80′
Yacht Brokers in Key West and the Florida Keys
A hundred and thirteen miles of island chain between the Atlantic and the Gulf, with the only living coral barrier reef in the continental United States down one side of it.
- Listed here now
- 15
- From
- $539,000 to $4,395,000
- Up to
- 80′
The market
What Key West and the Keys Is
The Keys are shallow-water boating with deep water a few miles away, which is an unusual combination and the reason the fleet here looks the way it does. Flats skiffs and bay boats for the backcountry, centre consoles for the reef and the Gulf Stream, and cruising boats staged for the run to Cuba, the Bahamas or up the west coast.
Draft decides more here than anywhere else in Florida. Hawk Channel and the Gulf side are thin, the bridges of the Overseas Highway set air draft, and a boat bought for Fort Lauderdale does not automatically work in Marathon. It is the first question to ask about any boat you are considering for the chain.
Key West itself is a working deep-water port with the offshore fishing, the charter fleet and the yard capacity that follow from it, and Aspire now has a broker based on the island.
The reef, and the Stream beyond it
The only living coral barrier reef in the continental United States runs the length of the chain, with blue water a short run past it. Diving, reef fishing and offshore, all from the same dock.
Backcountry and flats
The Gulf side is a different sport entirely. Tarpon, permit and bonefish in water measured in inches. It is why so many owners here keep two boats rather than one.
A jumping-off point
Cuba ninety miles south, the Bahamas up and across, the Dry Tortugas seventy miles west and the Gulf coast north. Few places put that many different passages within reach of one berth.
Deep water at Key West
A working port rather than a resort marina, with the yard and fuel infrastructure of somewhere that handles commercial traffic, which matters when something needs fixing at the end of a hundred-mile road.
Lying here now
15 Yachts on the Market in Key West and the Keys
From the whole cooperative, not only our own listings, and updated as the market moves. A spread across the sizes rather than the largest nine.
- 80′
78′
66′
58′
51′
48′
47′
43′
40′
Search every yacht on the market →New to the market this month →
The water
Inlets and Where Boats Lie
Key West Main Ship Channel, Moser Channel and the Hawk Channel cuts
Shallow, and unforgiving of a deep keel: the Overseas Highway bridges set air draft, Hawk Channel and the Gulf side set draft, and local knowledge is worth more here than in any other Florida market.
Marinas on this stretch
- Key West Bight
- Stock Island Marina Village
- Safe Harbour
- Faro Blanco
- Ocean Reef Club
Straight answers
Key West and the Keys Questions
What size boat works in the Keys?
Draft first, length second. The opposite of how most buyers shop. The Gulf side and much of the backcountry is thin water, Hawk Channel has its shallow stretches, and the Overseas Highway bridges cap air draft on the inside route. Plenty of large boats are kept here perfectly happily, but they live on the ocean side and they plan their transits. Tell us where you want to go and we will tell you what she can draw.
Is it harder to get work done down there?
Less than it used to be. Key West is a working deep-water port with real yard and fuel infrastructure, and Marathon and Stock Island have capacity too. For a major refit most owners still run up to the mainland, where the trades are concentrated and the quotes are competitive, but routine service, haul-outs and mechanics you do not need to leave the chain for.
Do you have somebody based in the Keys?
Yes. A broker is joining us in Key West, so the chain is covered from the island rather than from a hundred and sixty miles up the road. Wherever she lies, an Aspire broker is aboard for every showing, which is the part that does not change with the postcode.
How far is Cuba, and can I go?
Ninety miles from Key West, and the legal position for a US-flagged private vessel has moved several times in recent years. It is a question for current guidance rather than for a brokerage page. The Dry Tortugas, seventy miles west, needs no permission beyond a park pass and is the passage most owners here actually make.
Buying or Selling in Key West and the Keys?
We are based in Fort Lauderdale and we work this whole coast. A broker is aboard for every showing, wherever she lies, and there is no fee to a buyer for having one there.
Where else we work