Thursday November 16, 2006

How a marina works

North Beach Marina

I was just driving around, getting into other people’s business, when I drove by a marina on an impromptu trip down the 79th street causeway a few weeks ago. There was a guy washing a car and a big dog, and I snapped a few pictures of boats up on these huge shelfs, more or less expecting to get yelled at even though I was firmly on public sidewalk. Surprisingly, though, he and everyone else at North Beach Marina was super friendly, and I was invited in to stroll around and ask questions.

North Beach Marina

The boats sit triple and quadruple-stacked on these metal frames. There is also a hangar, which is the same on the inside but protected from the elements.

North Beach Marina

A big forklift grabs them from the shelves . . .

North Beach Marina

. . . and plops them in the water. These forklifts are as big as an 18-wheeler cab, can lift as high as three stories, and have forks as long as a car. The marina has two of them.

North Beach Marina

The boats sit on two carpet-covered slats of wood which are so close together that I figured a light gust might knock them all over. I’m told, however, that they stay put even in hurricane-force winds, and during Wilma, there was only one boat they bothered to tie down. No worries, no problems.

North Beach Marina

A slick, James Bond-looking catamaran sits on the bottom shelf. I forgot to ask what its top speed is.

North Beach Marina

Next to the marina, a little marine supply store specializing in boat upholstery. Lots of work on a sewing machine goes on there.

North Beach Marina
724 Ne 79th St
Miami, FL
(305) 758-8888

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  1. mkh    Thu Nov 16, 09:49 AM #  

    I’m glad you stopped in there. It’s right next to my vet’s office, so while I’ve been curious, when I’m in the neighborhood I always have feline companions with me who are averse to exploration.



  2. Alex    Thu Nov 16, 10:15 AM #  

    I was at the Key Biscayne marina last Sunday and I was thinking “next time I got to bring my camera and snap some pictures of the boats stacked”. And there you go…



  3. Jonathan    Thu Nov 16, 10:17 AM #  

    See? A D80 gets you in to places you wouldn’t get in to otherwise.

    Did you tell the Marina guys about Critical Miami?



  4. travis    Fri Nov 17, 09:20 AM #  

    have you seen how high they stack them in the coconut grove marina? i have yet to figure out how they do it.