First Trawler Rental

Been lurking here for years, followed Dauntless, Caribbean Sea Life, and Sylphide among others.
Been boating Lake of the Ozarks over 35 years but this will be my first experience in salt water. Current boat is a Wellcraft Portofino. We are renting a 40' Mainship from SWFY at the end of October for a week.

Excited and apprehensive! I've been looking at a local chart of the area and it appears most of the cruising area in the ICW is 10'! Am I reading this correctly? I can get within 15' of the shore in most places at LOTO and still have 20' under the hull.
We've rented several smaller boats in Florida, center consoles, pontoons, and deck boats, and they've never had a depth sounder on them.

My biggest concern is running aground. I've noticed several members are from this area and would like any info or advice.



My wife and I plan to semi-retire (winters) in this area in 3 years (once the youngest is out of high school). My goal is a trawler in the 40' range so we can spend time cruising the coast, Key West, and Bahamas. I don't plan to cross any oceans like Richard has. We lived aboard our Portofino with both kids for years and are ready to get back to that lifestyle without them . So this is our first step in trawler life. Tried to go to Trawlerfest this past Feb but didn't make. Hoping this year works out if they have one.



SWFY is helping us with an itinerary but would like to hear any "must see" or "don't bother's" from all that have been in this area.


Thanks



T.J.

The safety plan of the ICW is if you fall in, stand up... If you're outside the dredged channel, chances are, you can stand up. There are exceptions, but you can be a half mile off the shoreline and be up to your waist.

Most of the Florida ICW is at least 6 feet at low tide right up to the daymarks. Not so in other states. Not sure where you’re getting 20’ from. In SWFL you won’t find 20 foot deep water anywhere but in a pass or Tampa Bay. Outside of the ICW the “deep” water is waist deep.

A bit dated but most is still relevant.

Primer for first timers on the ICW, Erie Canal and Bahamas

Sure the water is often thin but the bottom is mostly soft.

pete

Propellers are the expensive ways to stir up the bottom...
Don't go around the wrong side of a marker.

Florida has shallow waters in that area. It's generally not an issue unless you're drawing over 5 ft of water. As mentioned the bottom is soft most everywhere. I suggest no further south than Naples by boat. Marco Island is only a 30 minute car drive south of Naples if you want to see it. The Sanibel Island area is close to Cape Coral and lots to enjoy. Hope you can relax in the shallow waters this Oct because your retirement goal is all shallow waters. Lot's of folks do it. Cheers

High Wire said:

Most of the Florida ICW is at least 6 feet at low tide right up to the daymarks. Not so in other states. Not sure where you’re getting 20’ from. In SWFL you won’t find 20 foot deep water anywhere but in a pass or Tampa Bay. Outside of the ICW the “deep” water is waist deep.

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The 20’ is at Lake of the Ozarks (LOTO).
My point was iI’m used to deep water. The shallow waters in Florida is where my anxiety lies. This will be my first full week of cruising in this type of waters.

Positively

T. J.

Swfla said:

Florida has shallow waters in that area. It's generally not an issue unless you're drawing over 5 ft of water. As mentioned the bottom is soft most everywhere. I suggest no further south than Naples by boat. Marco Island is only a 30 minute car drive south of Naples if you want to see it. The Sanibel Island area is close to Cape Coral and lots to enjoy. Hope you can relax in the shallow waters this Oct because your retirement goal is all shallow waters. Lot's of folks do it. Cheers

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Thanks for the words of encouragement.
Looking forward to being there.

stubones99 said:

Propellers are the expensive ways to stir up the bottom...
Don't go around the wrong side of a marker.

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Great advice!
Planning on keeping it between the navigational beacons!

I moved to Florida 15 years ago from San Francisco where I spent about 5 years as a delivery skipper. Before moving, I thought Florida was idyllic waters - how hard could it be to stay in the channel?

I will take the big water challenges of the Pacific over the skinny water challenges of Florida any day.

