Merritt Island FL info

[localboy]

Any boaters familiar with this area? We are looking at houses on the canals there...possibly as a landing spot post retirement. Depth of the canals? Some of them have nothing on the charts I downloaded. Our current boat has a very shallow draft, about 18”.

The area between Merritt and Cocoa beach looks pretty shallow too. Seems barge canal cuts thru to the ocean. Is there any other channel? Does the area access the intercoastal waterway?

I know zero about Florida. ZERO. However, being from Hawaii, the weather & ocean are very appealing. the thought of living out our retirement with our own dock just outside our back door etc is fantasy, but appears possible based in home prices in the area. Florida is much more aligned with our political ideology too.

Anything else anyone can provide would be appreciated. Weather...risk of bugs, skeeters, alligators, snakes...local taxes, crime in the area...humidity...I’ll listen to it all. Good, bad and ugly... We would love to do a trip, but until crap gets back to a more normal routine, it won’t happen.

Mahalo!

 

[rgano]

If you are bringing the C-Dory, canal depth won't be a big issue.

Florida bugs are a world of difference that Hawaii (I have lived there twice). No-see-ums (AKA flying teeth) can be a real issue before mid-morning and between 3-4 PM and sunset after which the skeeters come out. The extent of the issue varies widely depending on the environment and the frequency of public spraying.

You have to be trying pretty hard to come into adverse contact with a gator, more an issue around canals with shallow angle bank in south FL where people walk their bait (er, dogs) along the edges.

 

[menzies]

Then there's night being turned into day regularly!

 

[mvweebles]

We moved to St Pete FL in 2005 from San Francisco where we lived in downtown area (boat at Treasure Island). My wife missed SF ( food and wine culture) for a couple years but came around to the small city of St Pete. We both like it here a lot. We do have a small cabin in the mountains of Colorado so can escape the summer when we feel the need, but frankly summers are not bad. Having a pool makes a world of difference.

Florida is a probably at least three regions. East coast is dominated by transplants from the mid Atlantic states. It's more crowded and more fru-fru at least to our tastes. West coast is a bit more laid back and dominates by transplants from the Midwest and Ontario. More subtle than NJ/NY area (before anyone comments, I was born and raised in NJ).

Northern Florida is also nice, but cooler in winter. There's a saying in Florida "The further north you go, the further south you get." When we were originally looking, we found the weather too cool in winter for our tastes.

Property values have really taken off in Florida during the Covid period, but are still pretty affordable compared to waterfront elsewhere.

Florida is shallow everywhere. I've been 10 miles offshore and still in less than 100 feet of water. You can go very long distances and never see triple digits on your depth sounder.

As RGano states, there are bugs. Either you have a lanai (screened pool area) or evacuate in late afternoon and dusk, which is what we do (no lanai). I wish it was different, but overall, not awful.

Good luck on whatever you decide. We're happy and would do it all over. No state income taxes is cool too

Peter

 

[Benthic2]

I used to work on a cruise ship that sailed out of Port Canaveral. Traffic could get congested on days the cruise ships embark/disembark. I think the port is even busier now and the ships are bigger.

 

[FF]

North of Lake O it can get very cold , close to the ocean the hurricanes are still full strength.

 

[smitty477]

Any boaters familiar with this area? We are looking at houses on the canals there...possibly as a landing spot post retirement. Depth of the canals? Some of them have nothing on the charts I downloaded. Our current boat has a very shallow draft, about 18”.

The area between Merritt and Cocoa beach looks pretty shallow too. Seems barge canal cuts thru to the ocean. Is there any other channel? Does the area access the intercoastal waterway?

I know zero about Florida. ZERO. However, being from Hawaii, the weather & ocean are very appealing. the thought of living out our retirement with our own dock just outside our back door etc is fantasy, but appears possible based in home prices in the area. Florida is much more aligned with our political ideology too.

Anything else anyone can provide would be appreciated. Weather...risk of bugs, skeeters, alligators, snakes...local taxes, crime in the area...humidity...I’ll listen to it all. Good, bad and ugly... We would love to do a trip, but until crap gets back to a more normal routine, it won’t happen.

Mahalo!

