Snowbird questions for off season storage or slip.

are you referring to West Coast of Florida (Gulf) or West coast U.S. (Pacific) ?
i ask since i have met fellow boaters who called any major storm at sea hurricane and monsoon like.....

Scott

Return to what north? Idaho? Minnesota? Quebec? Alaska? With the boat or leave it south? Just boat during the winter?

What do others do? Most who live in Idaho boat in the PNW, Washington and BC and Oregon. Then if they want warmer for winter, they go to San Diego or Ensenada or Cabo or La Paz?

I don't know anyone from Idaho who keeps a boat in Corpus Christi so you're heading down a new path. Nothing wrong with that. I do know some from PNW who have boats in Florida. If they cruise north during the summer, it's up the East Coast.

Safest area during hurricane season is Idaho. Eliminates boating but safest. There is no coastal area from Corpus Christi to Boston that is immune from hurricanes.

How much do you plan on using this boat? What times of the year?

I'm horrified with the thought of not using it from July to November. In theory, most would lean toward storing it on land if no plans to use it at all during 5 months. It reduces the costs of having someone manage it, of maintaining it, and of hurricane preparation. Finding land storage could be a challenge.

During the months of use, will you stay on it the entire time or fly back and forth?

I understand that you want home base to be TX because of family but that’s a loooong way from the FL keys. You’re not just going to pop over there and then back to TX. Frankly, from Corpus Christi it’s a long way cruising to anywhere.

Living 1,500 miles from your boat is likely going to be a big problem for your insurance company. Even if it’s not I highly recommend you hire someone to look after it when it’s in the water and you’re not there.

People in severe winter climates store boats out of the water all the time but there’s an infrastructure in those places to do it. I don’t know what you’re going to have available to you in TX.

A lot of people do just that: spend the winter on a boat down south and cruise around although you can’t compare it to a condo. You don’t just lock the door and walk away for a a few months... you will need someone to take care of the boat, start the engines and gen every couple of weeks, etc. yes you can haul and store the boat in the summer if you have the facilities. Some people do it in Florida to avoid hurricane season hassles.

i m not sure Texas is the best choice though. You re a long way from nice cruising grounds like the Bahamas.

Usually no but you could hire someone to do that. Some captains / managers do

I would probably look at storing the boat further inland, 100 miles or so from shore Safer and likely cheaper

I live in Virginia and leave my boat in Stuart Florida during Hurricane season. I stay at River Forest and in the event of named storm I go into a building that is rated for CAT 4 and is one lock in on the Okeechobee waterway. For a 54 Motoryacht the storage cost approximately $4300 a month for each month of hurricane season. One of the advantages is that you can get work done on the boat with out the pressure of time constraints. They have a wait list at Stuart but their Labelle facility expanded I believe they have some openings. Hope this helps.

Think about the question if I were Idaho based, I would ski in Sun Valley, and boat in the Bahamas.
I would leave my boat in FL and find a captain to maintain her when away. Are there more boats per capita in FL than any state in the Union? Do they all haul out during named storms?
Plus if you get bored with heading south of FL, you can head north and check out the Eastern gems all the way to Nova Scotia or at least Maine.

Just take a look at @Pascal posts and his cruising guide on Exumas and Bahamas and you will forget all about family in TX

I like skiing in Schweitzer at as well but the lake fog is a bummer some times!

I would leave my boat in FL and find a captain to maintain her when away. Are there more boats per capita in FL than any state in the Union? Do they all haul out during named storms?




Insurance can be tough to get for owners that dont reside in florida.

Yes member of the Hurricane club. I didn’t know they called it a club. You have options to store on the outside as well and they strap you down to concrete anchors with a rebar loop at the top. I am sure that is a little cheaper.

Coeur D'Alene is a wonderful lake town for sure. I love Sand Point too
As to more research to do, join the club. Not the Hurricane club, the new to boating club.
Are you boating on the lake or have you that sort of boating experience. It all counts and translates for your future.
There are plenty of forums related to boating, Yachtforums is the best for having experienced captains and owner operators of cruising boats, in my opinion. This forum is very quick to root out trolls or folks with self promoting motivations as far as I can tell. Legit is the word that comes to mind here.

Your family in Texas will love the easy flight to South Florida to see your boat.

The bigger challenge I see is finding a marina to live aboard for an extended period of time - let alone 8months. Anchoring out means dingy/access dingy dock nearby- getting food fuel & water become challenges- doable but challenging.

in the winter you can cruise north/ maybe to South Carolina but it gets cold. Bahamas are great but you may get stuck there if too windy to cross back over Gulf Stream. Florida is great- just challenging to get dockage.

Fort Lauderdale is the Mothership for boats, services and captains :management companies. I’d start your search there

Good luck.