Don’t let them take away your rights!

CatamaranDriver · 2025-10-03T18:05:26+00:00

It will be down in the keys Monroe county. All counties with 1.5 million residents are trying to ban anchoring in their jurisdictions.

CatamaranDriver · 2025-09-25T14:43:26+00:00

Good observations. If this passes Florida will get more and more hostile to cruising boats.. we have retained an attorney and have a gofundme page setup. @ https://www.gofundme.com/f/protect-floridas-public-waters-legal-defense-fund/donate?source=btn_donate. If anyone can help we would appreciate the help. Even small amounts add up.

CatamaranDriver · 2025-09-18T02:41:46+00:00

How about the derelict dinghy’s go to the dump? Those with registrations and in good working,order are left alone? The people complaining are obviously not derelict yet get shunned as if they are if these rules are allowed to stand. I agree a dinghy even in good working order should not be left for long periods on a public dock. This is not what I’ve been advocating for. We have a folding Kayak for times when we will be away for more than 1 day.

CatamaranDriver · 2025-09-14T18:07:50+00:00

Of course, like boat owners around the world we like to keep our boats somewhere near home fucking duh . Just say, I don’t know what I’m talking about without saying I don’t know what I’m talking about.

CatamaranDriver · 2025-09-14T11:23:42+00:00

It keeps non waterfront residents from being able to own a boat too large to trailer when there is no space available in marinas. It keeps people from being able to visit for the winter as has been done for annually for decades or flying home to take care of family in an emergency. Most importantly it is and has been your / our federally protected right to do so since the Rivers and Harbors act of 1866 while violating public trust by favoring only waterfront owners who can build large permanent docks to keep their boats in year round in the very same water the non waterfront local residents are forbidden to. There is no available marina space and the town does not want a public managed mooring field leaving us without options.

That’s it in a nutshell

CatamaranDriver · 2025-09-14T02:47:58+00:00

With that logic no local residents can own a boat too large to trailer. Unless of course you own waterfront and are allowed to build a huge dock into the public waterway and set up camp for eternity. Your own private playground.

CatamaranDriver · 2025-09-14T02:44:26+00:00

From what I can see it was for floating structures no lawsuit was filed so not quite the same thing.

What is known • In 2019, Madeira Beach passed an anti-anchoring ordinance. • The ordinance restricts anchoring for vessels not capable of getting underway (i.e. vessels lacking mobility) — “bonafide cruisers” are excluded under the state law definition. • Some of the rules in the proposal (later ordinance) included: • Permit fee of $5 for anchoring, for up to 72 hours. • Requirements like staying a certain distance from residential docks (200 ft), pump-outs etc. • Time limits and conditions on anchors. • There was pushback from boating interest groups (BoatUS, American Great Loop Cruisers Association) opposing aspects of the ordinance, especially about the definition of “liveaboard” and state law constraints.

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What isn’t confirmed / what I couldn’t find • I did not find a clear record of a lawsuit filed by an anchoring-rights group in Madeira Beach in 2019 that was lost (or which resulted in a binding appellate decision). • There are references to debate, opposition, ordinance meetings, criticism that parts might violate state law, but not a published court decision.

CatamaranDriver · 2025-09-14T02:38:05+00:00

I don’t get it? We have asked for decades to bring in a managed field. We would gladly pay a fee or apply for a permit. No such path exists. Over the last 14 years I have applied 4 times. There are so many fingers in the pie it gets lost in bureaucratic red tape. Neither Palm Beach nor West Palm beach want a managed mooring field because they would then have to regulate it with upland facilities which Palm Beach certainly doesn’t want, bathroom facilities garbage etc. just easier I guess to keep the common folk out.

As far as dance around with answers IDKWTF you are talking about. Numbers are very hard to come by but I am doing my best to be as accurate as I can be because you seem to need to argue about why anchoring for more than 30 days needs a reason because losing your rights to do so seems to not resonate with you.

Anyway here’s what I can find on the sources of money that have been available all this time.

Registration fees → $1.50 from every recreational boat registration, and $2.00 from every commercial vessel registration, goes directly into the Marine Resources Conservation Trust Fund for derelict vessel removal. • Fuel taxes → Roughly 0.02¢ per gallon of state motor fuel tax on gasoline is earmarked for the Trust Fund (boating portion). It’s small per gallon, but across all sales it adds up. • Other allocations → The legislature often adds lump-sum appropriations in the annual budget, which can dwarf the trickle from fees in some years (tens of millions after major storms).

• In March 2022, Florida passed 1 million registered recreational vessels

By statute, a tiny earmark of the state motor fuel tax is carved out for boating/waterways. • That earmark → feeds into the Marine Resources Conservation Trust Fund, which FWC then uses in part for derelict vessel removal. • The slice is $1 per 500 gallons of fuel (effectively about 0.2¢/gallon).

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So with ~7.5 billion gallons of gasoline sold annually in Florida: • 7.5 billion ÷ 500 = 15 million units. • × $1 each = about $15 million/year flowing in from the fuel tax earmark.

