precisiondetails

I'm jealous, good for u!! That's the way to do it!!

314joey

Now you've got all kinds of choices, time for talking is over, looks like it's time to get the boat on the road...................lol

Orthobam

That's real commitment. Is that a 3000 mile haul and a a 5 hour plane flight?

Pretty good endorsement for Florida boating.

Orthobam

Agree. One little problem…….motors are in pieces getting rebuilt. At least they are in Florida with Tony at Native staying warm Myrick has the rest of the boat in pieces servicing drives, transmissions, fixing a headset jack, installing some new LEDs, props are off getting tidied up, and she's going to get a $6,000 paint freshen. So all I can do this year is live vicariously through you guys and plan for next year.

The other problem with this year is insurance. I have a lay up period for one more year. After 2 years of ownership (next year) that goes away.

BTW it was -1 last night.

lotopa.com

well I cannot say enough good things about Blue Octane www.westoretheboat.com had my first personal interaction a couple days ago and everything was exactly how i was told it would be, could not ask for more…. ( well at least anything thats legal in the states)

richanton

Grove Harbor is right on Biscayne Bay which is great, yes the idle time is short and the bay is ideal for running around when the ocean is too rough. However, Grove Harbor is in coconut grove and it can be a pain to get in and get around. As already stated, if you will be using FT Lauderdale airport I will take the extra 10-15 minute idle out of Harbortown over the extra hour ride from Ft Lauderdale to Coconut Grove. Hitting the Friday night traffic on 95, sitting in traffic on US1 heading south. No thanks, especially not on a weekend trip. Also, the hotels in the grove are pricier and it is not as easy to get around and you won't have everything you need right there. Just stupid stuff that you never think of- running to Publix to grab snacks, running to Walgreens, etc, are all quicker and easier in FLL. You've got a million boating vendors and mechanics in the Hollywood/Lauderdale area within a 15 minute drive- dollar offshore, chief performance, Brand X, Blue Octane, the largest West Marine in the US, Boaters World, etc. It's ground zero for the boating industry in the US.

I would probably do TNT over Grove Harbor, especially if TNT works on your boat. It's also close to the bay and quick to get to the ocean, and much easier to get to. It's nice that TNT is a little farther north, because now that opens up Boca and west palm boating for day trips, they are pretty far from the grove. But again, TNT is in Aventura and there isn't really much there compared to Lauderdale as far as hotels, restaurants nightlife. Lauderdale still takes the cake for convenience.

Harbor town is a 15-20 minute idle to the inlet, max. It always kills me when people say Lauderdale is all idle zones. There are no idle zones in THE OCEAN, just to be clear. Any time you are in the ICW anywhere in South Florida, there are speed restrictions, and that includes Miami. In Miami, If you head North out of Grove Harbor into the ICW you are idling. To get to Port Everglades inlet takes about 25 minutes coming on and off plane a few times. Anything north of Rickenbacker causeway in Biscayne Bay is a restricted speed zone, heading north in the bay you have two choices-you can take the ICW which is no wake or you can hug miami beach and stay in the Malloy channel which has a bunch of spots where you can do 30mph. The problem with Malloy is lately they have been ticketing for noise because the rich old ladies in the high rises on the beach have been complaining about the noise, so the cops are writing tickets because they really want the load boats to stay on the west side of the bay in the ICW. The idle zones in Miami annoy me much more because there are sections where the bay is a mile wide yet you have to stay in the ICW because of depth limitations which means you have to idle. Just seems annoying to idle when you have half a mile of water on either side of you. Controlling the speeds in Lauderdale makes much more sense to me because there the ICW is basically a narrow ditch through people's back yards, so going slow doesn't bother me as much. Plus there is scenery, versus parts of Biscayne Bay where you have to idle and there is nothing to look at. Yes, there are parts of Lauderdale where you have a long idle to get to the ocean and that gets old real fast, it's all about proximity to the inlet.

Honestly, you can't go wrong no matter where you end up, just get down here! I've lived in FL on and off for about 15 years and did lots of research before I decided to send my boat here, and I learned a few lessons along the way. I've given you my perspective, listen to perspectives of others as well, and come down and explore.

avalaunch

I bring my 19 ft whaler down to ft Pierce for the winter, the cigarette stays north, it just doesn't seem quite as usefull to bring that south since I am not ther full time in the winter months.

FREEDOM US1

Been sending boats down there since 1994 love it!! It's cold in Kansas over the winter!!

pstorti

You basically prove my point that Grove Harbor is better, by the way there is a Fresh Market right there in the same parking lot as the marina, they are a Mercury dealer and have mechanics and parts on site, they also allow you to bring mechanics in, I don't know how the Grove is hard to get into or around?? we almost never go north of the Rickenbacker for the reasons you describe, there is no speed limit south of the rickenbacker, nor have I ever been harassed north of it when going out Gov cut. From Miami beach north is full of cops with nothing to do but harass people. I've been pulled over twice over the years south of the rickenbacker both times on Memorial Day weekend, every other time was north. You can run on plane all the way up to the Julia Tuttle Causeway (195), and I have been in all those areas at over 80 mph and never been bothered, and honestly there is no reason to go any further north unless you want to drool over the houses on North Bay rd.

The typical Ft Lauderdale argument is the "no idle zones in the ocean" true except the weekly cold fronts in the winter that make horrible 6ft+ seas, yes if it is not rough you can run in the ocean last time i checked there is ocean here also just to be clear. You can 't go 150 mph anywhere in Lauderdale, here you have the whole bay. If all you want to do is go somewhere by boat for lunch then Lauderdale might be better in that regard, but there are plenty of places here also, you can easily make a run to Gilberts for lunch or Ocean Reef Club, or Ft Lauderdale for that matter. I'll take the upper keys over Boca any day.

I don't take US-1 I go down Bayshore Dr, yes if you fly in Friday at 6 traffic sucks, easy enough to have dinner somewhere close and then drive south.

Here is Friday's forecast, mother nature imposes her own speed limit in the ocean, I don't care what boat you have these conditions are no fun.
FRIDAY
EAST NORTHEAST WINDS 13 TO 18 KNOTS. SEAS 5 TO 7 FEET
WITH OCCASIONAL SEAS TO 9 FEET. INTRACOASTAL WATERS CHOPPY IN
EXPOSED AREAS. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS.

But either option will be better than staring out the window wondering when summer will come back.

Orthobam

It looks like being further south is better.

Is Biscayne Bay pretty wide open for boating or are there lots of shallow area and obstacles etc?

Are the tides a big worry?

Based on Friday's forecast, would be easy to leave Grove Harbor and run through Biscayne Bay down to Gilberts? I found these places on Google Maps. I assume Biscayne Bay is considered the "inside". I don't see any land blocking the seas south of Key Biscayne but I assume there is some sort of reef or wave break to keep it calmer.

Here is my GPS. I assume it would do the trick to keep me from running aground.