Sail Boat Access Homes for Catamaran and Multi-hull Sailboats in Southwest Florida
Southwest Florida offers a different boating and sailing aspect than other places in the U.S. Many sailors accustomed to deep water sailing have to adjust their thoughts on what constitutes deep water in south Florida. The waterways themselves are largely “keel friendly” as long as you pay attention to basic navigational charts. The sail boat homes and the canals that exit from them are an important aspect when choosing a home here. In general, 6 feet of water at Mean Low Water (MLW) is about the best you can hope for. With a little higher tide phase you easily have 7 feet in some places. Punta Gorda in Charlotte County is one of the few places in southwest Florida that generally accommodates sailing vessels with a draft of 5 to 6 feet plus.
For the catamaran sailor a bigger consideration is canal width that will accommodate your beam, often 25 feet and more with draft less of a concern. Fortunately, Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte have plenty of locations for the multi-hull boater. Catamaran sailors in Punta Gorda have to be sure they abide by the guidelines that the city of Punta Gorda has in place. The goal of the city is to be sure there is an adequate channel in the center of the canal. There are guidelines for most every type of canal situation with variations such as an end of a canal versus the middle of a canal or even an intersecting canal situation. The end or near end of the canal presents different angular formats to determine how far your boat can enter into the water way. An intersecting canal has much less restriction for how far your boat can come off your dock/seawall.
Many of the canals in Punta Gorda Isles for instance are 100 feet wide. If your boat comes off the seawall more than 25 feet than you would be compromising the 50% center channel. For example, let’s say you own or are wanting to own a Lagoon 450. This vessel has a 25’9” beam and 45’10” length. To find the right sailboat access home for you we would need to look at wider canals so we adhere to the city’s guidelines. I can certainly identify which canals are wider for you.
Port Charlottes canal systems largely have 110’ to 120’ in widths and make things just a little easier when looking for a home for your boat. Port Charlotte is also not as restrictive with guidelines on mooring your boat either.
A very obvious consideration when looking for a home to accommodate your sailboat is the length of the waterfront property and seawall length. Docks are not much of a consideration for worry as adding docks or out-pilings is easily done and permitting is generally easy.
Other bonuses for a home choice is when there is a turning basin near your home or an intersecting canal. You will see that there are plenty of large vessels both sail and power that are on average width canals that still manage to get their boat safely in and out of their dock. The canal systems themselves offer considerable protection from high winds which always makes things challenging in open water situations.
For multi-hull sailboaters it is good for you to know you have lots of company in Charlotte County Florida! There is a friendly group known as the Charlotte Harbor Multi-hull Association that sailors enjoy sailing with and sharing information with others on the sport they love. They can be contacted at their website: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/CHMA/info
Another fantastic group is the Punta Gorda Sailing Club. The web address is: http://www.pgscweb.com/ You will be amazed at the local information that you can find here!
If you are looking for a home for your boat you want to be sure there are no surprises after you move in. I keep a running list of homes that will suit most types of catamarans and will be happy to help you come live the dream!