"Anything else anyone can provide would be appreciated. Weather...risk of bugs, skeeters, alligators, snakes...local taxes, crime in the area...humidity...I’ll listen to it all. Good, bad and ugly..."

- taxes will appear lower for homes where owners have stayed there for many years..the taxes are about 2% of home value but also offer slight homestead discount if you live in the home. Check well ahead for accuracy.
- Red tides are generally on the west coast and south of the space coast, should not affect you here
- Home insurance varies by a factor of 2:1 or greater based on construction, the much higher home ins costs go to stick homes without wind mitigation so figure that out ahead as well.
- Hurrcane's are typically more of a problem for west coastt and south Florida
especially the cat 3 and higher. You can look this up in various gvt charts for historical %'s.
- Similarly coastal flooding is more or a problem for the west coast and south Florida but some areas of the Space coast are more vulnerable than others. For that you can look at the "Slosh map2" or on "propertyshark' to get a reading on any proposed address that interests you.
- You are more likely to die from a cow or bee sting than an alligator so dont worry about that.
- Car insurance varies by more than 2:1 in Forida based on loactions (zip codes). The space coast has mostly the lowest rates for Forida.
- Your best yearly weather summary will come from googling "merritt island yearly weather weatherspark"
- there are no appreaciable sink hole problems on the space coast, no need to worry there.
- some areas on canals and the peninsulas have septic systems , use diligence in the water tables and rules regarding them.
Thats all I can think of now - hope this helps

 

[caltexflanc]

There was along thread on The Hull Truth awhile ago on this exact subject, including a lot of input from people who live and/or boat on those canals. You should try doing a search on that site.

 

[localboy]

Thanks to all who contributed. I will look a the various sites/threads etc mentioned. I can deal with humidity, especially if I'm retired with a boat & a pool...and AC. The bugs are something I've always heard about FL. I guess they are just something to deal with. I'm not too worried about gators but The Admiral has only live in WA & AK so snakes, scorpions, gators, sharks etc are something she does not like (admittedly, I get the snakes...Mark don't do snakes). Hurricanes are more of a concern; I've been thru two in Hawai'i so I know what Mother Nature is capable of...

Anyone else with input please chime in! Mahalo.

 

[Alaskaflyer]

If you're interested in canal-side living also check out Siesta Key and Marco Island on the west coast. Marco is pricier than Merritt, and Siesta even more so, not sure of your expectations in that regard. I'm not one for close-in resort-style neighborhoods but I sort of like Siesta Key. Great beaches.

 

[cardude01]

There has been lots of red tide the last few years on the west side of Florida, and Siesta Key was especially bad IIRC.

I kept my boat on Longboat Key and it was pretty disgusting to show up to the boat and have it be surrounded by dead fish. Maybe that was just an abnormal thing when I was there for those few years, but I would check with some locals. The red tide (or whatever it’s called) can also cause some people breathing problems, allergic reactions, etc.

 

[FF]

"The bugs are something I've always heard about FL. I guess they are just something to deal with."

The snowbirds that winter in FL can be spotted by the lack of bug screens on their porches.

One the summer rains start a screened residence is required , along with conditioned air.

 

[Mako]

Any boaters familiar with this area?
I know zero about Florida. ZERO. However, being from Hawaii, the weather & ocean are very appealing.

OP, Florida is a big place and quite diverse in its environments. We even had snow this morning in Merritt Island/Titusville (actually it was frost, but my daughter really loved it anyway!).

Why don't you spend the next year renting AirBnB's for 3 month stretches in 4 different corners of Florida? Perhaps rent them on canals or in condos with marina privileges, bring your boat down and learn first hand.

 

[Shrew]

Depth of the canals?

You have to discuss that with the individual developments that you're looking at. I doubt it would be an issue for a C-Dory.

The area between Merritt and Cocoa beach looks pretty shallow too. Seems barge canal cuts thru to the ocean.

Is there any other channel?

There is a channel that runs from Jacksonville to Miami Beach, the entire length of the intracoastal waterway. There are Canals that cut through to get from the Indian River (Intracoastal Waterway) to the open ocean in:

Ponce Inlet (New Smyrna)
Port Canaveral
Sebastian Inlet (Sebastian/Roseland)
Fort Pierce Inlet (Fort Pierce)

Does the area access the intercoastal waterway?

