Reviews: The Moorings of Carrabelle

Reviewed by: D. Jenkins on Apr 22, 2024
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 31'
Draft: 3.0'

Rating: 4

Excellent stop - best in Carrabelle. The Staff were great - Joey was top-notch, helping with docking, regularly checking in to ensure that we were squared away. His wife in the office made checkin seamless and welcoming. The upstairs boaters lounge was outstanding - TV area, cards/game area, and pool table all with great views. Laundry was convenient, bathrooms and showers were secure, could use a bit of upgrade, but clean and functional. Location is ideal - a block away from the IGA grocery and ACE Hardware. Also some outstanding restaurants - Fisherman's Wife's seafood platter is unmatched. If you are in the mood for some great fresh seafood to grill/ prepare yourself, be sure and visit Millender & Sons Seafood on the east side of town. Vance M. is very customer focused and will have the freshest local shrimp, flounder, triple tail, etc in town. The smoked mullet dip is amazing too - wish we had grabbed an extra tub.

The staff at the Moorings fuel island were excellent as well, and Kathy M. in the office provided great customer service at checkout. We will always stay at the Moorings when passing through Carrabelle.

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Reviewed by: Tony Green on Mar 29, 2024
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 26'
Draft: 3.0'

Rating: 4

Very nice marina, with good amenities. Easy to book, with helpful staff. Awesome upper-deck boater's lounge. Ground-floor bathrooms and showers needed maintenance, but were useable. Laundry, swimming pool and hotel rooms available. Our 26'-foot boat easily fit inside the inner harbor and we enjoyed excellent protection from wind, wakes and current. Nice launch ramp on site. We would definitely stay here again.

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Reviewed by: Captain Wes on Jul 1, 2023
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 50'
Draft: 4.0'

Rating: 5

Great stop, Great fuel price as always after a lumpy crossing from Tarpon Springs. I stop here on the Panhandle of the crossing both directions. Doesn't get any better!

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Reviewed by: John Highsmith , CAT O' MINE, on May 22, 2023
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 26'
Draft: 2.5'

Rating: 4

Zig zagging approach channel like most FL river marinas, occasional strong currents. Good gas price, everything can be billed to your slip. Small but clean pool. RR/showers with AC. Wifi has strong signal but shuts off every few minutes so use your own hot spot. Very helpful staff. True some slips are a long walk from the RR but staff offered a ride in their golf cart. No free breakfast when we stayed. There are no 4-star marinas in Appalachicola. Clean laundry, single washer but only $1.25 per load. Wakey with fishing boats until nightfall.

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Reviewed by: Bill Kight , Cookie, on Mar 8, 2023
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 27'
Draft: 2.2'

Rating: 4

Great staff. Provisions, hardware, restaurants adjacent to marina. Easy walk.

The marina has a nice protected boat ramp that is a little confined, but workable for my 35' boat trailer.

Power, water, fuel and pumpout functioned as expected.

Depending on where you are slipped, it can be a long walk to office, boater's lounge and showers

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Reviewed by: Wade A. on Jan 1, 2023
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 45'
Draft: 4.0'

Rating: 3

Pro: Easy access. Good fuel dock with high-speed pumps. Good power and water. Nice boaters launge with clean restrooms (2nd floor). 2 blocks to grocery and hardware store. 2-3 blocks to restaurants. Clean laundry room.

Con: Expensive @$3/ft. Outer docks are too tall for stern-in boarding, but fingers are too short for bow-in. (Riverbank docks work for stern-in). Mainfloor restrooms need work.

Conclusion: Best moorage available in Carabelle, but over-priced.

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Reviewed by: Brian Wicks on Dec 5, 2022
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 27'
Draft: 2.0'

Rating: 5

Great location, great staff!! Close to town for provisions and some really tasty Korean Street food. Fixed docks with about 2' tidal change. The current can be tricky when docking - we were in an inside slip so did not have to deal with the current. Showers/bathrooms were decent. Great jump off point for the gulf crossing.

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Reviewed by: Robert Hansen , Soulmate , on Dec 8, 2021
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 60'
Draft: 4.5'

Rating: 4

The Moorings of Carrabelle is a nice facility in a strategic location. The docks and pedestals are clean and in good condition. The facilities, bathrooms and showers are adequately maintained, in so-so condition, and many blocks from the dock we were at. There is a nice meeting room for groups. A free breakfast was available. If we bought 100 gallons of fuel or more, dockage was $1 per ft. vs $1.50.

Carrabelle is a small town. There a two decent dining spots within .4 miles, a nice grocery store and hardware store within .25 miles.

I would not hesitate to stay at the Moorings of Carrabelle again.

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Reviewed by: Bill Mcmahon on Dec 5, 2021
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 40'
Draft: 3.5'

Rating: 4

Friendly accommodating staff.
A free breakfast buffet from 6:30 - 9:30 every morning, not bad!
Convenient to shopping and restaurants. Good grocery store (IAG) and Ace hardware store across the street.
Shower and restrooms are just OK, Just one washer and dryer.
Docks are typical for the area. A small fixed finger pier with pilings to ties too. Which for our boat, with midships side gates, makes it difficult to get on and off the boat .
WiFi was so slow as to be useless.
Lots of current made it a challenge to get in and out of the slip.

