RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — John Cioffloletti and his friend Dennis Ushman just finished a day of cool wind in their hair and a bit of ocean spray on their skin with the "Jubilee."
Sioffoletti said recreating that feeling each time is getting more and more expensive, especially with slip fees.
"I've been looking around for the last six months and Palm Beach Gardens slips are going for between $800-$1,200 a month for under a 30-foot boat, which is unheard of," he said.
So Cioffoletti keeps his boat in the yard. But recently, he heard a rumor about the city of Riviera Beach.
"I was thinking about putting my own mooring out and then I heard that the city was to do it," he said. "I was going to send an email to Sprague because I had just looked his name up."
Who is Sprague? John Sprague is the man responsible for building the mooring fields. The lifelong boater and the Riviera Beach Police Department marine unit took WPTV out to see where Sprague will help build not one, but two mooring fields totaling 156 moorings.
"There are 56 spots planned between the city marina and the Blue Heron (Boulevard) bridge," he said.
The other hundred will be south of Peanut Island. He said they've surveyed the area. Installing moorings requires a special dive team to screw them in.
"It's measured under hydraulic pressure until it reaches the gauges that we're looking for that will hold a 60-foot boat and the windage of a category 3 hurricane," he said.
Sprague said building a mooring field is just a smart thing to do. Just to put one mooring in the ground averages between $3,500-$4,500. Now, when comparing that to building a slip, it's upwards of $150,000. He said it's simply cost-effective.
"So, these mooring fields are going to be an affordable alternative," he said.
Cioffoletti and Ushman said they feel they're being priced out.
"The expense has gone way up," Ushman said. "It gets to the point that the average person, unless you're very rich, can put your place in a dock."
The city said it'll have a boat to collect sewage and a boat to transport from shore to their boats and back. The time frame for starting the work could be a year away.