The intracoastal waterway runs from Jacksonville to Miami Beach. The Indian River is part of the intracoastal waterway. That is the entire body of water west of Merritt Island.

 

[Shrew]

Incidentally, I live in the Space Coast during the winter.

 

[PJHoffnet]

Any boaters familiar with this area?

Yes ... lived/boated here since 2017. 1999 Maxum 4100 SCA (3'10" draft/18' air draft). Wet slip in Harbortown Marina - on the Canaveral Barge Canal (CBC), Merritt Island (MI). Normal cruising grounds are Florida's Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AIWW). Also intend on doing St Johns River, Okeechobee Water Way (OWW) and Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW).

We are looking at houses on the canals there...possibly as a landing spot post retirement. Depth of the canals? Some of them have nothing on the charts I downloaded. Our current boat has a very shallow draft, about 18”.

The majority of the 'backyard' canals on MI are three to four feet deep. You should have no issues with your current boat.

The area between Merritt and Cocoa beach looks pretty shallow too.

The area between MI and Cocoa Beach is the Banana River (BR). It is actually an estuary that runs from MI/Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in the north to Dragon Point (the southern most part of MI). It is very shallow and wide, but has a navigable channel for your current boat's draft. I will not take my boat south of the State road 520 Bridge (between Cocoa and Cocoa Beach), nor north of the Pineda Causeway (State Road 404). Your current boat will have no issues transiting the entire BR, as long as you stay in the channel - plus there are plenty of 'wider areas' you can roam once you learn the real 'no go' places that are simply too shallow.

Seems barge canal cuts thru to the ocean. Is there any other channel? Does the area access the intercoastal waterway?

The CBC connects to the AIWW at ~mile marker 894. This area is the Indian River Lagoon. An estuary that stretches from the northern tip of MI/The Mosquito Lagoon, south to Port St Lucie. The CBC then travels eastward, cutting across MI, until it reaches the BR. Travel north on the BR is limited due to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Kennedy Space Center security zones and wildlife protection areas. The Port Canaveral Lock provides a connection between Port Canaveral/Atlantic Ocean and the BR/CBC. The next closest Atlantic Ocean inlets - compatible with your current boat - are (north) the Ponce de Leon inlet in New Smyrna Beach (~AIWW mile marker 840/~45 nm north of the CBC/AIWW junction), and (south) Sebastian Inlet (~mile marker 938/~38 nm).

Anything else anyone can provide would be appreciated. Weather...risk of bugs, skeeters, alligators, snakes...local taxes, crime in the area...humidity...I’ll listen to it all. Good, bad and ugly... We would love to do a trip, but until crap gets back to a more normal routine, it won’t happen.
Mahalo!

- Weather. Hot and humid in the summer. Mild winters with at least two or three weeks (usually not in succession) where temps will be in the low 60s days/low 40s-high 30s nights. Hurricane season runs from the beginning of May through the end of November. Hurricane preparation is something everyone must think about.
- Bugs/Skeeters. It’s Florida, we have bugs. Most well maintained homes with an active pest prevention program are minimally affected by them.
- Alligators. It’s Florida, we have alligators. I treat every fresh/brackish water area as having the potential for having alligators. We see them almost daily in the neighborhood's retention ponds (lakes that help control flooding and provide irrigation - found in all new (post ~1980) neighborhoods in Florida) and fairly regularly in our marina and the CBC.
- Snakes. It’s Florida, we have snakes. In our area, almost all are non-poisonous. Routine sightings of Corn Snakes and Black Racers in my neighborhood (Viera).
- Taxes. Will vary with where you live of course. After you become a permanent resident apply for the homestead exemption. Our taxes run a little over 1% of home value. There is no state income tax in Florida.
- Crime. Brevard county, as most places, has good and bad areas when it comes to crime. Merritt Island is a mixed bag - neighborhood dependent.
- Traffic. Some congested areas/choke points at certain times of the day. No roads turn into parking lots routinely - most roads have alternates in case of accidents. The Causeways on and off the barrier islands/MI to the mainland are often congested +/- hour or two when there is a big launch. I-95 is a racetrack, you’ll need to learn how to use it safely … but it does provide a great three hour trip to Miami or Jacksonville. State road 528 (the B-Line) is a straight shot into Orlando. The airport is far enough east (~45 miles away) that you don’t get into too much city traffic before you get there. There are also airports in Melbourne and Sanford that are smaller, but don’t fly to as many places.
- Snowbirds. It’s Florida, we have snowbirds. We don’t have as many in this area as they do on the Gulf Coast and further south. Minor ‘change’ in population density, but noticeable.
- Scouting Trip. Completely agree with you - as soon as the time comes. Might want to do a month in the summer and a month in the winter to get the real feel.

