Canal Boat Ride Times

Most people interested in buying a waterfront home would like to know how long it takes to get out to open water. Open water generally means the open waters of Charlotte Harbor where you can put your boat up on plane. If a short boat ride time is important to you than you really need the straight scoop on how long a ride it is going to be from your dock. Realtors often don’t really know the boat ride times and “wing it”. Some get it right and some get it wrong. Needless to say there is a lot of variability when you try to put a hard and fast number on exactly what the boat rides times are. Your boat speed is the biggest factor and “no wake”, “minimum wake” mean different things to different boaters. The number of houses or absence of houses and the actual canal width will affect where you keep your throttle as well. You can buy a CANAL MAP from the local chart manufacturer WaterProof Charts. Ask for chart #03E to cover all of the canals in Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda

The simplest way that I know to covey accurate approximate boat ride times out from various streets in various waterfront neighborhoods is by doing the boating myself or talking with neighbors that live on the various canals. These are going to give you a good honest general time frame out. If your anxious to leave the dock and get out there you may be doing it quicker or if your relaxing on your way back in and are put-putting your way in, it will be longer. Here is a list of boat ride times from named streets. I am constantly updating this list so that my customers will truly have a good idea of how long a boat ride to expect.

Burnt Store Isles

1. Macedonia & Isparta Ct. Intersection via Alligator Creek- 22-25 Minutes

Pirate Harbor

1. Henry Morgan to Pirate Harbor channel- 7-8 minutes
2. Pirate Harbor Blvd to Pirate Harbor channel- 4-6 minutes
3. Jean Lafitte Blvd. to Pirate Harbor channel- 10-3 minutes

Port Charlotte

1. Bangsberg to open water- 1-4 minutes
2. Rock Creek near Victoria Ave. via Pellam Waterway- 17-20 minutes
3. Collingswood and O’hara intersection via Manchester Waterway- 20-23 minutes

Punta Gorda Isles- Sailboat Waterfront

1. Flora Lane via Pompano Inlet- 5-6 Minutes
2. Punta Gorda Isles Yacht Club via Pompano Inlet- 7-9 Minutes
3. Charlotte Amalie via Ponce de Leon Inlet- 10-12 Minutes
4. Parisian Court via Ponce de Leon Inlet- 12-15 Minutes

Punta Gorda- Alligator Creek

1. San Sebastion Harbor directly out to Alligator Creek- 20 minutes
2. Palm Drive and Boardman via Alligator Creek- 12-15 minutes