What boatyards can handle Catamarans in South Florida

With the ownership of a cruising catamaran comes the responsibility of maintenance, and that responsibility includes annual haul outs.  What boatyards can handle Catamarans?

After spending almost a quarter century under sail, cruising catamarans are my favorite boats. As a professional captain, I have crossed oceans and seas on monohulls, catamarans and trimarans of all sizes, but it is always aboard a cat I am most happy to be at the helm.

Finding a boatyard or marina with the capability to lift a wide beam vessel can be a daunting task.

My unscientific survey of sailing catamarans 40- to 45-foot LOA revealed the average beam is 23 feet, with a loaded displacement of 17 tons. From 45- to 49-foot LOA, the numbers average 25 feet and 18 tons. And 50- to 54-foot LOA are 26 and a half feet and 25 tons in weight. You get the picture. Hauling out a sailing cat is not about weight; it’s all about beam.

What boatyards can handle Catamarans?

Fortuitously, from Fort Pierce to Key West there is quite a selection of full service locations to haul out a cat of at least a 23-foot beam for repair and maintenance.

Owners of increasingly popular power catamarans, or sailing cats with air drafts less than 54 feet, can take advantage of the boat yards tucked away behind low bridges.

Harbortown Marina in Ft. Pierce

Located along the ICW just north of downtown. For sailing catamarans with masts taller than the ICW fixed bridged clearance of 65 feet, Harbortown Marina has direct access to the Atlantic Ocean through Ft. Pierce Inlet, less than three miles away. Their 150-ton Travelift will haul out cats with a maximum beam of 26 feet. 772-466-7300 harbortownmarina-fortpierce.com

Hinckley Yacht Services

Head south along the ICW to Manatee Pocket at Stuart to find the South Florida boat yard for Hinckley Yacht Services. It has easy access from the ocean via St. Lucie Inlet; just watch out for the strong currents and shifting sandbars at the junction of the inlet and the ICW. Although Hinckley’s heritage embraces building fine monohull cruising sailboats, the Hinckley brand has grown in the past 20 years to include jet drive picnic boats and runabouts with classic lines and superior craftsmanship. The maximum beam Hinckley’s 150-ton Travelift can accommodate is 25 feet. 772-287-0923; hinckleyyachts.com

You Don’t Know Hinckley

American Custom Yachts

Cruise west from Manatee Pocket along the Okeechobee Waterway to American Custom Yachts. This boatyard is located at marker Red “46” just east of the St. Lucie Lock, and sits between two fixed bridges. There are several fixed bridges on the way from Manatee Pocket, with the lowest vertical clearance being 54 feet. If your mast is short enough to clear that Palm City Bridge, American Custom Yachts can use their 150-ton Travelift to put the straps around catamarans of up to 27-foot beam. 772-286-2835; americancustomyachts.com

Rybovich

The north end of the Gold Coast is the home of Rybovich. Their marine centers in West Palm Beach and Riviera Beach are located just south and north of Peanut Island along the ICW. Entering the ICW from Lake Worth Inlet avoids any bridge clearance problems. The newer Rybovich yard at Riviera Beach (561-863-4126) will accommodate cats up to a 26-foot beam on their 150-ton Travelift. The original West Palm Beach yard (561-844-1800) has a massive 660-ton Travelift, capable of handling cats up to 35-foot beam. Heading up the New River past downtown Fort Lauderdale offers a variety of haul out possibilities. Before heading up river, however, one must remember the bascule drawbridges are locked down during morning and afternoon rush hours from 7:30 to 9 a.m. and 4:30 to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. Once through the William H. Marshall Memorial Bridge, just beyond the bend on the river that is home to the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, continue on and choose the South Fork of the New River.

Lauderdale Marine Center

Just before reaching the I-95 fixed bridge, note the Lauderdale Marine Center on the south bank. Lauderdale Marine Center is a combination full service and do-it-yourself boat yard encompassing 50 acres of land. It is a popular superyacht repair facility and its 300-ton Travelift can haul out catamarans up to 30-foot beam. 954-713-0333; lauderdalemarinecenter.com To go upriver beyond the I-95 bridge, sailing catamarans must first negotiate the vertical clearance of 55 feet for that bridge. If your mast fits under that bridge, access to the boat yards along Marina Mile (State Road 84) is open.

Billfish Marina

Billfish Marina is the first haul out facility on State Road 84, and also has the smallest Travelift with catamaran capabilities. At 70 ton, it will lift a maximum of 23.5-foot beam, which is more than adequate for a 40-foot LOA cat. 954-587-6226; billfishmarina.com

Roscioli Yachting Center

Continuing west find Roscioli Yachting Center, a shipyard that has been in existence for 40 years and was completely renovated in 2008. It now has a 352-ton mobile lift capable of hauling out a catamaran with a maximum beam of 28 feet. 954-581-9200; rycshipyard.com In the next article in this series, facilities to haul out on the Dania Cutoff Canal just south of Fort Lauderdale, in Miami and in the Florida Keys will be covered. In addition, you will find out which yards in South Florida cater solely to the do-it-yourself catamaran owner.