Two tips:

1. Spend some time on aids to navigation for ICW. The ICW bounces between red-right-returning and ICW rules where red is on the land side. I still find it very easy to get confused despite the abundance of markers.

2. Maptech Chartpak chart guide. I know many consider paper charts an anachronism compared to electronic charts, but I find paper charts useful in new areas as paper provides situational awareness in a way electronic screens cannot. I cannot fully explain why, but I find it difficult to really "see" a relatively crowded zone/area on an electronic chart. On the downside, paper charts cannot be kept updated and channels in Florida have a habit of moving from time to time. It's an expensive chart kit - $150. But I find it helpful, especially as they have enlarged chartlets for certain areas.

Enjoy your trip. It's a beautiful area. Hopefully whet your appetite for retirement.

Peter

mvweebles said:

1. Spend some time on aids to navigation for ICW. The ICW bounces between red-right-returning and ICW rules where red is on the land side. I still find it very easy to get confused despite the abundance of markers.

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On the same topic, the ICW aids will have a small yellow/gold square or triangle in the middle of the mark. Sometimes two "families" (ICW and not-ICW) will be intermingled so being able to pick out the ICW ones can be helpful.

Here are a couple photos of what I mean:

Years ago I was training the new owner of a 5’ draft trawler in Stuart, FL. They were experienced boaters from the Pacific NW who were going to ship the boat out west after cruising FL for a month. He was very uptight and couldn’t relax with all the shallow water. We were scheduled for a short haul to change a depth transponder and on the way to the haulout In the private marina channel we slipped into what I call “navigable mud”. Basically at idle I noticed we were no longer moving forward. When I mentioned we had run aground he flipped out and panicked. A little reverse and some use of the thruster to wiggle the bow back and forth and we were free. Once we lined up and threaded the needle to the lift we hauled the boat. Not a bit of paint was disturbed on the keel. He began to relax and to this day his wife still laughs and says “Running aground was the best thing that could have happened.” They cruised S.Florida and enjoyed their time in the shallows.

Lots of great places to go and things to do. More specifics about whereyou start from would help us give suggestions.
#1 rule stay in the channel
#2 go slow unless you are certain of the depth. Storms change charted depth every year but markers are usually moved.
#3 dont plan to go too far each day. This is a vacation not a delivery. Stop early enough to enjoy where you are.

bayview said:

Lots of great places to go and things to do. More specifics about whereyou start from would help us give suggestions.

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I'm not the OP, but it looks like SWFY is in Cape Coral, FL

Yep. Lots of shallow water on the west coast of Florida. The good news is that the bottom is mostly soft sand. That means that if you don't run aground too hard you can often just back out, with little or no damage.

I strongly disagree with the comment about not going south of Naples. The 10,000 Islands are a wonderful cruising destination which we have enjoyed in a variety of vessels drawing up to 5 feet and 46 to 60 feet LOA. However, take SWFY's advice on a maiden voyage itinerary; they want you to have fun so you'll be a repeat customer.

Is the boat including a dinghy? We feel it is a necessity to enjoying the various great anchorages and adjacent islands such as Pelican Bay / Cayo Costa and the bight off the Ding Darling reserve. If you are strictly a marina hopper, SWFY will have good recommendations I'm sure.

Have fun, it is a beautiful and fun area to cruise in. Wish we were there!

You will learn to appreciate a chart plotter FAR more in SWFL waters that you ever did in Lake of the Ozarks. And remember, you can cruise the ICW and cross a "shipping" channel marked with typical red-right-returning navaids some of which may have little yellow triangles or squares painted on them signifying their use as ICW markers. Your chart plotter can help you here. The mnemonic for the ICW is red-right-to-Galveston. Now you know all you need to know to avoid running aground in SWFL. You will also find very fine days to run offshore between places like Marco and Naples and Ft Myers Beach. We enjoyed taking the Goodland passage behind Marco and going on down to Everglades City.

It does include a dinghy. We are wanting/hoping to do 3 days on the hook and 3 at marinas.

