Questions from a Trailering Cruiser
Most mooring fields are handled by the local municipal marina whom you would contact, by phone or VHF, once you have moored. Phone numbers are listed in our Marina Directory. Some marinas, like Carolina Beach, will actually come out to your boat to collect the fee. Others, mostly in Florida, require that you come into the marina in person and will not accept payment via credit card over the phone. Some marinas, like St. Augustine Municipal Marina, offer launch service when you don’t have a dinghy. Suggest that you see /?p=112455 for experiences/suggestions from other boaters.
As to parking your trailer, we’ll have to rely on responses from readers for answers to that. I do know that often launch ramps and parking are adjacent to or near municipal marinas, such as at Fort Pierce City Marina.
I am a newby at this cruising . How does one go about finding out how much and how to pay for these mooring fields and hookups to a mooring ball ?? I have a Macgregor 26s and where do I park my truck and trailer for cruises overnite and longer ?? thanks for any info .
Coot
In New England, where there are tons of rental moorings and they are relatively expensive, it is almost universal that someone comes by in the evening to collect a fee, or they do so when they direct you where to tie up. No paperwork, just pay up. In Florida, they seem to require you to register and fill out multi-page forms at a dock, before being asigned a mooring for the night. Trailer parking varies a lot too’“many marinas and boatyards have launch ramps and you can usually park for a fee, some municipalities charge also, while others are free for both parking and launching. There is usually a time limit. Varies a lot.
John Kettlewell, author of The Complete Cockpit Cruising Guide
A further thought on this is that moorings in Florida are few and far between. You certainly can’t count on finding a rental mooring every night unless you stay close to one of the few mooring fields. Off hand I think you can find moorings in Fernandina, St. Augustine, Titusville, Vero Beach, Stuart, Dinner Key, Marathon, and Key West. On the West Coast of Florida there are moorings at Ft. Myers Beach, Punta Gorda, Sarasota and in St. Petersburg. There may be a few others I haven’t mentioned, but not enough so you could travel the coast and find a mooring every night. You should be prepared to anchor out, and on occasion use marinas too.
John Kettlewell
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