We would like to take our Dana 24 to the Keys this winter. I have purchased
Cap'n Papy's guide book.

My question is where is the best place to launch our boat. ( Need travel
lift) . Don't know if the Miami area is the best place or something lower.
We need a place that will allow us to store our car and trailer. We have
friends in Marathon and would probably use that as our primary destination.

Jerry

x-no-archive:yes "Jerry" wrote:

We would like to take our Dana 24 to the Keys this winter. I have purchased
Cap'n Papy's guide book.

My question is where is the best place to launch our boat. ( Need travel
lift) . Don't know if the Miami area is the best place or something lower.
We need a place that will allow us to store our car and trailer. We have
friends in Marathon and would probably use that as our primary destination.

I've seen boats launched and hauled in Marathon at Marathon marina.
That's where the CG had one of their little boats hauled. I don't
know if they have car parking or if it is the best in price though.

A picture of the lift is at
http://www12.virtualtourist.com/m/tt/2e650/#TL

grandma Rosalie

I've seen boats launched and hauled in Marathon at Marathon marina.
That's where the CG had one of their little boats hauled. I don't
know if they have car parking or if it is the best in price though.

A picture of the lift is at
http://www12.virtualtourist.com/m/tt/2e650/#TL

I was thinking about the marina where US 1 crosses the waterway just before Key
Largo. I wonder if they might have the facilities they were looking for. I have
not been that way by boat, but have driven the Keys in the RV several times
visiting friends in Marathon and then going to Key West.

Rosalie, I was reading about your trip south in 2000. I used to do some work at
the Dataw Marina a few years ago. If you look at various maps going back over a
hundred years, it is spelled about four different ways. My home marina is Port
Royal Landing right at the fixed bridge south of downtown Beaufort. We usually
get an early start and make it to the Herb river is our first stop and the Wahoo
the next.

Leanne
S/V Fundy








grandma Rosalie

Hi Jerry,
You can find several boat yards in either the Ft. Lauderdale or Miami
areas to launch your boat. It is a question of whether you have the
time
and inclination to make the trip by water to Marathon. If you have the
time, it is an interesting trip via the intracoastal, but you have to
watch the channel in places where it gets shallow. I brought my 22 foot
sailboat (4 foot draft) down that way many years ago. I now keep it in
Islamorada, which is about 22 miles north of Marathon. We keep it in
Max's Marine there, where they have a travel lift. They are on the gulf
side. I'm not sure, but it sounds like your boat is a sail. That
limits
your choices, as many boat yards in the keys are not servicing sail
boats
anymore. Marathon has a few boatyards on the ocean side, which can be
accessed easily from the gulf side by passing under a bridge just south
of the town. One is Marthon Marina. Another is Driftwood Marina.
There
is a place in Key Largo (ocean side) called Manatee Bay. These places
all
have travel lifts for sailboats. You can get contact information by
going
to: http://florida-keys.fl.us/ypages/ypmarina.htm
If you plan to keep your boat there in storage, be sure to check on
prices
and restrictions for maintaining your boat. For example, some places
will not let you paint your own boat. They are getting tough on
environmental stuff down there. Be careful not to run aground, as there
are stiff penalties, if they have to pull you off a coral reef, etc.

Let me know if you need any details,

Sherwin Dubren


Jerry wrote:

We would like to take our Dana 24 to the Keys this winter. I have purchased
Cap'n Papy's guide book.

My question is where is the best place to launch our boat. ( Need travel
lift) . Don't know if the Miami area is the best place or something lower.
We need a place that will allow us to store our car and trailer. We have
friends in Marathon and would probably use that as our primary destination.

Jerry

x-no-archive:yes "Leanne" wrote:

I've seen boats launched and hauled in Marathon at Marathon marina.
That's where the CG had one of their little boats hauled. I don't
know if they have car parking or if it is the best in price though.

A picture of the lift is at
http://www12.virtualtourist.com/m/tt/2e650/#TL

I was thinking about the marina where US 1 crosses the waterway just before Key
Largo. I wonder if they might have the facilities they were looking for. I have
not been that way by boat, but have driven the Keys in the RV several times
visiting friends in Marathon and then going to Key West.

I haven't been to the Keys by car in a LONG time. And we can't (or
don't) go down the ICW side because it is a bit shallow for us. I
know it is possible with a 5 foot draft because I know friends have
done it. But we'd rather not.

Rosalie, I was reading about your trip south in 2000. I used to do some work at
the Dataw Marina a few years ago. If you look at various maps going back over a
hundred years, it is spelled about four different ways. My home marina is Port

Yes I know - but I have to use the spelling in the VT database to put
the trip report in.

Royal Landing right at the fixed bridge south of downtown Beaufort. We usually
I know where you mean.

get an early start and make it to the Herb river is our first stop and the Wahoo
the next.

We only did the Dataw, Hilton Head, Herb River, Kilkenny Creek, Little
St. Simon island, Jekyll trip once that way, and we've never done it
that way again. We did it that time because of the broken throttle
cable. So we've only been to Dataw once.

Now we usually stage the trip across Charleston Harbor from Isle of
Palms stopping at Ross Marine and then going south via Beaufort
Downtown Marina, Palmer Johnson in Thunderbolt, anchor in the Wahoo
RIver and then Jekyll. We go north in reverse.

grandma Rosalie

S/V RosalieAnn, Leonardtown, MD
CSY 44 WO #156
http://home.mindspring.com/~gmbeasley/id2.html

"Jerry" wrote ...
We would like to take our Dana 24 to the Keys this winter.
We have
friends in Marathon and would probably use that as our primary destination.



first see if your friends have room to store your trailer in marathon
and maybe use marathons city moorings as a base, if they only have
room for your trailer and you don't want to impose too much on their
generosity from marathon come down to Key West, rent a mooring at the
city mooring field. when using the KW moorings (probably same in
marathon) you get shore support in the form of
showers/garbage/water/pumpout/dinghy dock and vehicle parking, make
Key West your base & maybe wait for a promisiong weather window and
visit the Dry Tortugas

more on city moorings, dry tortugas & keys in general at my page :

http://www.angelfire.com/fl/cruisingkeywest/