Florida Home dock listing resources?

[Limpet]

With all the homes on canals with docks in Florida, there must be some go to resource were owners list their docks for rent/lease?


Any recommendations

[Shanachie]

When I lived in Fort Lauderdale, I would look at craigslist, which is where all of the classified ads migrated after the local newspapers crashed.


However, be aware that renting a dock is a tricky business in Florida. In many communities, canals were dug so that developers could sell "waterfront" property to snowbirds.



You might find that a dock is seven or eight miles from ocean access, on a canal that is inaccessible at low tide or have two or three drawbridges between it and where you want to go.


You also have to examine how vulnerable the dock is to boat wakes and during storms. Almost anything on the ICW or a busy, wide canal is asking for trouble.



I once rented a dock in Fort Lauderdale that was perfect, right near Port Everglades, except that it was next to a fixed bridge and had a current that could exceed three knots.


That made for some interesting launches and landings when the tide was flowing toward the bridge.


Another potential headache with renting a private dock is that many homeowners want you to knock on their door and tell them when you're going to your boat.


If you go out once or twice a month, no problem. If you're like me and sail two or three days a week, and maybe spend another afternoon on maintenance, the homeowner is going to get tired of you very quickly.


For those reasons, I keep my boat at a marina these days, even though it costs more.

[Shanachie]

Also, if you're thinking liveaboard, I wouldn't even waste my time looking.


Most communities ban liveaboard rentals outright or require expensive pump out systems, extra parking, etc.



But, as a practical matter, real waterfront properties start at about $1 million and climb into the stratosphere. I've seen houses for sale for $20 million or more.


No one with that kind of money is going to allow a boater to live in his backyard for a few hundred dollars a month. It just ain't going to happen.

[denverd0n]

Here in the Tampa Bay/Sarasota area you can usually find a private dock or two available for rent on craigslist. Prices are typically 2/3rds to 3/4ths of what you would pay at a marina. I have, however, NEVER seen one that allowed living aboard.