Tipos de barco
Qué barco sirve para lo que usted hace
Center console, bowrider, pontón, pesca deportiva, velero o motor yacht: para qué es cada uno, qué calado necesita y qué muelle le hace falta en el sur de Florida.
- 1Lea la guía del tipo que le interesa
- 2Compare con lo publicado
- 3Busque el amarre que le corresponde
Which boat, and which dock it needs
Most people pick the boat and then discover what it costs to keep it. In South Florida the two decisions are the same decision: draft and air draft determine which canals you can use, and dock length determines which houses are even an option. Here is what each type actually handles here, what breaks on it, and the water it needs — written for someone who is going to run it between Biscayne Bay and the Keys, not for a brochure.
Center console
The default South Florida boat, and for good reason
20–45 ft · draft 1.5–3.5 ft
If you see one boat more than any other between Miami and the Keys, it is a center console. The helm sits in the middle so you can walk all the way around, which is what you want when a fish is running or when you are docking single-handed. Shallow enough for the flats and the sandbars, capable enough to run offshore on a decent day, and simple enough that a weekend owner can keep up with the maintenance.
Bowrider
The family day boat for the bay
18–30 ft · draft 1.5–3 ft
Seating in the bow, a swim platform in the back and enough power to tow a tube. The bowrider is the boat people buy when the plan is a Saturday on Biscayne Bay with the kids, not a run to the Gulf Stream. Comfortable, easy to learn on, and the cheapest way into boating that still feels like a real boat.
Express cruiser
A cabin, a bed and a weekend in the Keys
28–50 ft · draft 2.5–4.5 ft
An express cruiser is where a day boat becomes a small yacht: an enclosed cabin with a berth, a galley and a head, under a helm you can run from a comfortable seat. It is the boat for people whose plan is Boca Chita on Saturday and back on Sunday, or the crossing to Bimini when the window is right.
Motor yacht
When the boat chooses the address
45–100 ft · draft 4–7 ft
At this size the vessel decides where you can live. Flybridge, multiple staterooms, crew quarters on the larger ones. Fort Lauderdale exists as the yachting capital it is largely because Port Everglades gives deep, no-fixed-bridge access to the ocean — which is exactly what these boats need.
Sportfish
Built to go get them, far offshore
35–90 ft · draft 3.5–6 ft
A tower, a fighting chair and the range to reach the fish. Sportfish boats are built around one purpose and they do it better than anything else — the trade is fuel burn and a hull that wants deep water. From South Florida the Gulf Stream is close enough that a good sportfish turns a day trip into serious fishing.
Sailboat
The cheapest way to go a long way
25–55 ft · draft 4–7 ft
Biscayne Bay is one of the best sailing grounds in the country: steady wind, protected water and somewhere to go at the end of it. A sailboat costs a fraction of a powerboat to run, and the trade you make is time — you arrive when the wind lets you.
Catamaran
Shallow draft and room to spread out
30–60 ft · draft 2–4 ft
Two hulls buy you two things that matter here: very shallow draft and a lot of living space for the length. A cat can sit on a sandbar that would strand a monohull and can carry a family without anyone climbing over anyone. In the Bahamas that shallow draft opens up anchorages nothing else can reach.
Bay & flats boat
For water measured in inches
16–26 ft · draft 0.5–1.5 ft
A poling platform, a quiet hull and a draft measured in inches. Flats boats exist to get into the skinny water of Florida Bay, the backcountry and the Everglades where the bonefish, permit and redfish are — places where anything else runs aground.
Pontoon
The most seating per dollar on the water
18–28 ft · draft 1–2 ft
Nothing else carries as many people as comfortably for the money. On protected water — the Intracoastal, a canal system, the bay on a calm day — a pontoon is a floating patio, and that is exactly what most families actually use a boat for.
Personal watercraft
The cheapest way onto the water
10–14 ft · draft 0.5–1 ft
A jet ski is not a compromise boat, it is a different activity. Cheap to buy, cheap to store, and the fastest way to be on the water fifteen minutes after deciding to go. In South Florida they are also the most regulated: know the rules before you launch.
Trawler
Slow, efficient and made to live aboard
32–60 ft · draft 3.5–6 ft
A trawler trades speed for range and comfort. Displacement hull, modest fuel burn and a layout built for actually living aboard rather than day-tripping. It is the boat for people whose plan is the Great Loop or a season in the Bahamas, not a fast run to the reef.
Dinghy & kayak
The small stuff that makes everything else usable
8–16 ft · draft 0.3–1 ft
A tender is what turns an anchorage into a destination: without one, a big boat at anchor is a boat you cannot leave. Kayaks and paddleboards do the same job for waterfront homeowners — the mangrove creeks at Oleta and the Everglades are only reachable by paddle.
The three numbers that decide everything
- Draft — how deep the boat sits. Compare it against depth at mean lower low water, not against the number on the chart at high tide.
- Air draft — how tall it is with tower or mast. One fixed bridge between you and the inlet caps this permanently.
- Length overall and beam — what slip or lift it fits. Beam is what disqualifies catamarans and pontoons from slips that are plenty long.
Put your length and draft in your Adonait Dock profile and we will email you when a waterfront home comes up with a dock that fits your boat.
Everything on Adonait Dock
Adonait Dock is the South Florida boating marketplace and community: buy and sell boats, engines, electronics and slips; offer or request marine services; find sandbars, ramps, waterfront parks and dock-and-dine spots; join raft-ups and group cruises; and search waterfront homes with private docks for sale and for rent. Listings and posts are created by members — Adonait is not a party to any transaction between them.