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Boating
on Florida's West Coast One of my favorite quotes is what
Ratty said to Mole in Kenneth Grahame's beloved
classic, "There
is nothing -
This is a picture of one of our guests that brought
their own fishing boat and is fishing close to one
end of Anclote Key island the state park and game
preserve.
Notice the swimmers in the background that are enjoying the water on the other side of the sand bar that comes off the end of the island.
Boys and boats. Boys of all ages are fascinated with boats. This a picture of 3 local boys in their boat going our for a day of fishing and enjoying the beach at the island. This boat is smaller than the boats that are available with our homes. 
This is the type of boat that we have all our homes
on the water. It is a 15 foot long fishing boat.
Some of our guests bring their own motor and in that case the boat is free. If you want to use our 15hp motor then we add $150 to the rental of the house.
This is the island called Anclote Key. This is one of our guests boats that they brought with them. When our son was 12 he was taking our boats out to Anclote Key with his 12 year old friends. He is now 22 and is still taking his friends out the islands on the boats we have at our vacation homes, but his friends now wear 2 piece swim suits.. Click to email me  This
is me, Dan, doing a little maintenance on one of
our boats. We keep the boats in good
shape.
We provide life jackets, fishing poles, anchor, and other boating things that come free of charge. This boat is US Coast Guard rated for 4 people or 550 lbs. With the 15 hp motor the boat will go about 15 to 20 MPH depending in the weight of the folks.  Speckled
Trout for Dinner tonight !
The gentleman on the left is one of our regular
guests. These are 2 real nice Speckled trout
he caught within 1 mile of our vacation homes. For more about fishing, check out the FISHING page on our web site. 
"The Minnow" This boat was abandoned on Anclote Key. From time to time there are very interesting things that "wash up" on the island. Using our boats you can go out to Anclote key and walk along its 5 mile length, exploring for treasures including shells, "boats", crab traps, and who know what ! The following hints and tips are NOT a replacement for boating knowledge and common sense. You are responsible for operating the boat safely, in good weather, and for NOT injuring members of your group or others.
Boating
- THE LAW
SAFTEY
GENERAL There
are live oysters and barnacles around the docks and
seawalls that are very sharp.
Always wear shoes.
If you fall in BE CAREFUL and do not
lacerate your feet. It
is recommended that you carry a cell phone in a zip
lock baggie. This
is for unforeseen emergencies. 5
gallons of gasoline should get you to Anclote Key
and back twice, depending on the number of people
in the boat. This
assumes that you have not overloaded the boat and
that it can "get up on the plane". Getting
in the boat and STARTING MOTOR To
drive the boat, sit on the right side of the engine
with legs straddle the rear seat. Your
left foot will be in the small opening just behind
the rear seat and in front of the motor.
Your right leg/foot will be toward the front
of the boat. Use
your left hand to steer and work the throttle.
Your right hand will be used to pull the
starter cord.  "The
gas tank"
Make
sure the fill cap on top of fuel tank is loose to
allow air into the tank as the gasoline is sucked
from the tank by the engine.
If you fail to do this, a vacuum will form
in the tank and stop the fuel flow, killing the
engine. The fuel hose clicks onto tank and clicks onto motor. It will not work if you connect it backwards. There is an arrow on the primer bulb that shows the fuel flow direction. 
The
starter cord is locked when the engine is in gear,
so you cannot START the motor when it is in gear.
The lever in the front of the motor shifts
the motor between forward, neutral and reverse. 
When
sitting as instructed above, when you grip the
twist throttle with your left hand, it works like a
motorcycle, rotate toward you to go fast, away from
you to go slow. Be careful not to over rev the engine when you start it.
Make
sure cooling water is coming out of motor.
Do not leave dock if it water is not
squirting out. Floating
Sea Grass can obstruct cooling water, stop and
remove grass from motor.
If you BURN UP the ENGINE your boating is
over and you loose your deposit.
Cooling water should be squirting out in a
hard stream. Going
fast and making sharp turns can be dangerous. An
extra Kill Switch is located under the tiller
handle. If
you loose the kill switch with the lanyard, you can
use this kill switch to run the motor, and you will
be charged $20.00 for a replacement kill switch.
(Or you may purchase an identical kill switch for
about $8.00 and I will never know that you lost the
original.) LEAVING
THE DOCK The
channels follow the seawalls. Be careful of
submerged rocks and other obstructions. The
rule for the red/green markers on channels is Red
Right Return (RRR). If
departing from Gulf Harbors, the Check
the cooling water outlet frequently, if it stops
then stop the motor.
If the flow of cooling water is obstructed
for as little as 2 minutes, it will melt the
engine. Always
wear shoes in the boat and especially if going to
Anclote Key. To
help prevent sting rays from "stinging"
you, you should do the
STING RAY SHUFFLE while walking in the
water.. The
Marine Patrol may stop you and want to see boat
registration, flares, whistle, and life jacket(s). Check
fishing laws at BIG “K” north on US 19.
I believe a fishing license is required if
you are over 16.
The fishing license for 1 week for out of
state residents is about $15 to $17.00
We have never had one of these boats capsize. If boat CAPSIZES, STAY WITH BOAT. It is easier to find you, the boat floats, and you can use anchor to hold boat from drifting. ANCLOTE KEY
When approaching Anclote Key from the north end, stop the motor in knee-deep water, tilt motor up, and pull boat to shore. The entire east side of Anclote Key is VERY shallow and grassy/muddy… good for fishing but not for getting “to the beach”. DO
NOT take the Jon boat on the Gulf Side of Anclote
Key or the Sand Bar.
The waves can be big and dangerous. You
should always wear shoes, do the STING RAY SHUFFLE,
and bury the anchor in the sand on the beach to
prevent the boat from floating away when the tide
rises. Do
not take boat on Gulf Side (WEST) on Anclote Key or
the Sand Bar. SANDBAR
- Approach
east side only, the side closest to the shore..
It is VERY shallow on south end.
Good for sand dollars on the Gulf Side. In 2
or 3 feet of water, dig your toes into the sand,
and explore about 1 to 2 inches down in the sand,
you will feel the sand dollars with your toes. Fishing
Returning to the dock Red
Right Return is the rule for channel markers.
Tie boat up, bow and stern to dock. Do
not put fingers between boat and dock. STAY
LOW when getting out of the boat. Do NOT let
anyone stand up on the seats and step onto the
dock. Keep your center of gravity low. At
night, carry removable items out of boat and put by
back porch so they do not disappear.. Always
raise motor out of water when not using motor.
This prevents it from corroding due to the
salt water. Latch on left side of motor locks it
down or up.
We are sure you will have questions and will be glad to talk to you
about any aspect of our beautiful vacation homes.
Click to email me
Reservations
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The Wind in the Willows
