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I pay $17 a foot, but I’m in a crap hole marina. Key West is $42-72 a foot. How you doin up there?Trailer or no trailer.
I think half of the internet could be used to consider this dilemma.
Is not for me my husband, we tried it for a bit and annoyed us to no end. But I'm not blind to the enormous benefits of trailering a boat.
Maybe in California is more expensive than a Marina but in Florida (most parts of FL anyways) isn't.
So with money not being a factor we could go on to the not so bright people you interact in the process of getting the boat in the water;
So yeah ramps may be less than perfect but work very well for some people. My son trailers his boat and he loves it, I have a neighbor down my canal that has his boat on a lift like me, but keeps the trailer too. Every so often he likes to take the boat to the keys or to other states. To me trailering a boat is pure misery, and doesn't even have to do with the actual ramps, it messes with the way I like to drive.
- boat ramps? No need to get into this. Boat ramps are magnets for let's say "creative" people testing every "Don't" rule for launching vessels.
- marinas? Unlike many may think, not all marinas are equal. Some appear great and you don't realize it until later on when you look at the boat with fresh eye and realize WTF!. Nothing major, just a bunch of little events that on their own don't mean much. Wasn't great for me, and not because I went to a discount place, because of distance to my house I went to the top rated marina in my area
- On holidays they get additional personnel that is less than qualified to operate the giant fork lifts or even the boats.
- Depending on who answered the phone when you call, your boat may or may not be in the water when you come in ready to go, the wait would be 20 minutes or 1.5 hours also depending who was the attendant.
- the boats stored above yours may leak crud right on your vessel.
- the evening you came late and decided to pay extra for them to wash it and 2 days later when you go onboard realize they didn't even flush the engine, much less rinse the hull or deck.
- ...and more things that I rather not remember, it didn't feel like a "turnkey" situation.
As always it comes down to finding what works for you. I realized that neither trailer nor marinas were good for me, but I wanted a boat, so a lift was my only solution.
There are plenty of houses in Panama City right in the water with access to the pass so the OP can also pick a way for him to enjoy best his vessel.