More South Florida Catamaran Haul-Out Yards

Strictly Sail Miami, this past February, was a catamaran enthusiasts’ dream. Production, semi-custom and custom cruising cats lined the docks at Bayside in Miami. All those multihulls shared a common need; sooner or later they will have to be hauled out for maintenance. South Florida has ample haul out facilities to accommodate these wide-bodied boats of 23-foot beam and greater. In our March 2016 issue, boatyards and marinas from Fort Pierce to Fort Lauderdale were examined for their haul out capabilities. This final part continues onward to Key West.

Just south of Fort Lauderdale is the Dania Cutoff Canal on the Intracoastal Waterway. It was dredged in 1918 to give the agriculture and railroad community of Dania Beach access to the Atlantic Ocean. Today, Dania Cut, as it is locally known, is lined with marinas and boatyards. Entering the cut for haul out will present a problem only for extremely tall masts. Florida Power and Light has electrical lines crossing over the canal with a charted vertical clearance of 135 feet.  

Harbour Towne Marina is the first haul out facility heading west on the Cutoff Canal. Part of the Westrec Marina family, Harbour Towne has an easy access fuel dock with pump-out to empty the boat’s holding tanks before going on the hard. Their 100-ton Travelift will handle cats up to 27-foot beam. The marina campus has over 20 waterside businesses to provide the complete range of full service repair needed during haul out. 954-926-0300. harbourtownemarina.com Fortunately for large catamaran owners, Dania Cutoff Canal is also home to superyacht shipyards. Derecktor of Florida is the largest of those facilities. Their 900-ton mobile boat lift makes hauling out catamarans with a beam of up to 40 feet a relatively easy task. A second lift, with a 200-ton capacity, accommodates a 24-foot beam. The 17 acre boatyard is very busy with repairs, refits and painting of superyachts, and yard space and skilled workers are at a premium during the winter yachting season. Therefore, Derecktor recommends catamarans haul out in the summer for the best possible service. 954-920-5756. derecktor.com   

Broward Shipyard, just east of Derecktor, utilizes a 150-ton Travelift for cats with a maximum beam of 26.5 feet. This superyacht repair facility has year round availability for catamaran haul outs. 954-927-4119. browardshipyard.com   Cruising south to the Miami Harbor entrance through Government Cut leads to downtown Miami and the Miami River. RMK Merrill-Stevens is a full service shipyard dedicated to the refit and repair of fine yachts. While the yard has a few styles and sizes of lifts, catamarans are hauled out with their 500-ton capacity marine railway. This railway allows cats with a beam of up to 42 feet to be lifted. Heading upriver to RMK Merrill-Stevens requires negotiating ten bridges, eight of which are drawbridges. The remaining two, the Interstate 95 and Metrorail bridges, have a vertical clearance of 75 feet. To assist in picking the best times to travel upriver, the yard’s website has complete details on bridge openings and heights of tide. 305-324-5211. rmkmerrill-stevens.com In the Florida Keys, the best yards to haul out are in Key Largo and Key West. Key Largo is home to Catamaran Boatyard, and not surprisingly, was designed for hauling out catamarans. This yard has a combination of both full service work and do-it-yourself availability. Their 88-ton Travelift will fit a beam of up to 27 feet 10 inches. The dredged channel at the entrance to the boatyard can safely handle a draft of 5 feet 2 inches at low water. Enter from Hawk Channel, and head northwest past Rodriguez Key. At the southern tip of Point Charles, by the entrance to Rock Harbor, is the boatyard’s channel. At this location, just call the yard on the phone and they will talk you into the channel and boat well. 305-852-2025. catamaranboatyard.com Continue sailing southwest down Hawk Channel for 80 nautical miles to arrive at Robbie’s of Key West, situated on Stock Island. The entrance channel to Robbie’s is well marked and straightforward since Key West’s shrimp fleet uses it. The boatyard’s 125-ton Travelift will haul out cats with a maximum beam of 23 feet and 5 inches. Robbie’s is full service and DIY as well. Of course, an added bonus is at a nearby restaurant, having dinner made with pink shrimp fresh off the boat. 305-294-1124. robbieskw.com

ARE YOU A DIY SAILOR? Many sailors enjoy the zen of repairing and maintaining their own catamaran as much as they enjoy sailing it. For the do-it-yourselfer there are only two boatyards in South Florida that cater solely to the DIY sailor.

Seminole Marine Maintenance along the ICW at Palm Beach Gardens will haul out a cat up to 25-foot beam with their 110-ton Travelift. If approaching from the south, there is a fixed bridge 65 feet high connecting Riviera Beach and Singer Island to go under. 561-622-7600. seminolemarine.com Cracker Boy Boat Works at Riviera Beach, is located just inside Lake Worth Inlet, past Peanut Island, at the intersection of the ICW. With a 150-ton Travelift, a catamaran up to 26 feet of beam is easily accommodated. 561-845-0357. crackerboyboatworks.com

Capt. Jeff Werner has written for ALL AT SEA since 2014.