F3 Marina opened its Fort Lauderdale drystack facility in Florida toward the end of 2022. A month later, occupancy levels were already at 70%. By all accounts, the company has made an indelible impression in the world of marinas and boat storage. It’s easy to see why.
According to F3 President John Matheson, the company has introduced the most advanced dry-stack marina to the world. “It’s an elevated experience featuring cutting-edge technology that embodies the maritime spirit of Fort Lauderdale,” he says. “Importantly, we are located in the heart of the boating community with quick access to highways, Port Everglades inlet and all the action.”
Located in the heart of the Broward County boating activity, F3 Marina Fort Lauderdale towers over the Seminole River Canal in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., offering convenient access to numerous restaurants, hotels, shops and entertainment.
Located in the heart of the Broward County boating activity, F3 Marina Fort Lauderdale towers over the Seminole River Canal in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., offering convenient access to numerous restaurants, hotels, shops and entertainment.
The marina is situated minutes from the Atlantic Ocean and the northern boundary of Port Everglades, with direct access to the Intracoastal Waterway.
Unparalleled Technology
Incorporating the use of an overhead crane with smart technology to automatically hoist vessels, the facility accommodates boats up to 46-feet long, 13-feet beam and 20-feet high with a weight limit of 40,000 pounds. Secure indoor storage is provided for 240 vessels on racks that are six tiers high, and boats of appropriate height can be racked as high as 120 feet within the 130-foot-tall structure. The building was constructed to withstand winds of up to 170 miles per hour, and the completed project covers a 1.3-acre footprint with 390 feet of waterfront.
The technical hub of F3 Marina Fort Lauderdale is a computerized marine crane system that maximizes storage capability and minimizes boat retrieval time. Housed in a wet well, the boat lift retrieves boats from the water and places them in their reserved rack location. A boat can be lifted and stored, or retrieved and launched, in under five minutes. There are 21 wet slips for the staging process, which increases efficiency and reduces cycle time.
“The City of Fort Lauderdale has always been at the forefront of innovation in the marine industry, and this project not only complements those sentiments but elevates the marketplace offerings,” Matheson continues. “Boats are getting bigger, and the inventory to house them is becoming limited or non-existent in some cases. F3 Marina provides a unique solution to the City of Fort Lauderdale, solving this issue by making it possible to store larger vessels inside our facility.”
The new drystack was a passion project that required a particularly skilled design and development team, as well as the support of the city, to come to fruition. The structure itself was an incredibly complex build, requiring extremely meticulous timing and order. The building was constructed using every inch of the property boundaries, leaving no area to stage materials or equipment other than the site itself, which added to the challenges.
Not only did the project improve an existing technology, but it introduced innovation with the design of a ‘mega frame’ and ‘super caps’ to support 3,400,000 pounds of steel. “This design allows us to place the largest vessels on the top rack of a building over 100 feet (30m) high. And that’s never been done before,” Matheson says.
F3 Marina Fort Lauderdale originally broke ground in November 2019, bringing new drystack technology to the city. It is described by F3 Marina CEO David Behnke as “the ‘Ritz Carlton’ of drystacks,” delivering white-glove service and unrivaled luxury amenities.
In addition to the impressive overall design and professional personal touch that F3 Marina offers, its boaters will enjoy superior customer service and key amenities, including: an upscale private lounge; indoor covered parking; on-site high-speed fuel; storage kicker rentals; and a retail ship store. And as an added bonus, boaters storing their vessels in the facility reduce their insurance costs by up to 50%.
Full-Service Indoor Boat Storage
F3 operators take pride in providing boaters with superior customer service in its state-of-the-art facility. Nearly the entire process of storing and retrieving your boat is automated, creating an efficient, safe and pleasurable experience. After boat owners have enjoyed a day on the water, the boat’s motors are flushed and safely stored until their next adventure.
In addition to advanced dry-stack technology, F3 Marina offers a number of onsite features to achieve the highest level of customer convenience.
- Wet slips for staging
- Retail ship store
- An upscale, climate-controlled private lounge
- Electric hookup
- Convenient water access to the Atlantic Ocean
- Conference room
- Custom mobile app launch request
- Free Wi-Fi
- Detailing
- Onsite, high-speed fuel service
- Concierge service
- Fully-automated crane technology
- Storage locker rentals
- Fish cleaning station
- Engine flush
- Complementary ice
- Indoor work racks
Advanced, computerized marine crane technology maximizes the facility’s dry-storage capabilities and minimizes retrieval time. Housed in a wet well, the boat lift brings the boats out of the water and places them in their reserved rack location. A boat can be lifted, stored or retrieved, and launched in under five minutes. There are 17 wet slips for the staging process, which increases efficiency and reduces cycle time.
To learn more and watch videos illustrating the amazing technology and customer conveniences of F3 Marina’s website, click here.
