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Launch Sites

Started by Wolverine, Mar 19, 2025, 08:20 PM

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Wolverine

Looking for Florida Keys launch ramps were vehicles and trailers can be stored for a couple weeks.

Any suggestions?
1985 Compac 19/II  s/v Miss Adventure
1990 Pacific Seacraft Orion  s/v Madame Blue
1986 Seidelmann 295  s/v Sur La Mer

Charles Brennan

Wolverine, Your query:
Quote from: Wolverine on Mar 19, 2025, 08:20 PMLooking for Florida Keys launch ramps were vehicles and trailers can be stored for a couple weeks.
Is a little non-specific, for a collection of islands that are over 180 miles long.  ::)
It is generally more productive to think of them as Upper Keys (i.e. Key Largo area), Middle Keys (i.e. Marathon area), and Lower Keys (i.e. Key West area).

For the Upper Keys, South Dade Marina has trailer storage.
https://www.southdademarina.com/

For the Middle Keys, my favorite is the Sea Bird Marina in Long Key.
https://seabirdmarina.com/
Had a buddy with a time-share in Marathon where we could put the trailer in the condo parking lot.  After his time-share lease expired, we used the Sea Bird Marina to stash the truck/trailer.  Also tied up there, since we had access to all of Florida Bay and could also go off-shore, by dropping the mast and going under the Long Key Viaduct bridge.  Access to showers was a big selling point to us, since we basically lived aboard.

Lower Keys and Key West is more problematic.
The real estate is so expensive, marinas have a hard time staying  in business for anything less than mega-yachts.
Key West Bight Marina is a classic example.
https://keywestbightmarina.com/

That far west, you'd likely have more luck with locals, borrowing their lawn for a nominal fee.
Here is an example of the latter.
https://www.neighbor.com/rv-storage-near-me/florida/key-west?cq_cmp=20531807643&cq_term=&km_googleadgroupid=&km_googlecampaignid=20531807643&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google_ads&utm_campaign=c20531807643_ag___x_c__us&loi=&lop=9011729&gclsrc=aw.ds&&utm_placement=&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw-e6-BhDmARIsAOxxlxU4TtG6o2bZyd4vWlEnlkd0fzy8ZTQYYJ0gbz4ufcyLIKs6kzVuwbgaAiEtEALw_wcB

Other forms of creativity, are calendar-based.
May to November is considered the off-season for the Florida Keys. You could book the Amalgamated Lepers Convention with little issue down there, then.  In years past, I used to talk up the managers of Holiday Inns, Ramada Inns, etc. to "rent" a parking space for my tow vehicle and trailer for several days.  Dunno if the money ever made it to the Home Office, or not.  ???

You might not have considered it, but the same way you can stash your vehicle and trailer at Big Lagoon State Park to go on the Fl 120, you could also do, down in the Keys.
For example, Bahia Honda State Park has camping spots available to keep the tow vehicle and trailer if the ramp parking doesn't have the ability to keep your trailer there.  The costs are not significantly greater than more conventional boat trailer storage, in the Keys.
https://www.floridastateparks.org/BahiaHonda

After you've narrowed down WHERE, in that 180 mile stretch you wanna launch, here is a list of boat ramps that might help you decide where to start looking for trailer parking.
https://ocean.floridamarine.org/boating_guides/florida_keys/pages/boat_ramps.html

Just keep in mind, NOTHING in the Keys is cheap!  >:(

Hope this helps,
Charles Brennan

Doug SC

It's been almost 50 years since I last spent time in the Keys diving for marine tropical fish and lobster. My mental image of the places I use to go would be shattered. Most of the FL I knew from the 50s to the early 80s has changed so radically it wounds me to visit many of them. Singer Island with its high-rise condos standing where there was a public beach, and wild dunes not far north of there all the way up to Jupiter. There were even wilder beaches south of Marineland with sandy roads through maritime forest over to the beaches that were easy to get stuck on. C'est la vie!

Wolverine

#3
My question was non specific because I didn't want to limit my choices to a few keys. I've been getting some crazy expensive quotes from private marinas. example: $75 to launch, another $75 to retrieve, and $1,000/week vehicle storage.
I received a decent quote this morning at a marina I launched from 15 years ago. $500/month vehicle storage and that incudes launching and retrieval.

Charles, are you sure your last name isn't Britannica?  Don't think I've ever known anyone with knowledge of just about everything.  You would have done good on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire".
Thank you for all the links!
1985 Compac 19/II  s/v Miss Adventure
1990 Pacific Seacraft Orion  s/v Madame Blue
1986 Seidelmann 295  s/v Sur La Mer

CapnK

Quote from: Wolverine on Mar 20, 2025, 02:04 PMCharles, are you sure your last name isn't Britannica?  Don't think I've ever known anyone with knowledge of just about everything.  You would have done good on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire".

Truer words... ;D  8)