ClChnge said:

It does include a dinghy. We are wanting/hoping to do 3 days on the hook and 3 at marinas.

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Well, if it was me (and again I will defer to SWFY, especially on current local knowledge), considering it is your first trip, I would do some combination of the following more or less in order, some local activities may or may not be available so check:

- Head up to Boca Grande Marina, rent a golf cart, explore the island, beaches, etc.

- Thence to Pelican Bay off Cayo Costa and spend a couple nights on the hook. If they are renting bicycles, that is fun to get over to the fantastic beach, or if they are running the tram, or it's not that bad a walk. Plenty of dinghy exploration opportunities too, including the touristy Cabbage Key.

- Spend a night on the hook in the bight off the Ding Darling reserve, explore Tarpon Bay etc.

- Spend a night at South Seas Plantation and/or Tween Waters. Though on that time frame and with good weather, I'd rather head down to Naples and the town docks there. Or both.

There are a whole lot of variations from there depending how adventurous you are. Very hard not to have a great time.

caltexflanc said:

I strongly disagree with the comment about not going south of Naples. The 10,000 Islands are a wonderful cruising destination which we have enjoyed in a variety of vessels drawing up to 5 feet and 46 to 60 feet LOA. However, take SWFY's advice on a maiden voyage itinerary; they want you to have fun so you'll be a repeat customer.

Is the boat including a dinghy? We feel it is a necessity to enjoying the various great anchorages and adjacent islands such as Pelican Bay / Cayo Costa and the bight off the Ding Darling reserve. If you are strictly a marina hopper, SWFY will have good recommendations I'm sure.

Have fun, it is a beautiful and fun area to cruise in. Wish we were there!

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I do agree that Marco and south is great boating and anchoring, etc. The reason I suggested not going south of Naples is because, in this instance, he's coming from Cape Coral and I guessed it was a week rental. It would be a lot of fuel and distance for a week long vacation. The advice was tailored for his situation. I also agree with you, in this particular situation, that Boca Grande and all you recommend in your next post is a great itinerary. I love ALL of FL for boating.

Rented a 34 Mainship from SWFY not long ago. Spent a week between Boca Grande and Marco Island. Tons of great spots in this area. I enjoyed the Naples, Marco, Cape Romano area the most. We did BG, CC, Captiva, Sanibel, Keeywadin, Naples, Marco and Cape Romano. I think SWFY has a southern boundary of Cape Romano or somewhere close to that area. Was a great trip.

Enjoyed the area so much I bought a house and moved to the BG area.

Thank you all for the replies! Looks like the shallow water will just take some getting used to. I'll post some pics once we get there and underway. And let you know how many times I bump the bottom :}

I had a boat in the fleet of SWFY for a couple of years-- Anywhere you can travel in a few days, you will be safe to do so as long as you heed the nav markers and are a prudent navigator. Most of the area is pretty slow going, so you won't be able to go far and they control your cruising range as they dont want you too far away when you break down.

Word of warning-- As a charterer, they treat you well and you might like the idea of putting your boat in the fleet for a "revenue sharing" kind of deal. Do not under any circumstances do it. The fine print of her deals will keep you-- the boat owner, as an indentured servant. You will never, and I mean never, be happy as an owner. You would be better off just throwing a bag of money in the ocean and getting it over all at once instead of monthly reminders for a few years.

Some great information above!

I'll throw in my two cents. We've chartered from SWFY twice. First, the Grand Banks 32 "Patience" and in early August we rented the Grand Banks 36 Motor Yacht "Uptick". They are a great operation - Caleb and Mark are the systems folks and the two Barbs in the office can also help you with planning.

Sounds like you are chartering Salty Peanut. I've had the chance to chat with the owners and they (and SWFY) keep her in great shape. What I've found is that these boats have tons of GPS tracks going in and out of spots. Probably the most difficult part is the section leaving their marina before you hang a hard right to go through the miserable mile. Check the tide and follow the cookie crumbs on the GPS.