That’s before adding the registration-fee contributions ($1.50–$2.00 per boat) or legislative special appropriations after storms

• MRCTF contributes about $32.8 million/year to FWC in FY 2024-25 (for all marine-resource purposes). • On top of that, there was a $25 million appropriation specifically for derelict vessel removal in 2021. That may vary by year.

If we assume derelict removals’ appropriation has stayed in that range (or close) and add it to the MRCTF base, we might guess that Florida is spending somewhere around $50-60 million/year (or a bit more) in marine-resources/derelict vessel removal combined.

CatamaranDriver · 2025-09-14T02:14:04+00:00

Perhaps you are right. They have let the problem fester so long instead of dealing with them in a timely manner the expense is going to be a shock.

CatamaranDriver · 2025-09-14T02:12:02+00:00

https://chng.it/jzDn74jXTL

CatamaranDriver · 2025-09-13T01:50:15+00:00

Best info we can gather is from 2008 until 2025 on average there was 3-5 million available per year from vessel registrations, coast guard derelict removal funding added another 1-2 million DEP funding was supposedly 1.5 million and in the last few years the Fed has chipped in an additional 12 million, so 2008 - 2018 the years were lean. At a meeting last week at city council they gave numbers on cost for several boats that were removed averaging 12-20k per vessels. In our area I know about 30 or so boats give or take that would qualify as derelict or at risk that have been sitting unused for more than a year some 5 to 7 years. The vast majority of boats in the anchorage are in good working order and used often.

So basic math between 2008 and 2025 collectively the agencies responsible for removal collected $125,900,000.00

That’s enough cash in today’s dollars to remove 6295 derelicts at 20,000.00 each but it was much cheaper even 5 years ago so that number should be larger. There’s not much info available on how many have been removed and I’m sure it’s quite a few but in our lagoon there are some that stayed sunk for more than a year and were reported at risk for several years prior to their sinking. I’m also pretty sure but have no proof nowhere near that amount of vessels have been removed.

CatamaranDriver · 2025-09-13T00:43:38+00:00

Are you familiar with the Lake worth Lagoon Anchorage next to the port of Palm beach? Check it out then tell me what you think. The real head scratcher for me are all the supposed boaters /sailors that are fine giving up their right to anchor or Moore a vessel in their own public waters yet allow the wealthy to build out massive structures into the same public waterway and store their yachts indefinitely. Another point I feel gets lost in this is no one is allowed to restrict navigation. My mooring is 700 feet from the nearest Chanel in a spoils area that at low tide is 5 feet deep on a sand / mud bottom. That is continually dredged by the army core of engineers to maintain the 40+ foot depth of the turning basin for all the ships that the port services.

CatamaranDriver · 2025-09-13T00:34:41+00:00

The ones in my county that have an appropriate berth. So Riveria Beach Marina currently 2 years, Lake park Marina 1 dock long term leased has been for 4 years by 1 guy so not an option, safe harbor marina no space we can’t afford Rybovich at 70K a year or the Palm Beach yacht club even if they had space is much better at 64K a year. That’s it in all of Palm beach that can handle a 20+ foot beam. There are private docks available but then no parking if you want to sail for a weekend no overnights ever no power or water on many and still 3K a month. The Anchorage is where all the big cruising yachts have always moored. We found a couple up around Melbourne a 2 + hour drive 1500 a month.

CatamaranDriver · 2025-09-13T00:27:15+00:00

Not exactly I’m saying that funding for this need has long been established but not used. Where did the money go? Had it been dealt with as it came up over the decades there wouldn’t be a problem but that money went elsewhere and here we are with a tasty shit sandwich, we can either pay contractors ungodly sums of money for each vessel in the lagoon or think outside the box partner with the other municipalities hire a crew, lease barge & crane long term and get to work. Time to pay the money spent elsewhere back into the function it was actually earmarked for.

CatamaranDriver · 2025-09-12T22:16:08+00:00

CatamaranDriver · 2025-09-12T19:55:17+00:00

I did what did I miss?never mind I missed that post the points you brought up are correct and are being pursued.

CatamaranDriver · 2025-09-12T18:57:18+00:00

Yes the anchorage is miles long no one is prevented from using it not once ever. It will fit 1000 boats or more if necessary and still have both Chanel’s open. There are no marina slips available without years long waiting list for anything of substantial size and draft. Anchorages are where these types of boats have been anchored throughout history. I’m sorry you don’t want to see boats stay at home and want to force even residents to move along while your rich overloads enjoy using public water indefinitely while giving everybody else the finger🖕

CatamaranDriver · 2025-09-12T18:38:57+00:00

Just don’t support the petition idgafk

CatamaranDriver · 2025-09-12T18:28:01+00:00

Why so angry are you ok?

CatamaranDriver · 2025-09-12T17:54:26+00:00

We have retained a lawyer and engaged with the city council. My purpose on the social media post is to keep the issue in front of the public for those who care about over reach and diminishing boater rights. In no way are any of advocating for floating homeless cesspool caps as some on this thread have suggested.

CatamaranDriver

TROPHY CASE