key west

D

dobson

New Member
Nov 3, 2009
55
Lake Allatoona
Boat Info
2001 380 Sundancer
Engines
7.4 V Drives
i have been told many times that a trip to key west on my boat is simple. since i have been land locked in ga the entire time i have no ocean experiance. what is the easyist way to get their from tampa and what would the estimated time be from their? Also what are other random things i should know about the trip(marinas, how far off shore i should be, places to stop for gas, how to go about having the boat shipped)? i wolnt be making the trip for a while but want to get my info together
 
Why start at Tampa? What are you doing the trip for. What type of time frame do you have. What type of boating have you done? Have you thought about shipping it 2 hours north to the TN river then getting your boating/travel legs on the rivers before you hit the open ocean? Heck you could just ship the boat all the way to the keys if you are limited by time??? More info please.
 
i will most likely do a 2 week trip. i dont want to spend that much time driving from the tennessee, but want some, which is why i choose tampa. i have done lots of boating on allatoona with my 2900 maxum, and recently just upgraded to a 380.
 
Tampa is 230 nautical miles from Key West. One can follow the shore all the way to Marco then it's 100 mi. open ocean to KW. Big consideration as always is the weather. Buy the marina book as it's invaluable for fuel etc.
If you have not planned for an Ocean crossing your boat needs to be prepared for it. Plenty of threads on the safety equip. you will need on this site.
Good luck.

Jack
 
what sorts of safety equipment would i need? and im pretty sure my 380 can make the 100 mile trip with a full take correct?
 
dobson said:
what sorts of safety equipment would i need? and im pretty sure my 380 can make the 100 mile trip with a full take correct?
Click to expand...

Yes, you can make it on a full tank but you need to plan for the worst. What if the weather turns and you're 20 miles from shore?

Do a search on these forums for "ditch bag" and you will get a lot of info on what to bring.
.
 
Sounds like an exciting trip. In terms of conditions, the Gulf around Tampa/Clearwater/Sarasota always looks beautiful. Like others have said, don't rely on getting there on one tank of gas, although I am sure it is do-able. Plan some marinas along the way. I'm not too knowledgeable of specific SW Florida marinas, but look into/plan on stopping somewhere in the vicinity of Naples/Marco Island before you make that open ocean crossing. Good luck, and I actually think Tampa is a great place to begin the trip. Tampa offers some great waterways along with Tampa Bay, of course, which should be enough for you to get some experience before heading out into the ocean.
 
If you are not ready for the open water crossing by yourself you could do trip across Lake 'O' then down the east coast. If you then feel up to it you could finish with the trip back up the west side or just go back up the more protected east coast.
 
i know i cant do it on one tank of gas so i probley stop somewhere before marco island and at marco island. but i do want to do the trip from tampa straight to the keys. i have heard it is usually smooth and its pretty easy to navigate through. i also am curious on how long this would take to get their in calm seas
 
Dobson,

It takes us at 25 knots 6 to 6.5 hours from Cape Coral. You must be at least 6 north of us. I would highly recommend a two day trip and would not recommend you drain your tanks in a single leg trip. Not sure what you burn, but we easly use 200 gallons from Cape Coral.

As Jack (earthmover) said, watch the weather. The winds in the winter are out of the Northeast. They can kick up over 25 knots and the open water from the Northwest Channel to around Cape Ramano can get well over 8 feet.

Just my 2 cents, but don't hardwire the itinerary. I have holed up for nearly a week in Key West waiting for a window to head home.

During the summer, we have headed down with waterskiable conditions. Like a lake. Then there are the other trips that sucked where it takes 10 to 11 hours to get back up to Cape Coral.

Enjoy the trip.

Jack hope to see you guys after Christmas at Conch Harbor:smt038.

Ken
 
missnmountains said:
Dobson,

It takes us at 25 knots 6 to 6.5 hours from Cape Coral. You must be at least 6 north of us. I would highly recommend a two day trip and would not recommend you drain your tanks in a single leg trip. Not sure what you burn, but we easly use 200 gallons from Cape Coral.

As Jack (earthmover) said, watch the weather. The winds in the winter are out of the Northeast. They can kick up over 25 knots and the open water from the Northwest Channel to around Cape Ramano can get well over 8 feet.

Just my 2 cents, but don't hardwire the itinerary. I have holed up for nearly a week in Key West waiting for a window to head home.

During the summer, we have headed down with waterskiable conditions. Like a lake. Then there are the other trips that sucked where it takes 10 to 11 hours to get back up to Cape Coral.

Enjoy the trip.

Jack hope to see you guys after Christmas at Conch Harbor:smt038.

Ken
Click to expand...

Good advice. For the sake of this relatively new member, I was hoping someone in the area would be able to chime in.

By the way, nice boat you have there. We're starting to look into getting a jet ski... Would you recommended the Yamaha? We like the looks of the new Honda PWC's, but we don't have much input from jet ski owners. Any advice?
 
If you have no ocean experience and this is your first time doing this you will need an experienced local boater to help you. If you do this alone, you're nuts! I've boated that area for over 20 years and it can be treacherous. The postcards are propaganda. The water is shallow, there are alot of unmarked underwater obstructions, reef, and sandbars, and most of the charts are inaccurate due to the hurricanes over the past few years.
This is not an area to learn how to boat in the Gulf.
 
