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Industry Spotlight on Boating in Florida
MarineMax's comeback
Marina Rents
A sample of rates at municipal marinas around the state:
Dinner Key, Miami — $17.70 per foot/ per month (30-foot minimum)
Fort Myers — $13 per foot/per month May-October; $13.75 November to April; $9 per foot/per month annual rate
Hollywood — 52 cents per foot/per day (26-foot minimum)
Key West Bight — $24.43 per foot/per month
Panama City — $283.49 per month for 30-foot to 36-foot boats
St. Augustine — $19.95 per foot for the first three months, $14 after that (20-foot minimum)
St. Petersburg — $235.32 per month, resident rate, uncovered slip for boats up to 28 feet; $408.05 per month resident rate for boats 35 feet to 44 feet
Boat Shows
Two of the largest boat shows in the world are held in Florida. Each attracts about 100,000 people over five days. The Progressive Insurance Miami International Boat Show in February is produced by the National Marine Manufacturers Association. The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show in the fall is owned by the Marine Industries Association of South Florida and produced by Fort Lauderdale-based Show Management, which also produces the Yacht & Brokerage Show in Miami Beach — running concurrently with the Miami show — as well as shows in Palm Beach, St. Petersburg and Sarasota.
The Fort Lauderdale show spreads over more than 3 million square feet, including 6 miles of docks. "We build a little city; we operate it for five days," says Show Management President and CEO Efrem (Skip) Zimbalist III.