Nations Best Boats

Florida law requires you to be at least 18 to rent a livery vessel other than a human-powered vessel. Florida sets no general minimum age to operate a boat, but a personal watercraft operator must be at least 14.

Under section 327.395, anyone born on or after January 1, 1988, operating a vessel powered by 10 horsepower or more must carry the required boating safety credentials. An exemption applies when accompanied by a credentialed or exempt person age 18 or older who is attendant to the operation and responsible for safe operation and violations. The rental operator sets its own booking minimum subject to state law, so confirm it when booking.

Source: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (myfwc.com)

Florida does not issue a boating license, but operators born on or after January 1, 1988, must carry photo ID and a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission boating education card when running a vessel with a motor of 10 horsepower or more. This includes personal watercraft. There is no general minimum age for boats; personal watercraft operators must be at least 14, and no one under 18 may rent any vessel other than a human powered one. Exemptions include Coast Guard licensed masters, private lake or pond operators, operators accompanied aboard by someone 18 or older who holds the card or is exempt and is responsible for the vessel, and nonresidents with proof of a NASBLA-approved out of state course. Any non exempt operator may instead pass an FWC approved temporary certificate exam and carry that certificate with photo ID for 90 days.

Source: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (myfwc.com)

From Key Largo, you can choose sheltered bayside water or the more exposed ocean side. Card Sound and Blackwater Sound are shallow, generally smooth Intracoastal waters. Blackwater Sound connects through the marked Marvin D. Adams Waterway to Largo Sound, an enclosed, shallow area between Key Largo and El Radabob Key. From Largo Sound, a marked channel through South Sound Creek reaches Hawk Channel, the less sheltered Atlantic-side option.

Public put-ins include the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park marina at Largo Sound and Mike Forster Memorial Park on the bayside of Key Largo.

Source: NOAA Office of Coast Survey (nauticalcharts.noaa.gov)

From Key Largo, boaters can visit North Nest Key in Florida Bay for its dock, picnic area and island setting; Key Largo Dry Rocks to snorkel near the Christ of the Deep statue; Grecian Rocks for shallow reef terrain and a seagrass bed; and Molasses Reef, a heavily visited scuba site known for clear water, fish populations and a spur-and-groove reef formation. Together, these stops offer a practical mix of island picnicking, snorkeling and diving for a day on the water.

Source: Everglades National Park (nps.gov)