Use the navionics app as well - everywhere has cell service and if you put the boat's draft (about 4') into it, it'll route you no problem. Of course, there is no substitute for a good pair of polarized glasses and reading the water.

Make sure that you ask them to give you an extra tank of fuel for the dingy.

As for places to go, it'll be a nice easy run the first day from their place to Tween Waters. This August (COVID -time) we used Tween Waters as a jumping off point to take the dingy out fishing. Caught/ released a bunch of Reds and Snook on fly and found plenty of seatrout north of the island in about 3' of water (popping cork with a gulp shrimp 2' down on a jighead).

Last year we did Boca Grand for a night. It was a cool little town, but when you combined dockage, golf cart rental, etc., I'm not sure the juice was worth the squeeze.

Last year we only did one night in Pelican Bay, at the northeast corner of Cayo Costa. This year, we wound up doing 4 nights. The park itself is pretty with great beaches and there are lots of sandy paths to walk around. If you are anchoring out, make sure they show you where the main breaker for the generator is. We tripped ours this year and it took me a few minutes to find it.

We spent three days at Pelican Bay taking the dingy south to the "tunnel of love" (type it in Navionics). It's about a 2.5 mile run/ chug (bring fuel - don't ask me how I know). It takes you through some mangrove tunnels to a mangrove lake that's about 2 acres in size. There's a little sandy area at the SW corner of the lake where you walk through 50' of sea oats to the most beautiful, isolated beach you've seen (at least during the week). We'd set up on the beach, wait for the snook to swim by in the crystal clear water 3-20' off the beach, then catch (and release) them on light flyrods. We probably wound up seeing 500-600 a day and releasing between 30 and 40 a day. (Obviously, fishing is our thing).

Useppa is nice, but quiet. It's enjoyable to walk around with some great architecture and you can take the dingy to get your Cheeseburger in Paradise.

We didn't do it this year, but last year we stayed at Pink Shell at Ft. Meyers Beach. It's got a swift current, so docking is a little harder, but the area is great (in the absence of COVID). The hotel has a great pool and bar, and the town has lots of great places to eat. Likely the best part was the people watching - it's a wee bit Redneck Riviera!!!

My thoughts on COVID. Although I'm "only" 44, I'm in a higher risk category due to asthma as a kid. All these places are relatively quiet right now and give you the ability to social distance. The marinas in particular - they are all professional and have strict protocols that are followed. With a few exceptions, we rarely felt unsafe.

Feel free to send me a message if you have questions.

We have beautiful cruising waters in this area, but you should have a dinghy or carry kayaks to enjoy to the fullest. If you don't have kayaks as part of your charter, most of the marinas SWFL yachts is going to recommend rent them.



I had my boat in the rental pool with them for years, if you want PM me your phone number and we can talk.

You need to look up the rules for a "Demise Charter" especially the insurance issues which can go bad quickly if you don't understand your responsibilities and legal exposure.

Same if you Airbnb your home or apartment. Happy to send you my reference material.

Charter

ProMaritime said:

You need to look up the rules for a "Demise Charter" especially the insurance issues which can go bad quickly if you don't understand your responsibilities and legal exposure.

Same if you Airbnb your home or apartment. Happy to send you my reference material.

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Don’t know if you meant me or the OP. Going through the charter company, the customer will have great insurance. I know, I paid an astronomical insurance bill when my boat was in charter with e same company. In the neighborhood of $4,000 a year when in charter. The insurance dropped to $1,000 a year when I took the vessel out of charter.

I pay less than $1,000 a month for full coverage for charter including bare-boat charter for a Leopard 47 PowerCat. For myself as master I have coverage for the entire Caribbean (except for the 4 countries on the US "don't go" list) the Bahamas, Gulf of Mexico and US east coast.

Just a heads up....
If the boat has a depth finder, find out if it reads from the surface, the depth of the transducer, or from the keel. On some/most you can adjust the offset.
I prefer from the bottom of the keel.
Might be only a 2' difference between the 3, but if the waters skinny I want to know how much is under the keel ....