[Leanan]

Public Marina Access Shrinks

As investors buy up private marinas and convert them into elite yacht clubs, middle class boaters are being squeezed out:

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '"')The toughest state right now is Florida," says Thomas Dammrich, president of the National Marine Manufacturers Association. "But there's also starting to be a problem in the Northeast, the Boston and New York areas. In parts of California, if you're not at the boat ramp by 4 in the morning, you're not going to get into the water that day"...

• At the Cockroach Bay ramp on Tampa Bay, pickups and trailers line up for a quarter-mile on some weekends.

• In Daytona Beach, Port Orange and other nearby cities, armed police officers now keep the peace among frustrated boaters at ramps.

• In Broward County, 38 boat ramps with 1,300 parking spaces must serve 36,000 registered boats on trailers.