The Keys are getting a crackdown.....

[Celestialsailor]

Here, where I'm anchored in San Diego, The Harbor Police have 3-4 main anchorages. The longest you can stay at one is 30 days. The others 3-4 days. Between stays, you have to re-up with them again. So if you keep moving you can anchor all the time. I think there point is to make sure all vessels can move under their own steam. Not a bad idea really. In the SF bay there were a few problem areas where some of the boats had become derelict.

[pdjb]

the homeless have to live somewhere - why not cheap boat out in the middle of the ocean.? let all the people who donates boats to them so call chariets for deduction on your taxes...go to the homeless and give them your boat..and all the homeless will be out in the oceans...what do you think...maybe the pres..will run with it...because we will become homeless...we are not far away from that...don't laugh?

[forsailbyowner]

Originally Posted by Dulcesuenos

Not sure whats wrong with a managed anchor area. If it cuts down on bad boaters, and sewage, besides Florida is offering free pumpout service for liveaboards, ( we love the program) some are paranoid about it...Derelict boats are a problem for anyone, Would you want to live in a house where people were dumping garbage and sewage in the yard across the street? I wouldn't , and didn't.
I dont think this is as much about ugly boats as it is ugly behavior.

Try a "managed" boating area like st pete. Any place to anchor that holds protection is off limits. Their mooring field cost more than local slips are available for. $300+ a month. The one area that was deemed allowed for anchoring was closed by the city in a manner not abiding with the mandates passed in the pilot program. Theres a no anchor buoy supposedly designating the area a construction site. Theres no construction going on there. Meanwhile their mooring field has the greatest occupancy since it was built, 3 boats. Most of the time it has been completely empty. There are means to deal with derelict boats. The cities are just on a power grab , be damned with our rights. Where is this free pumpout service? its $5 in St pete municipal marina.

[Alecadi]

The article was talking about some "pump out sticker" . I have my boat in the Keys and this is the first time I heard about such a sticker. What is it about?

[tybee22]

Monroe County, FL - Official Website - Vessel Pump-Out Services
Here is a link to the pump-out that is being supplied in the Keys. If you are in one of the Mooring fields Marathon or Key West the city supplies pump-out for free. I live in the Key West mooring field and while it is not the best especially during the winter northerners it is much cheaper than any dockage in the area. The Marathon mooring field is much better run with outstanding shore side services, but as I work in Key West I stay here. Living in Marathon would mean 90 mi. round trip commute.

Google up the Sat Sept 21 edition of the Key West citizen for related articles. Enforcement has been targeted to non-compliant vessels and is just starting to be pushed. There is no issues yet with boats being called dialect because there are barnacles on hull or it needs a paint job. Having lived on a boat for over 20 yrs. down here and I see it as a good thing. No matter your social-economic status respect for the fragile environment needs to be addressed. This is one way of helping as the pump-out service is free. They are not asking for anymore personal info that isn't already out there and easily obtained.

[Dulcesuenos]

Originally Posted by forsailbyowner

Try a "managed" boating area like st pete. Any place to anchor that holds protection is off limits. Their mooring field cost more than local slips are available for. $300+ a month. The one area that was deemed allowed for anchoring was closed by the city in a manner not abiding with the mandates passed in the pilot program. Theres a no anchor buoy supposedly designating the area a construction site. Theres no construction going on there. Meanwhile their mooring field has the greatest occupancy since it was built, 3 boats. Most of the time it has been completely empty. There are means to deal with derelict boats. The cities are just on a power grab , be damned with our rights. Where is this free pumpout service? its $5 in St pete municipal marina.

I guess in that light it would be a bit disgruntling. Dont most managed anchor areas that rent moorings also provide free dinghy docks, bike racks, water, showers, restrooms, etc for tenants? Dont most marinas charge $100.00 or more for these if they even offer it at all to those on the hook? So IMHO $200. A month for a mooring isn't a bad deal. Not having to dinghy in from a mile away and loom for a safe place than hunt for water then unload your bikes etc etc....
Also my understanding is pumpouts are going to be offered free by the state all the way up to the panhandle.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Dulcesuenos

I guess in that light it would be a bit disgruntling. Dont most managed anchor areas that rent moorings also provide free dinghy docks, bike racks, water, showers, restrooms, etc for tenants? Dont most marinas charge $100.00 or more for these if they even offer it at all to those on the hook? So IMHO $200. A month for a mooring isn't a bad deal. Not having to dinghy in from a mile away and loom for a safe place than hunt for water then unload your bikes etc etc....
Also my understanding is pumpouts are going to be offered free by the state all the way up to the panhandle.

I think this is the mooring field he's talking about, the Vinoy Basin.

Vinoy Yacht Mooring Field Now Open - Gene "Doc" Webb's Blog - St. Pete, FL Patch

The article says this was done "to manage derelict boats," but before the mooring field was put in I anchored there several times and saw no derelict boats.

It's not $300, it's $400 for a boat up to 40' feet. Around St. Pete the going rate for a slip in a good marina is $9 a foot including all the amenities the marina has to offer, including shower facilities, pool, bbq grills, and a place to sit and relax. The live-aboard fee is usually around $170/month and included WEEKLY pump out (some boats won't come close to making it 10 days -- they have two people aboard and a small holding tank, so they still have a problem on their hands). The live aboard service will include a mailbox and receiving, as well as facilitate sending of, packages. Some include cable TV.

It's a really nice anchorage, but it is nearly empty because of its exorbitant charges. I suspect they got what they wanted -- they cleared the boats out.

I wonder what the local restaurants think of that. We used to go there as a group of boats once or twice a year, dinghy in, and then have dinner at one of those restaurants. I guess it's just as well since I have been declared a menace who will kill someone some day...

[tybee22]

In Key West mooring monthly rate is $318 and includes free pump out, dinghy dockage, parking, bicycle racks, showers, H2O. Not sure what daily rates are. I know of one place to dink in at $100 month no services at all.

[Boatguy30]

The reason I suggested insurance is that cities often cite the cost of removing derelict boats as the actual financial justification for putting in moorings. It would be a trade off I would be willing to accept vs. paying $400 per month for something I want even less.

The San Diego program sounds ideal. I bet they get some Navy and Homeland Security money to do the patrols. No way they could make something like that happen in FL.

There is a guy here in St Augustine that does basically that. his boat is what I would term a well managed derelict and he moves at least once a week and actually takes the thing out sailing on occasion. He's a real asset to the boating community and has helped recover/ prevented the theft of various things over the years. but of the maybe 3 dozen boats in the area at anchor, he's the only one that EVER moves.

[Boatguy30]

OK, so $318 is a bargain for Key West. I assume you mean Garrison Bight which is a long dinghy ride.

my concern is, what happens when in 2-3 years they decide to get rid of all anchoring since the mooring are so "popular". What keeps them from hiking the rate to $600 a month?

[tybee22]

The mooring field is between east side of Fleming Key and west side of Sigsbee or Demolition Key. In a slow dinghy from my boat... at northern most part of field it is about 10 min. If you want to anchor around Xmastree island or west side of Fleming you can go into main harbor and get dinghy dockage and showers. Not sure of price. I personally do not like it over there... too crowded ,poor anchoring ,bad current and nasty busy channel to cross.

[gonesail]

i think the quote from "on flew over the cuckoos nest" applies here: a rolling stone gathers no moss. the homeless must keep moving or end up in jail. those with money can pay for a mooring or marina. nothing is free. like the OP said .. if things keep going downhill in this country many more of us all end up in the gutter.