 

[TBill36]

Depending on your kind of boating, the southeast coast offers pretty easy access to the Bahamas - some of the best cruising for easy access in the world. Also, the lower center of the state is dominated by Lake Okeechobee with the everglades further south. Because of this the east coast development stops about 15 miles inland. North of that - especially on the west coast, development sprawls 30-40 miles towards the east. There are few major highways that travel east to west until you get up towards Orlando so you have long stretches with traffic lights every mile making east/west travel a PITA. Look at a map and you'll see what I'm talking about.

 

[Miz Trom]

Hi Mark:

Native Floridian here. Lived on the east coast of Florida until I was 12, and the west coast of Florida since then.

Merritt Island is a part of the Indian River Lagoon, which has been decimated by algae blooms in the summertime for over a decade. Fish, dolphin, turtles - all are killed by these oxygen-destroying algae blooms.



The source of the algae blooms is the runoff from Lake Okeechobee, which flows from the St. Lucie canal into the Indian River Lagoon, and to the Atlantic.

There's a neat lady over on the IRL who has been blogging about the algae blooms since 2013.

https://jacquithurlowlippisch.com/2016/06/

She is now on the board of the South Florida Water Management District and fighting the good fight to fix the problem. But it will take loads of tax dollars and at least 50 years to remedy this problem.

And the Indian River Lagoon is not alone, as another location in Florida also suffers deadly pollutants flowing out of Lake O every summer. The Ft. Myers basin on the Gulf coast, with the pollutants flowing from Lake O down the Caloosahatchee River to the Gulf coast, also suffers from the crashing of the waterway ecosystem each summer.

Personally, because of the deadly runoff from Lake O, I believe there are much better places to buy waterfront in Florida than anywhere in the Indian River Lagoon or the Ft. Myers basin. Although, I will add, Ft. Myers has near-perfect winter weather with minimal chilly weather. And the algae dissipates by fall.

Look for locations that are not close to the runoff canals that service Lake O.

Another great location is the Tampa Bay area. We owned a waterfront home in St. Petersburg for many years; now we are building a home in Hernando Beach.

St. Petersburg is the best small city in America. Our home there was a one-story ranch house, built at sea level in 1960. Selling that house for a small fortune enabled us to build a waterfront house a bit further north with the living quarters on the second floor, which is the one thing we have wanted to achieve after thirty years of uneasiness each time a hurricane entered the Gulf.

Hurricanes and tropical storms cause flooding, and they are a part of life anywhere near the coast in Florida. There is a reason one-story waterfront homes are a little less expensive than stilt homes or two-story waterfront homes - flood insurance. Our flood insurance rates were skyrocketing when we sold our house, and will continue going up.

Oh, and Cardude mentioned red tide. Yes, red tide really sucks. Mote Marine and many other laboratories have not yet been able to figure out what causes it, but I have only seen it five times in my 64 years. It just appears every once in a while, makes aquatic life miserable for a few weeks, and then disappears.

Hope my comments help you in your Florida waterfront ambitions. There is something very special about neighborhoods dedicated to boating - we have many old neighbors who are lifetime friends.

Cheers and Stay Safe,
Mrs. Trombley

 

[smitty477]

Hi Mark:

Native Floridian here. Lived on the east coast of Florida until I was 12, and the west coast of Florida since then.

Merritt Island is a part of the Indian River Lagoon, which has been decimated by algae blooms in the summertime for over a decade. Fish, dolphin, turtles - all are killed by these oxygen-destroying algae blooms.

View attachment 113986

The source of the algae blooms is the runoff from Lake Okeechobee, which flows from the St. Lucie canal into the Indian River Lagoon, and to the Atlantic.