I have a 380 (diesel) and have taken the boat from Tampa to Key West a few times. I agree that it is an easy trip, if the weather is right. May 2008 it was glass calm the whole way there and back. This year in June, it was glass on the way there and an annoying 4ft NW beam sea on the way back, which had me take the ICW from Sanibel back up to St. Pete. As others have said, I think spring and summer offer the best flat water odds...but you need to be flexible as weather forcasts change.

I usually leave Tampa around 6 am and that gets me to Marco just before noon for a quick lunch and fuel (FYI, Marco has very high fuel prices since they know they are the last stop). From Marco, I am typically in the slip at The Galleon by 5:30 or so.

The navigation is really quite simple, however you should study the charts (especially around Boca Grande as there is some shoaling near the entrance channel).

The West coast of Florida has a lot to offer, so why not take a few days on the way back to explore?

Brian
 
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As a resident of South Florida for 30+ years and an avid boater I have another suggestion for you.

Consider shipping your boat to a location along the East coast of Florida...such as Cocoa Beach or Melbourne. You then have the choice of cruising down the Intracoastal or going "outside" into the Atlantic via any of the numerous inlets that connect the ICW to the ocean. This would give you the safety margin of being close enough to shore to run back inside if you needed to or to run "inside" if the weather and seas become uncomfortable. There are many more marinas and fuel stops along the East coast than there are on the West coast of Florida.

This choice will give you plenty of opportunity to experience how your boat handles under a variety of different conditions and to also sharpen you navigation skills.

Once you get familiar with your boat in these conditions you will be better prepared for that open water crossing from Key West to the Marco Island area. Who knows...you might get confident enough to make the hop accross the Gulfstream to the Bahamas.:thumbsup:
 
We have done the trip twice. We boat from Tampa / Sarasota to Marco the first day. That's actually a few miles longer than Marco to Key West. You have the ICW option from Tampa to Ft. Myers if you prefer. Adds about 1 1/2 hours to that part of the trip due to slow zones and bridges. The jump from Marco to KW is all about the weather. Mild conditions make for an easy trip that takes us about 3 1/2 hrs at 22 knots. However the seas can get unpleasant with less favorable weather conditions. We have gone from almost flat seas to 4 footers due in part to the relative shallowness of the area arond the keys. All in all a fun trip and best done with other boats especially if it's you first open water trip.
 
i made the trip from Pensacola to Ft Lauderdale , 4 months ago.

It wasn't really a ocean experience. its very calm, and you always have the Coast at your side. The only warning, its the deep when you turn to the East, toward to the keys, some parts are around 3', but looks like oil -cool!!

90% of the trip you have Cellular signal.

My last stop for gas was Marco Island and took me like 5 or 6 hours till the Keys.

enjoy!!
 
sprink56- so if i were to ship it to the east coat, ie cocoa beach, how long does it usually take to hit the keys from their? im am starting to like this idea better so that i can hit key largo easyer and other places.

bushway9172- you said you were beginning to look at jet skis. if you are looking for power, i would look at the new sea doo's or kawasakis newer models. if you are looking at better gas milage and better handling and stability look at yamaha's high out put cruiser(i have one rides great). i also have a kawasaki 1500f 2006 and it gets out of the water very fast and is good for jumping the wake
 
dobson said:
sprink56- so if i were to ship it to the east coat, ie cocoa beach, how long does it usually take to hit the keys from their? im am starting to like this idea better so that i can hit key largo easyer and other places.

bushway9172- you said you were beginning to look at jet skis. if you are looking for power, i would look at the new sea doo's or kawasakis newer models. if you are looking at better gas milage and better handling and stability look at yamaha's high out put cruiser(i have one rides great). i also have a kawasaki 1500f 2006 and it gets out of the water very fast and is good for jumping the wake
Click to expand...

I like your new idea of the East Coast as well. Especially for a first ocean trip, this is a great alternative. The sights are just as plentiful, and you'll have more options as to where to fuel up, etc.

Thanks for the jet ski tips. I will look into those models that you suggested. Do you have any pictures of yours? Where we live, we'd only have about 3 or 4 months out of the year that we'd be able to use the jet ski, so something fun and fast is definitely more exciting. We'd like a large one - preferably 3 seater ... would consider 2 seater though. Would probably be looking at a used one, since the brand new Sea Doo's pricing is outrageous. As I said before, the Hondas look great and seem popular and reliable. Any knowledge about those?

Thanks again
 
from what i hear they are no where near as fast as kawasaki and sea doo. if you are in the ocean i would go sea doo since its closed loop. i would post pics but i dont know how.
here is a link on them

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L188NBFcrcY&feature=related kawasaki, is not as stable but is real fun. and very powerfull 215 horsepower.

i cant find one for yamaha but look on google at pictures. the highoutput is a really smooth ride. i think it has 180 horsepower

if your going to buy make sure you buy 4 STROKE, 2 strokes are a pain in the neck with oil.
 
Wow that kawasaki looks nice and fast, but it seems to be a bit "dainty," if that's the right word. In other words, we'd be using it in the ocean, and the seas can get nasty in the blink of an eye. We'd need something a little bit beefier/heavier/bigger to be able to get back into safer waters/home. Will definitely consider Sea Doo, and will ONLY consider 4 strokes. Thanks for your insight.
 
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