Boat davits in Islamorada

Who davits suit

Owners of tenders, small boats and jet skis with a sound seawall or dock and limited room for a lift slip.

Launching only from lawful docks and ramps

Motorised watercraft in Islamorada may be launched or taken out only at lawfully existing docks and ramps, and a private boat ramp may be no wider than 20 ft. A jet ski lift or davit on a permitted dock is the practical way to keep a small boat at home.

Davits are placed to that rule before the mounting plates are drilled.[1]

Covered lifts only over cut-in slips

Ordinance 24-15 allows open-sided covered boat lifts in Islamorada only over a cut-in slip on a man-made canal. The roof may not reach past the mouth of the slip or over mangroves, seagrass or hard bottom, may be no more than 12 ft above grade, and may not carry a deck.

Davits count as mooring structures, so the same reach and setback rules apply.[1]

Bay side and ocean side tides differ fourfold

NOAA's Florida Bay gauge at Upper Matecumbe Key shows a great diurnal range of only 0.61 ft, with mean higher high water about 0.41 ft below NAVD 88, while the Hawk Channel gauge a short way across the key shows 2.28 ft (1983 to 2001 epoch). A lift or floating dock sized for one side of Islamorada is wrong for the other.

Davit reach and lift height are set from the tide range.[2][3]

What makes Islamorada different

Principal buildings sit 20 ft from the mean high water line on altered shorelines such as canals, 30 ft on open water with conditions, and 50 ft on unaltered shorelines. Docks, lifts, davits, seawalls and riprap are water-dependent structures that may sit inside that setback under the Village's standards.[1]

Sanctuary and manatee layers

The federal small-project permit, SPGP VI, required Sanctuary sign-off before any Islamorada project in Keys waters, and crews follow the state manatee conditions on every in-water job.[4][5]

Permits in Islamorada

• Islamorada, Village of Islands, Planning and Development Services: Docks, lifts and shoreline structures under Village Code Chapter 30.
• Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary: Sanctuary waters surround every Islamorada key from the mean high water mark; we confirm what Sanctuary approval each project needs.
• Florida DEP or South Florida Water Management District: State permit or exemption; part of the Village's water is the Lignumvitae Key Aquatic Preserve.
• US Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District: Federal authorisation for work in the Sanctuary waters around the Village.

Before we mount a davit

1. Check the seawall cap or dock framing can carry the load
2. Confirm the reach against the 25% waterway rule
3. Permit with DERM and the city
4. Mount, wire and test

Frequently asked questions