Re: Boat and trailer tongue weight
by hmhigh » Thu Dec 31, 2009 9:45 am
Well we made it - 1125 miles from Chesapeake to Key West. Trailer behaved well with minimal sway. Only towing problem was when we took off in the dark from Port St Lucy I neglected to raise/remove the front trailer wheel. Fortunately it has a built in audible alarm - kind of sounds like a boat falling off the trailer. We're in the Garison Bight Marina (1801 N Roosevelt Blvd on Google Earth). It was a bit windy when I motored into our slip but Admiral Brenda met a fellow who owns a 26X near our berth and the two of them were able to pull me into our slip. The marina, while not a resort, is more than adequate. There is road noise from Roosevelt Ave but we had no trouble sleeping. It's very convenient with lots of restaurants, chain grocery stores, a Kmart and Home Depot within walking or biking distance. And how else could you spend a month in Key West for $950? We're headed for Schooner's Wharf to listen to Michael McCloud this afternoon followed by other bands and the "Lowering of the Wench" at midnight from the schooner Halie & Mathew.
Wishing all - fair winds in 2010!
Woody High
Woody (and others who have been there recently...)
If you have a spare minute sometime, could one of you type out a little report about how you are doing in Key West? Is it cold? How is the marina working out. Where did you park the trailer? Can you swim or snorkel comfortably or is that only for later in the season? Any news would be a welcome relief for those of us who envy the heck out your trip....and are freezing our ballassts off up here in the non-tropical USA.
Last edited by opie on Wed Jan 06, 2010 6:02 am, edited 1 time in total.
I just got back from Key West as well. We stayed in Garrison Bight over Christmas. With too small kids I decided that next time we'd spend the extra money and stay in Key West bight - mostly because it is very close to all the attractions. Garrison Bight is only a mile or two walk from "downtown" though. The facilities at Garrison are a little "tired" but fine. There is a convenience store and a subway/ice cream shop just across the street which is nice. Security was pretty evident, we saw them walking through several times. I was surprised the road noise didn't bother us.
The water was a little chilly for snorkeling, but with a shortie or full wetsuit (once you acclimate) it is OK. We opted for the glass bottom boat tour instead. Expensive but comfortable.
Opie - As with everything in life, it's relative. We're bumbed that it's in the low 60's in the day and mid 50's overnight until we look at the weather back in Virginia and see that it's in the teens overnight. The first 2 days here were beautiful - sunny and high 70's. Then New Year's day late afternoon it started clouding up so we came back from Smathers Beach and the cold front rolled in. High winds all night made for difficult sleeping but no real problems. Since then it's been too cool for the beach but there are many things on our to do list that don't require the 70's so all in all we're having a great time. We've met a lot of people that are only down for a week and we feel bad for them. Friday is supposed to be a warm day and then next Monday the cold front is supposed to be gone. The weather people say this is the longest cold snap in 20 years.
Overall we're happy with the marina. We can't use the separate bath rooms that the permanent livaboards use and I'm going to write a letter requsting that. It's not a big deal but we're paying more than they are and we have to use the marina public bathrooms which are on the other side of Palm Avenue. We use the same showers as them and they have a number keypad and aren't public. The price ($913.75 for the month) includes vehicle and trailer parking, electricity and water. We park our Explore right in front of the showers and the trailer parking is down the access road just past the houseboats. Google Earth -1801 N Roosevelt Ave 33040- gives a good picture of everything. The marina is about a mile from three large chain grocery stores so we can easily stock up by bike or drive at night when the traffic has died down. Old Town is only about a mile and a half and we always bike that direction since parking is almost impossible and costs at least $10. The water temperature is about 70 which is too cold for most people. We brought our full wet suits for when we get around to snorkling. We are very inexperienced MAC sailors so we are not going out except in good conditions. This is kind of a learning trip for us. I plan on launching our blog by the weekend describing what we've been doing. I'll post a link on this site. When we first got here there was a young couple here from Wilmington, NC. They both work at the community college. They had about a 20 ft sailboat that they shared with 3 well behaved dogs. They left them on the boat when they went into town for New Years. I guess that's a good way to keep your boat secure.
Alan - we considered Key West Bight when planning this trip and may stay there in the future. We picked Garrison for starters ultimately due to my frugal nature (Admiral Brenda has another word for it). In many ways it's a toss up but I noticed on the website that the month of January is in the "special events" catagory with Fantasy Fest, New Years, etc. when the rates are drastically higher. So just avoid January. Here's my pro and con list for the two choices. Garrison Pros -Price, free car and trailer parking, close to a "normal city" area with grocery stores, Home Depot, movie theater, Advance Auto. short ride to Smathers Beach, easy bike ride to Old Town (maybe not so easy with young kids though), close to city tennis facility with round robbin pickup matches morning and afternoon Cons -Area not as nice as Old Town, public bathrooms across the street, farther to Old Town and Fort Zachary Taylor Beach Key West Pros -The opposite of Garrison Cons. I don't really know what the bathrooms and showers are like at Key West Bight so I can't comment on that. One really neat thing is close access to the big tropical pool at Dante's restaurant. Any customer can use it but it's right next to the Key West Bight marina. You just walk down the pier order a drink at lay out at the pool under the palms. Cons -Opposite of Garrison Pros. The web site doesn't talk about parking so if that's not included that would add $10-20/day. There are some small grocery stores downtown, Faustos, etc., but they are more expensive. Also it looks like there are no finger piers going out from the main piers at Key West Bight. You have to tie up to pilings.
I think either would make a nice spot for a Mac gathering someday.
And if you ever want to live in Key West for almost nothing, the City maintains a mooring field just north of Garrison Bight. About 50 boats with permanent residents are among the 100 plus boats moored. $290/month and you're living in paradise. They have a dingy dock but I don't know if that includes vehicle parking, but a lot of people in Key West don't have cars - bikes or scooters are adequate.
hmhigh wrote:
Key West Pros -The opposite of Garrison Cons. I don't really know what the bathrooms and showers are like at Key West Bight so I can't comment on that.
I can comment on the showers/restrooms as of 2007. They were pretty minimalist. Definitely in need of some maintenance, but they weren't used very often which meant they were fairly clean.
owner.