Boating from Miami to the Keys
 

Hey guys, where is the best place to put in at , or around miami and go boating to the keys. Is it better to put in around Ft. Lauderdale or go on toward Marathon? Is it better to just tow on to keywest? Hope to boat from monday after the show until the next weekend. thanks

i love this question!...have had it myself many years ago.

i have to say that i (WE) much perfer to trailer to KW that boat down....now we boat going the other way on day and over night trips. this way you can boat on the front side or back side if need be, depending on weather and the mood your in. plus you can store a lot of extra junk in the truck.

we spend A LOT of time in the keys. just got back from a 2 week plus stay there on the boats. please feel TOTALLY free to call me... i can tell ya where to dock, where to park, where to eat...

734 635 1697 any time:D

Good call Joe, Thanks for the ride Audacity is a great boat, scared the sh*t out of Linda, her bruise is starting to fade, hehe.
Thanks again for the ride give Joe a call he knows the waters down there for a Mich boy.

Hugh

I was in the Keys a few weeks ago and the whole time I was there I only saw one speedboat out on the water.

Kinda dissapointing:(

Tonto
 

Get with Tonto - he knows every bar from Miami to Key West. He took us places you would never find if you were not w/ him. The best part is the upper and middle Keys - BH

no problem hugh. i like to run.

we run more in KW/keys every year than we do here.

just get charts! it all starts to look the same....tillllll the boat stops and runs out of water.

Key West won't be a great place to boat at this time of the year. It will be rough so not many places to go there. Better to run the inside and do Marriott, Westin, Holiday Isle, Hawks Cay, and if your budget allows one of the Seven wonders of the World "Little Palm Island"

Little Palm Island
 

Steve:

What's up w/ that place? We passed it coming back to Miami - Tonto was telling me a little about it. Any more info? BH

Brian

Like Steve said,"If your budget allows". Neat place, just very expensive. Stu was going to do an FPC run there one year and it was going to cost $1200.00/night for room and boat slip :D . And there's NO phone ! You might be able to look them up at www.noblehouse.com. They also own the Ocean Key House in Key West.

Robert

Steet

Why not hang around and do the poker run with FPC the weekend after the show. We are going to Holiday Isle in the middle keys. It would be a good way to get your feet wet so to speak if you've never been to the keys before. Like Audacity said, GET A CHART ! It might look like it's a big lake, but if you tear across a bay, you might find yourself picking sand or coral out of your hair :p . There is a good possibily I will be down there that week also, staying in Key Largo.

Robert

little palm island is a very exclusive resort just off ram rod key (i think 26.5mm)...we've been a few times but it's really not that cost effective...when you call for your rez they give you the coordinates. i would much rather eat at A&B...the tiki bar on ram rod has good bar food.

inside?...that's for bass boats!

They got bass in them there waters? :p

Robert

sea bass

:D

Got to agree with Tonto, go on the Poker Run, if you have not been down there go with a group, plus you'll meet alot of neat people and have a great time. Call Stu Jones FPC 954-618-2582

No doubt the best boating in the world, water everywhere! but its only knee deep. I might advise you take some one familiar with the waters your first time. Good captains cost $100.00 a day, while props and water pumps can run into the thousands.
Have fun!:cool:

Bosco-
$100 a day and bar tab!! I can see where you may be going with this.

I live on a boat in North Miami Beach, and another in Islamorada, on the weekends. I think the best boating in the keys is Key Largo, Tavernier, Islamorada. Key West is better done on the land.

We stopped at Little Palm Island last year for lunch during the FPC Hawks Cay run !


That place is great! But bring lots of Ca$h

the drinks are GREAT....but the food???

Little Palm is way cool.The old movie P.T.109 was filmed there.They serve the best demi-glos, bar none.Money buys you stiff service....Throw the best insult you can come up with and your server will say"Thank you sir ...can I get you anything else?"

Boating or Poker Run
 

Thanks guys, I will have to look over my plans and make some changes. I am staying in Miami, fri,sat & sun nites and was planning on going to keywest on Monday. I already have a hotel room and boat slip at the Galeon marina. I can change these plans. I have purchased the charts and have just ordered the blue charts for my garmin. I am still concerned about the waters though. I will make the call very soon. thanks for all the help and information. Hope to see you guys at the boat show. Thanks

Hey Tonto, What is the dates for that poker run ?? I just purchased a (new for me) Top Gun down in Florida and want to go exploring with the boat before I bring it back home in April. I will be down in Ft Lauderdale from 2/12 thru 25th any chance thats when the run is happening ???


Bob

with the FPC how large of a boat do you need to have?? 26 OK ??? What kind of speed do they run?? 50mph?? Just wondering???

Otis311
 

Hey Otis311, or should I say otis 411 or spec 60 or MRQ or elevonic, you know what I mean. Glade to hear of your new purchase. Congratulations and hope you have a nice trip. I also will be down for about 10 days. later

steet, Tonto and Steve David helped me out tremendously this spring when I did my first trip. It was the boating adventure of a lifetime. Tonto hit the nail on the head with EVERY STOP he recomended. The water was intimidating at first with being able to see the bottom all te way to KW. but you will get used o it after a while. I ran outside of Hawks channel in 800 feet of water going down because there wasnt a wave to be seen. Coming back was 5-6 footers in the channel, charts worked good but water colors were a good indicater for me. I wouldnt recomed the inside at all unless you are with others !!! 5-6 feet of water at best. Tonto has all the coordinates for the gps and they are in your charts also Dont make the run all in one day. You will miss all the fun stopping at all the tiki bars and little villages

Wish it was already Feb 14th
 

After all the great replies and all of the great informaton, I am getting spring fever again. Can't wait to get down there. I am in the middle of some heavy planning and calculating at this time. Thanks again to everyone.