There's a neat lady over on the IRL who has been blogging about the algae blooms since 2013.

https://jacquithurlowlippisch.com/2016/06/

She is now on the board of the South Florida Water Management District and fighting the good fight to fix the problem. But it will take loads of tax dollars and at least 50 years to remedy this problem.

And the Indian River Lagoon is not alone, as another location in Florida also suffers deadly pollutants flowing out of Lake O every summer. The Ft. Myers basin on the Gulf coast, with the pollutants flowing from Lake O down the Caloosahatchee River to the Gulf coast, also suffers from the crashing of the waterway ecosystem each summer.

Personally, because of the deadly runoff from Lake O, I believe there are much better places to buy waterfront in Florida than anywhere in the Indian River Lagoon or the Ft. Myers basin. Although, I will add, Ft. Myers has near-perfect winter weather with minimal chilly weather. And the algae dissipates by fall.

Look for locations that are not close to the runoff canals that service Lake O.

Another great location is the Tampa Bay area. We owned a waterfront home in St. Petersburg for many years; now we are building a home in Hernando Beach.

St. Petersburg is the best small city in America. Our home there was a one-story ranch house, built at sea level in 1960. Selling that house for a small fortune enabled us to build a waterfront house a bit further north with the living quarters on the second floor, which is the one thing we have wanted to achieve after thirty years of uneasiness each time a hurricane entered the Gulf.

Hurricanes and tropical storms cause flooding, and they are a part of life anywhere near the coast in Florida. There is a reason one-story waterfront homes are a little less expensive than stilt homes or two-story waterfront homes - flood insurance. Our flood insurance rates were skyrocketing when we sold our house, and will continue going up.

Oh, and Cardude mentioned red tide. Yes, red tide really sucks. Mote Marine and many other laboratories have not yet been able to figure out what causes it, but I have only seen it five times in my 64 years. It just appears every once in a while, makes aquatic life miserable for a few weeks, and then disappears.

Hope my comments help you in your Florida waterfront ambitions. There is something very special about neighborhoods dedicated to boating - we have many old neighbors who are lifetime friends.

Cheers and Stay Safe,
Mrs. Trombley

Terrible pictures of the St. Lucie river near Stuart Florida - sorry they had such a problem.

You may want to check out the flood surges for Hernando on the "Sloshmap 2" found here:
https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/nationalsurge/

The charts in this article identifies the most likely places where Hurricanes and most importantly major hurricanes (CAT 3 +) will hit:
https://www.noaa.gov/stories/what-are-chances-hurricane-will-hit-my-home

This is a good summary article describing the red tides which have existed on the west coast since the turn of the century:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...e-bloom-returns-southwest-beaches/4177117002/

And there is actually a site which tracks red tides weekly in real time so you can see when they are active here:
https://myfwc.com/research/redtide/statewide/
https://myfwc.com/research/redtide/statewide/

 

[hmason]

We have been living aboard at Sunset Bay Marina and Anchorage in Stuart FL for 10 years. The last 2-years we have been here year round. The town is quaint with mom and pop stores and restaurants; many of them. Downtown is a short walk. Big box stores and supermarkets are close by. Some here go everywhere by bicycle. This is a marina with boats from 27 feet to 200 feet. We have a great community of liveaboard boaters. There is an onsite upscale restaurant and a cool coffee shop that people come to from miles around. The amazing thing that astounds all of us is that it is virtually BUG FREE year round. There is no bug spraying of the property. We love it here.

 

[friz]

Then there's night being turned into day regularly!

Which brings a smile to my face ever since Barry turned out the lights.

 

[Dougcole]

Multi generation Floridian here. I live near Tallahassee, keep our boat in Stuart, was born and raised in Fort Myers (most of my family still lives there), my wife is from Jacksonville (her family still lives there) and I cover the entire state for work.


You have gotten some great info here, most of which I agree with, so I won't rehash.



You probably wouldn't like the eastern panhandle/big bend area, as most people don't. It's really cold in the winter, the bugs are awful, the gators are bigger and there are rednecks with guns all over the place.



