Guides for boat, dock and seawall owners in South Florida
The questions our customers ask, answered first and backed by public sources: hull cleaning, zincs, paint, marina rules, seawalls, hurricanes and pilings.
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- Licensed & insured
- $2,000,000 liability insurance
- 5.0★ on Google · 335 reviews
- Photos after every cleaning
- Monthly dive report: zinc % and bottom paint condition
- Licensed & insured · $2,000,000 liability
Every guide here starts with the answer, then explains it, and ends with the sources it came from. Wondering whether dock, lift or seawall insurance covers storm damage? That question has its own guide below. Where a number is someone else's (a market price range, an ordinance figure) it is labelled as such; the only Barnacle Doctor prices on this site are the seawall inspection fees. If a guide does not answer your question, the FAQ has about forty more, and the phone works too.
Boats: how often, what it costs, paint, zincs and the rules
How Often to Clean a Boat Bottom in South Florida
Why 30 days is the number for a painted hull here, when two weeks is right, and what a lift, a canal or a summer away changes.
Hull Cleaning Cost in South Florida
What drives a hull-cleaning quote, per-foot vs flat vs hourly billing, published market ranges, our seawall inspection fees, and why monthly costs less than neglect.
Bottom Paint & Hull Cleaning: Hard vs Ablative
Hard vs ablative for a monthly diver, the 90-day wait after new paint, why gentle beats frequent, and what to tell us about Propspeed.
Cavitation vs Pressure Washing vs Scraping
Bubbles, jets, blades and brushes compared: what each does to paint, gelcoat, wood and concrete, and what Florida's Clean Marina rules say.
In-Water Hull Cleaning Rules in Florida
No state ban, but marinas, Clean Marina best practices, manatee season and the antifouling statute all shape how a diver works. The page a dockmaster will read.
Zinc Replacement Services: The 50% Rule
What galvanic corrosion is, the 50% rule, the typical life of an anode here, zinc vs aluminium vs magnesium, and what a zinc that disappears in a month means.
Waterfront property: seawalls, pilings and storms
Seawall Inspection for Home Buyers in Florida
What a pre-purchase seawall inspection checks, what the report covers, who is responsible for repairs, what repairs cost on the open market, and what to ask your lender.
Seawall Rules: Broward, Fort Lauderdale, Miami Beach
Broward's 4 ft / 5 ft NAVD88 rule and the 2035 date, Fort Lauderdale's adoption, Miami Beach's 5.7 ft standard and 300-dollar-per-foot trigger, permits and who is responsible.
Hurricane Prep & Dock Insurance Checklist
Pre-season inspection, the screwdriver test, lift and cradle prep, seawall photos for the claim file, and the post-storm underwater check.
Dock Piling Worn or Rotten? Wood Piling Repair Guide
Teredo shipworms, pinholes and the screwdriver test, HDPE wraps vs Snap Jacket concrete sleeves vs driving a new piling, with published cost ranges.
Dock, Lift & Seawall Insurance in Florida
What homeowner insurance calls an "other structure," what flood insurance excludes outright, what a boat policy doesn't cover, and what to have ready before a claim.
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