New to Trailer-Sailing - Question About Leaving Tow Vehicle

[jwhite318]

Hello,

I just joined this forum and hope to benefit from the knowledge here. We are going to be buying a trailerable sailboat soon. I have sailed for about 40 years, mostly on larger, cruising sailboats on the Chesapeake Bay, Florida's Gulf Coast, and San Diego Harbor. I'm looking forward to getting back on the water. (We live in southwestern NC.)

Our idea is to take the boat to different locations for 4 to 5 day cruises. For example, Charleston, SC, Florida Panhandle, large lakes near us, the Chesapeake, etc. Never having done this, I'm wondering how easy (or difficult) it is to find a boat ramp where you can launch the boat from and keep your tow vehicle there (where you're allowed to park your tow vehicle for several days without it being towed).

Thanks in advance for your insights!

Jay

[Charles Brennan]

Jay, Firstly, Welcome to the forum!
As to your question: "I'm wondering how easy (or difficult) it is to find a boat ramp where you can launch the boat from and keep your tow vehicle there (where you're allowed to park your tow vehicle for several days without it being towed)."

Well, the answers are all over the place.
We'll start with Broward County, in south Florida.
Some places, like John U. Lloyd State Park (Now named Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park) in Florida, not only prohibit over-night parking, they tow vehicles after 9PM.  1 Nautical Mile to the west, is Harbour Towne Marina, whose price can be inferred from all the extra vowels they added.  Like $20 a day, to park the tow rig. 

In Fort Lauderdale, you can apply for monthly and annual permits in person, from the Fort Lauderdale Dockmaster.
https://www.fortlauderdale.gov/Home/Components/ServiceDirectory/ServiceDirectory/202/24

Going south into Miami-Dade County, most all the ramps have some version of Pay By Phone, an app you can download.  There are signs with numbers on them and you report the closest number to where you parked to the app, along with your credit card and tag info.  They use tow services, to monitor people that are parked without using the app.  Prices vary widely, so read the nearest Pay By Phone sign before you decide to stay there.  For example, Dinner Key Marina in Miami, is 5 miles from Matheson Hammock Marina and its' price is half that of Dinner Key.  Bakers Haulover Ramp, 79th St Ramp, Crandon Marina Ramp, all use these types of pay-to-park schemes.

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

State Parks (the ones with boat ramps) are my preferred tow vehicle/trailer storage area. They lock the gates after dark, they patrol frequently and they generally have nice facilities.  I like Big Lagoon State Park, whenever I go to Pensacola for the Florida 120, or the B.E.E.R. Cruise  (you need to ask about both of those, later!)
https://www.floridastateparks.org/BigLagoon

Works the same way in the Keys.
Here's an example for Bahia Honda State Park.
https://www.floridastateparks.org/BahiaHonda

Cedar Key, Florida on the west coast of Florida, uses a credit card machine that spits out a ticket that you display on your dash, clearly showing a valid date.  It is useful for the Cedar Key Small Boat Meet, etc. The only "gotcha" is that more than two-day stays are problematic to key in, since overnight and two nights are the most popular choices.  Be careful, before you hit the green key!   

Going north from Cedar Key is Horseshoe Beach that has a park (Douglas-Butler Memorial Park), with a ramp that does not have fees or day limits, but is otherwise fairly sketchy.  Your only recourse there is "security through obscurity" since not many people hang out there.  I've only stayed overnight there once, and I had no problems, but neither did I have any illusions, that I was lucky.  There is also a commercial marina, that has a boat lift (not really suitable for sailboats), and fairly expensive multi-day parking and it's about a half-mile away.  Quite the irony to launch at the free park, then drive to the marina, park, pay, (heavily!)  and then face a long walk back to the boat.  Welcome to the Nature Coast!   

Further north is Steinhatchee, which has a nice ramp and a remotely operated 5 dollar envelope system that you stuff your fiver into, and write down your boat and tag number.  They do not allow overnight parking and it fills fast on weekends.  There are other choices, though.
The Steinhatchee River Club has RV parking for your rig and a private ramp you can use to launch and a few wet slips, IIRC.
Forgot the price, because when they told me the price, all the blood rushed from my head and I fainted! 
Other choices are BlueSky Camp Sites, which is near Keaton Beach and has a fairly laid-back atmosphere.  It's another one of those launch, then drive and park at the Camp and Uber back to your boat. 

I do not frequent them much, but the Army Corps of Engineers have lakes that you can launch at and use the camping sites to store your tow rig. They are limited to 14 consecutive days in any 30 day period.
Fees vary by lake and state, but are in the 3 -5 dollar range per day.
https://www.sam.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Recreation/Boating/

Can't help you with the Carolinas or the Chesapeake, since I've never been there. 

Hope this helps,
Charles Brennan

[pgandw]

In NC the private ramps often have $5/night parking and a $5 launch fee. There are lots of public ramps (free), and you can park at most of them.  But these are generally unpatrolled and located away from the cities.  Not sure how safe they are because I have not used them for other than day sailing/boating.

The town docks on Albemarle Sound (Elizabeth City, Edenton, Hertford, Plymouth, Columbia) offer 48 hrs free docking with a phone call ahead.  Nice cruising because there are normally restaurants within walking distance of the town dock.  These may or may not have public launching ramps nearby (Elizabeth City and Hertford do, Edenton does not)

As said, the COE lakes have campsites where you could leave vehicles.  But the campsites are a lot more than $5/night.  There are waterfront campsites where you could anchor within wading distance if your draft is shoal enough.  Plenty of fisherman do that.  As for the launching ramp parking, probably no problem on off nights (anything but Friday/Saturday in the Summer).

Fred W
Stuart Mariner 19 #4133  Sweet P  - 10" draft with board up

[Captain Kidd]

Though I haven't trailered to "far away" places a whole lot, I have done some. Asking about specific places on the forum here will help. I have also been known to call local police to ask about the relative safety of a particular ramp. I called the St. Marys, GA police when launching from there on a multi-day trip. Did the same for the public ramp at Navarre, FL. I have also called nearby marinas for advice. They might have local knowledge.

[jwhite318]

Thanks for all the great advice, suggestions, and knowledge; very helpful!

[Travis Chapman]

My most recent we experience was in the Upper Chesapeake. State park ramps often included parking that you could safely leave a vehicle/trailer for a couple mights. Varying levels of security (Sandy Point: gated, Dark Horse Creek: ungated). Many marinas with ramps also offer parking for a nightly fee and many are gated. I sailed up in PA lakes as well, and always felt OK parking overnight at the state parks. Haven't gotten to test Smith Mountain Lake near home yet, but I understand we have at least day parking options.