New acess to Charlotte Harbor for PGI (Cape Coral, Fort Myers: how much, neighborhood)

[JERSEY MAN]

Thank you for this answer. Exactly the kind of info I'm looking for. So basically it will be close to an hour out to open water from the bird section via Ponce.

[SJNE17]

Yes, about an hour minimum.

We've looked at probably 50+ houses and lots in PGI. From street view (in person), in the houses themselves, and from the canals via boat.

Assuming a baseline house of something modern and well built and very nice that's within 20 min. of open water, we found it's about a $150k+ discount for living at least double that time away from open water.

Is that savings worth it? Depends on one's circumstances and interests, of course.

[Big House]

Originally Posted by SJNE17

Last month I got thru it about 4 hours after low tide in a 19' cc with a 115hp outboard and 1 other passenger. It was a little dicey, rarely if ever more than 2' of depth in center of channel, mostly 1.5'. I had the motor trimmed out as absolutely high as possible as we idled through it.

Luckily no other boats coming our way. If so, there's no way we could have passed each other. And heaven forbid if we ran aground, I had no inclination to jump into that creek named after Alligators to try and push it out, figuring worst case we'd wait for someone else coming through or for high tide, whichever came first.

That cut through is not something I'd look to do often, and somewhat soured our taste for a place in the bird section. Of course, if we did ultimately live there we'd have to be careful about planning for timing/tides. You just can't hop in boat and go through there on a whim, which for us would be half the fun.

All that said, if you had a not-too-big flats boat with very little draft, then it'd likely be no problem.

Its nice if you have a smaller boat. The bird section has a lot of newer, nice, big homes. Many people that live there want a bigger boat as well, and thus want good deep water access. So it takes time from there to get out. If you have a smaller fishing boat, the cut through can save some time, but that's why I warn people, you can do it. But, if you want to use it regularly, you probably need to think twice if you have hopes of having, or own a larger boat. And, my friend lives as far as achievable from getting out of the bird section. The cut through doesn't save HIM, much time, but it can save others time depending on where they live, and again their boat of course.

[SJNE17]

BH: in other words, have a big boat for when time's no issue, and a smaller flats boat for fishin'. Perfect! Two boats!

[Big House]

Originally Posted by SJNE17

BH: in other words, have a big boat for when time's no issue, and a smaller flats boat for fishin'. Perfect! Two boats!

Exactly!
Don't forget the two fully stocked coolers one for each boat. That's all you'll need - even if I drop by.

[MartyGras]

Originally Posted by SJNE17

BH: in other words, have a big boat for when time's no issue, and a smaller flats boat for fishin'. Perfect! Two boats!

I contend that you need 3 boats

One with a suitable cabin with A/C good for weekend or week long trips

One that will get you to the fishing grounds off shore and run ok in 2 to 3 footers

One with a flat bottom that draws as little as possible to get you into the flats for fishing.

Gary

[Sea Ray Mark]

Originally Posted by MartyGras

I contend that you need 3 boats

One with a suitable cabin with A/C good for weekend or week long trips

One that will get you to the fishing grounds off shore and run ok in 2 to 3 footers

One with a flat bottom that draws as little as possible to get you into the flats for fishing.

Gary

So Gary, of the three boats you have now all of them are wrong. How did you manage that?

[SJNE17]

we were looking at a house out in timbuktoo (a.k.a. bird section) that has lots of seawall, easily 2 boats' worth.

i need to show this thread to my wife. "yes honey, it means having 3 boats, and yes the budget's blown to hell, but think of the overall VALUE!"

[Messing About]

Originally Posted by SJNE17

we were looking at a house out in timbuktoo (a.k.a. bird section) that has lots of seawall, easily 2 boats' worth.

i need to show this thread to my wife. "yes honey, it means having 3 boats, and yes the budget's blown to hell, but think of the overall VALUE!"

My friend, if you can sell that...I've got to hang out with you!

[SJNE17]

hah. i've gotten her ok with just having a boat to begin with! her only requirement is one that has a porta-potty. small victory, but i'll take it.

i don't know if i can squeeze in a 23' cc, deck boat or walkaround (either of which i'd like to have) through poachers cut routinely. at high tide or near it, yes i think that could be done, so long as the draft is around 18" or so. anything more than that, i'd rather that navigation not be the main source of stress on the day.

the route of poacher's cut that i followed emptied right into the middle/tail end of alligator creek. there's a turnoff to the right while going through poacher's cut that looks like, when viewing on satellite, it empties almost right into the harbor. when we got to that, there was a local in a canoe doing some fishing that said, "you don't want to take that boat through there in this tide," so i took his advice and went the longer route (another 5 min. or so).

like i said, the alternative if living in bird land is keep a boat a 5-10 min. drive at one of the marinas or yacht clubs. but that's kind of lame and defeats the purpose of having a house with a boat lift in your backyard in the first place.