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Reviewed by: Rob Dare , Liberty Call , on Dec 3, 2021
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 46'
Draft: 4.5'

Rating: 5

Nice marina with super friendly staff good fuel prices and a good pump out. Current on the outgoing tide is very strong. Not the best place for walking a dog. IGA and ace hardware are across the street. Free breakfast. Nice meeting room.

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Reviewed by: Green Turtle Bay Marina- Ford - Buena on Nov 28, 2021
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 42'
Draft: 4.0'

Rating: 5

Very friendly staff. New docks are very nice. Town is small so most everything is within walking distance. Prices for both fuel and slips were great (big slip discounts with fuel purchase). We came in on a very windy and strong current day and were fortunate to get a slip on their "t-dock" at the end of the new pier. If you are traveling on a windy day, I would call and ask for one of these slips. We have a 3'7" draft and did ground on our first morning at low tide. This is a great place to stay before/after your Gulf Crossing!

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Reviewed by: Jeffrey Skoda on Nov 6, 2021
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 65'
Draft: 6.0'

Rating: 4

Nice marina with good fuel prices. The staff very friendly. Pumpout did not work. Good location to restaurants and grocery store. Good stop before crossing.

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Reviewed by: MV Elizabeth on May 16, 2021
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 42'
Draft: 4.5'

Rating: 4

This is a protected marina up in the river with helpful staff. IGA grocery store across the street and a few restaurants in town, along with a Dollar General (1 mile from marina) Good diesel price when we were there. Nice new dock with new electric across the river from the main office/fuel dock/pool area.

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Reviewed by: Tina Pickell on May 9, 2021
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 62'
Draft: 5.0'

Rating: 4

Our third visit in a year-- friendly and helpful staff. Close to groceries and a couple nice restaurants. Great fuel prices. Complimentary breakfast. Docks have been under construction and nearly complete-- larger slips have electric and water. A sturdy walk from the docks across the Carrabelle River into town.

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Reviewed by: Greg Frost , Adiago, on Mar 16, 2021
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 33'
Draft: 3.0'

Rating: 5

We just spent our second time at The Moorings. Friendly staff and dockmaster was great. Nice facilities and the free breakfast was wonderful. Easy access to fuel dock. We'll be back.

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Reviewed by: Len Barton , Short Dog II, on Feb 23, 2019
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 44'
Draft: 3.0'

Rating: 3

The previous reviews cover most of what to expect with a couple exceptions. After Hurricane Michael they lost the majority of available slips. Cable TV and most shore power are not available. At the existing slips getting on and off your boat can be difficult with the tide range. They do all they can to accommodate transients. We had a medical emergency while there. It was an hour and forty five minute ambulance ride to the nearest medical assistance which was in Tallahassee. It was a $100 Uber ride back.
There is no public transportation, rental car, taxi and no medical services. However; The Fisherman’s Wife Restaurant is excellent, The IGA Grocery and Ace Hardware are all right across the street.

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Reviewed by: Paul Castaldi on Jun 12, 2018
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 45'
Draft: 4.0'

Rating: 3

The fuel dock is nice - easy access and helpful waterfront staff. The overnight space is adequate but could stand a little refreshing. The office staff are very nice and though the marina needs to be updated, I did not see the others as any better. I did not find the town of Carrabelle as very nice and would have been frustrated if I had to wait a few days for the weather to change.

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Reviewed by: Chris Himmelheber on Jan 4, 2018
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 36'
Draft: 5.5'

Rating: 4

This marina has a lot going for it:

Pros: 1) Well protected. There is essentially no wake action. Wind is mild.
2) Good water depth at high tide.
3) Great amenities that are close to the dock. They have showers, restrooms, a pool, a washer/dryer, free use of bicycles, free continental breakfasts, use of a common room with widescreen TV, pool table, gaming table, and more restrooms.
4) There are grocery, hardware, and Dollar General stores almost across the street, and several bars & restaurants within walking distance.
5) Very friendly, helpful staff. They provide an info sheet with phone numbers and addresses of local restaurants, stores, and businesses.
6) Best of all, it only costs $1 per foot!

Cons:
1) The tidal range is HUGE - at least 3 feet. This can cause a boat docking in shallow water to sit high and dry. It can also cause your lifelines or hardware to be trapped under or over the dock (and torn off). Be cautious to hold your boat away from the dock! If you are docked at the bulkhead, it isn’t a concern.
2) A corollary of the tidal range is that adequate depth at high tide may not allow leaving at low tide.
3) The ship’s store does not carry much. And there is no marine store in town.
4) The town is quite small, and it is a long way from anything bigger. It is about 25 miles to the nearest Walmart, Kmart, Walgreens, CVS, etc. There is a taxi service in town, but no Uber or Lyft.

Overall, I think it is a very good marina.

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Reviewed by: Richard on Jul 3, 2017
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 22'
Draft: 1.0'

Rating: 5

I just spent a week here. My boat's registration had expired and I had to wait for the renewal to arrive from Ft. Lauderdale. EVERYONE working at the marina is super courteous and friendly and went out of their way to be helpful. There's even a free breakfast every morning. Rates very reasonable. There's a seafood restaurant right across the street, an IGA grocery across the street from it and and Ace Hardware next to that. All in all a great place to stay.

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