Hi Jerry,
You can find several boat yards in either the Ft. Lauderdale or Miami
areas to launch your boat. It is a question of whether you have the
time
and inclination to make the trip by water to Marathon. If you have the
time, it is an interesting trip via the intracoastal, but you have to
watch the channel in places where it gets shallow. I brought my 22 foot
sailboat (4 foot draft) down that way many years ago. I now keep it in
Islamorada, which is about 22 miles north of Marathon. We keep it in
Max's Marine there, where they have a travel lift. They are on the gulf
side. I'm not sure, but it sounds like your boat is a sail. That
limits
your choices, as many boat yards in the keys are not servicing sail
boats
anymore. Marathon has a few boatyards on the ocean side, which can be
accessed easily from the gulf side by passing under a bridge just south
of the town. One is Marthon Marina. Another is Driftwood Marina.
There
is a place in Key Largo (ocean side) called Manatee Bay. These places
all
have travel lifts for sailboats. You can get contact information by
going
to: http://florida-keys.fl.us/ypages/ypmarina.htm
If you plan to keep your boat there in storage, be sure to check on
prices
and restrictions for maintaining your boat. For example, some places
will not let you paint your own boat. They are getting tough on
environmental stuff down there. Be careful not to run aground, as there
are stiff penalties, if they have to pull you off a coral reef, etc.

Let me know if you need any details,

Sherwin Dubren


Jerry wrote:

We would like to take our Dana 24 to the Keys this winter. I have purchased
Cap'n Papy's guide book.

My question is where is the best place to launch our boat. ( Need travel
lift) . Don't know if the Miami area is the best place or something lower.
We need a place that will allow us to store our car and trailer. We have
friends in Marathon and would probably use that as our primary destination.

Jerry