mention, if all goes accordingly to plan I'll be around the corner from you at Sunset Bay arriving Dec or Jan. First round is on me...:grin:
PS Are you familiar with the hump just West of the " Cross Roads" on the St Lucie/ICW ? If so has that dredged at all ? I'm aware of the Inlet dredging in 2012, but they didn't come across the ICW to that " hump " that has done a number a few big boats a low tide !! Tim

Sounds great! As far as the hump, they are currently working on some dredging near the crossroads and I believe that's what they're taking care of, so it should be all done and cleared up by the time you get here.
 
Jupiter to WPB is slow slow slow. Couple areas you can get on plane but not many. There is also one area that reads no wake for 35' and over, 25mph for under 35'. And from WPB to Lauderdale, full day trip on the inside. Takes about 6-8 hours with all the bridges and no wake zones, unless you go offshore then it only takes a couple of hrs.

Thanks for the info, Tom. We ran up to Ft. Pierce last weekend to check out the water and it was about as dirty as it is in Stuart! Was that just from rain run off or are you getting the water from Lake O making it to you?? We can't get in the water in Stuart at all. The health dept. has officially labeled it "toxic" and extremely dangerous to humans and pets so we have to take the boat a ways away to let the dogs swim.
 
Thanks, that's great news :smt038
 
Shaun,

Great post, me being new to the area I have often wondered where you can run "off idle" and where you cannot. Is these any map of the ICW that anyone knows of that shows the speed in different areas? I keep my boat off the New River in Ft Lauderdale and have started to venture out on day trips with the family to find places to hang out. We are thinking to head into Miami area for next weekend and have never made it past the south end of Port Everglades. Does anyone know is it "no wake" all the way from PE to Haulover area? I have no issues in running outside but the inside in completely different for us coming from California.
 
Thanks for the info, Tom. We ran up to Ft. Pierce last weekend to check out the water and it was about as dirty as it is in Stuart! Was that just from rain run off or are you getting the water from Lake O making it to you?? We can't get in the water in Stuart at all. The health dept. has officially labeled it "toxic" and extremely dangerous to humans and pets so we have to take the boat a ways away to let the dogs swim.

I think most of this is just run off from Taylor Creek. I know the backside of Taylor Creek does run into the area near Stuart but not sure if we are getting any toxic crap like what you have down in PSL area. Tests up here don't show toxic levels but again, I don't live hear so my information is only based on what I read on the internet and when,if I watch the news here on the weekends. Since we have Taylor Creek right at my marina, most of the water is that dark color but it is fresh water. It has always been a darker color here at the marina and is like that pretty much year round especially at low tide. People are still getting in the water here at the inlet FYI.
 
Shaun,

Great post, me being new to the area I have often wondered where you can run "off idle" and where you cannot. Is these any map of the ICW that anyone knows of that shows the speed in different areas? I keep my boat off the New River in Ft Lauderdale and have started to venture out on day trips with the family to find places to hang out. We are thinking to head into Miami area for next weekend and have never made it past the south end of Port Everglades. Does anyone know is it "no wake" all the way from PE to Haulover area? I have no issues in running outside but the inside in completely different for us coming from California.

There is no map that I am aware of for idle/speed zones. Basically it is just read the marker and determine what is allowed. I always have a pair of binoculars at the helm because some of the fonts are so small on the signs they can hardly be read unless you are right on top of it.
 
Shaun
Have you made the run further north? Hirams or Sebastion? It's a great area without much in the idle zones. At Sebastion there is a great sand bar and Hirams is also fun. We go down there quite often. Hirams will gig you for around $100 for a slip over night but it's worth it.
 
there is an iPhone app called "Know Wake" that puts all the zones on a map and uses the GPS of your phone to show you where you are.

Also, each county publishes PDF files with maps of the zones. I'll try to dig up the links, but I think you can search for "florida county manatee zones" or something like that and find them.

I boat in Delray Beach. From here down to Ft. Lauderdale it's about 1/2 no wake. Ft. Lauderdale to Hollywood and then on down to Miami it's mostly no wake (at least it sure seems that way)

Just as big an issue is bridge height. There are a couple of bridges with only 9 ft of clearance, so most boats get hung up on those. Need more than 17 ft or so of clearance and you'll stop even more. I ended up putting each bridge in my boats GPS with a note on bridge height and opening schedule. It helps a lot when you are trying to decide how fast to go. No need to speed down the channel and burn gas only to sit and wait for 15 minutes for a bridge to open.
 
I found this link, which does a pretty good job of cataloging the OTHER links:

http://www.nauticalflorida.com/boating/manatee-speed-zones.html

Most of the bridge openings are scheduled, but I've heard rumors that if you don't actually call the bridge tender on the radio or otherwise signal them (by a few blasts of your horn) to request the opening, they won't open them. I've always called just to be sure.

There are a FEW bridges that are on demand, but the only one I've encountered between Delray Beach and Key Biscayne is the bridge from Lake Boca out the Boca Inlet. All the others are scheduled.
 
Shaun
Have you made the run further north? Hirams or Sebastion? It's a great area without much in the idle zones. At Sebastion there is a great sand bar and Hirams is also fun. We go down there quite often. Hirams will gig you for around $100 for a slip over night but it's worth it.

Sorry, I just saw this. No, we've been pretty much going south. The farthest north we've been so far is Fort Pierce. I've heard Sebastian area is nice so that's on our short list. We try to run somewhere pretty much every weekend. Actually, we have too! We're surrounded by poop water and can't go in it or let the dogs in so we head somewhere that we can play.
 

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