One thing I would caution you on though, don't take anyone seriously who says that hurricanes aren't much of an issue for certain parts of the state, that's just not true. Locals used to say that about Fort Myers when I was a kid because the area hadn't been hit since Donna in the late 60's (?). Then Charlie hit in about 2005 and multiple others have hit since the area hard since then. My dad and brothers were without power for 2 1/2 weeks a couple of year's ago and my dad lost his entire seawall, $250,000 worth of damage. The space coast is no safer nor more storm prone than any other part of the state. They have just been lucky. Dorain was within a hair's breadth of leveling the entire area.


Choose the area you like, look at each individual property on its own as far as storm risk. How high is it? How far inland? What is the exposure to trees that may fall? Stuff like that. It's fools gold to buy in a part of the state and think it is safer than another part.


The only exception to this rule would be the center of the state to a degree. Though the Lakeland area got crushed a few years back and Orlando has had some damage over the years.


Fast Fred is in a relatively safe area off of the OWW, but I bet he would tell you that there is still risk.

 

[cardude01]

I think I might be confusing red tide with the Lake O algae blooms that Miz Trom was talking about.

 

[Dougcole]

I think I might be confusing red tide with the Lake O algae blooms that Miz Trom was talking about.

The blooms don't create red tide, but there is quite a bit of circumstantial evidence that the chemicals from the run off of the lake make it way, way worse.

 

[FF]

Fast Fred is in a relatively safe area off of the OWW, but I bet he would tell you that there is still risk.

Our location away from the coast allows the worst of the hurricane to be over land for 50-100 miles that usually helps tame them a bit.

The price of course is that a day or so is required to start a cruise .

No big deal for cruisers , but a trailer boat would be a better choice for fishing folks.

 

[localboy]

Thank you all. I appreciate the detailed experiences. Always good to talk with long term “locals”.

We have been researching “where to land” (post-retirement) for 5 yrs. No place is perfect; each has pros and cons, but the thought of being land-locked is my personal hell. We are still young enough to enjoy boating and have a “bucket list” of experiences we want to achieve. Boating is my “happy place”. My son lives in the mountains of Idaho. Our grandchildren are there, but I can’t do it. I would be miserable, as would my wife. We have even considered selling our dirt house and moving onto a larger boat full time. We don’t have the deep pockets to afford both. We shall see what the future holds...

Mahalo, again!

 

[cabinetman1955]

Florida living

Look at the Port Charlotte area, which is between Ft Myers and Tampa! My Development South Gulf Cove on the Gaspirilla peninsula is behind a lock 18 x60 feet in size. There are sailboat waterfront lots for sale in the $50k range you can have an 1800sqft house built on one for around $399k there are 55 miles of canals behind the lock with 2 high quality Boat yards for any type of work you need to do or have done. The advantage we have is our canals are not tidal and only fluctuate around 22" throughout the year from the rainy season to the dry season.you can have you boat tied up at your house and be into Charlotte Harbor in 1 hour or less. A short run thru Gaspirilla pass and you are in the Gulf.

 

[CaptGary]

In general, the Banana River side of Merritt Island is shallower than the Indian River side. Newfound Harbor and Sykes Creek have pretty shallow areas. 12 - 18" draft shouldn't be an issue with getting in and out of most of the canals, but I draw about 10 - 12 " in my center console and I have to be careful exploring around there. Even in many areas outside the channel in the Banana River the depth is only about a foot or two. The Barge Canal is pretty much the only connection between the Indian and Banana Rivers as well as out to the Ocean until you get to the southern most point of Merritt Island (Dragon Point). That is where the two merge. Once you get familiar with the area though, it is a lot of fun! There are a lot of places to explore in a shallow draft boat and some great fishing. Lots of Dolphin and Manatee in the area.

 

[stubones99]

Incidentally, I live in the Space Coast during the winter.

I've been here 21 years... 21 years of windows rattling with every launch. more recently with Spacex's starlink.

 

[FF]

Remember a hurricane is not just big wind , in coastal areas it brings big tides.

Estimate what your new house would look like with an extra 5ft , or 10ft or 15ft of sea water in the canal.

I've been here 21 years... 21 years of windows rattling with every launch. more recently with Spacex's starlink.

At least the congressional boondoggle the SLS (28 billion of pork so far) wont be finished to add to the racket.