Port Canaveral Yacht Club - Port Canaveral, FL

If you are looking for a convenient, low-cost marina option with minimal amenities, you should check out the Port Canaveral Yacht Club. The marina is a hidden gem and easily accessible from the inlet to the Atlantic Ocean as well as the canal leading to the Indian River and the ICW. They take reservations through Dockwa and provided excellent details via email regarding our visit. 

The yacht club is basically one long dock of slips and is overseen by the dockmaster and his wife, who are full-time live-aboards. They are very nice and were extremely helpful during our visit. The docks are metal, the pilings are concrete and fairly high off the water due to the 5' tide variance. It was a little worrisome when docking due to the narrow slips and short finger piers, so have your lines and fenders at the ready. The YC is in the process of upgrading the pilings to provide a little more protection. 

We had a great view of the Disney cruise ships across the channel and on space launch days, this is a perfect spot to view, hear and feel the rockets as they take off. Unfortunately, the launch scheduled on the day we were here was delayed due to weather.

The marina does not offer fuel service, but does have a free self-serve pumpout system. Fuel is available at the marina next door. There is no pool and the onsite restaurant had limited service to members during our visit. There are other restaurants down the road, but not much in the way of shopping or provisioning close by. The bathrooms were clean and easily accessible in the clubhouse.

We were told by the locals that this spot is basically the southern end of the freeze line and enjoys moderately warm temperatures through the winter. This could be a good choice for a winter base, especially considering the easy access to the Atlantic.