Indoor Boat & RV Storage · Sarasota / Manatee
Gold Key Boathouse is freedom — freedom from storm worry, sky-high insurance, maintenance headaches, vandalism, and fighting for a launch time. Indoor, hurricane-resistant storage for your boat and trailer together, in the heart of Sarasota / Manatee. You decide when and where to launch. We handle the rest.
The Freedom List
The Problem Every Local Boater Knows
Sarasota and Manatee counties are home to roughly 50,000 registered boats (51,000 per FWC 2024) — one of the densest boating markets on Florida’s Gulf Coast. Wet slips and dry-stack racks together hold fewer than 10,000 of them. That leaves the large majority — roughly 40,000 boats, about 30,000 of them trailer boats — relying on land storage.
The result is a market most local boaters have already run into: facilities at 100% occupancy, multi-year waiting lists, and some operators closing their lists entirely. It has gotten common enough that boat dealers now advise buyers to lock in storage before they buy the boat.
Gold Key Boathouse was built to take a real bite out of that gap.
Across Sarasota and Manatee, purpose-built storage runs at full occupancy — and some operators have closed their waiting lists entirely. Gold Key Boathouse adds protected, indoor capacity built for how this region really boats.
What Makes Gold Key Different
Unlike traditional dry-stack marinas that separate your boat from its trailer, we never store a boat alone. Your boat stays on its own trailer in our four-high bays — so when you want it, you get the whole rig, ready to tow and launch wherever you choose.
Your boat lives inside a hardened building — protected from sun, weather, and storm season. That protection can also work in your favor with insurers.
An estimated 60–70% of boats in this region are trailer-launched. We’re designed for exactly that owner — the one who wants to tow to the ramp of their choice, not wait for a slip.
We accommodate larger vessels, with a length premium for the biggest boats. Boats over 50 ft are not accepted; the facility maximum is 50 ft.
Positioned for fast access to the region’s public boat ramps, so “stored inland” never means “far from the water.” 18 ramps within 45 minutes.
Before we store your boat and trailer we wash both in our auto-wash system — reverse-osmosis water, no harmful detergents. Schedule 24/7 ramp pickup and drop-off by app, or let our concierge handle it for you.
A limited number of ground-floor spaces — up to about 87 (roughly 25% of capacity) — can be dedicated to RV storage under the same indoor, secure, hurricane-resistant standard. Boats come first, so RV space is limited and reservation-based.
Run the numbers
Set your boat length and your current dock or lot bill. We will estimate what indoor dry storage saves you against a wet slip and an outdoor lot, every year and over five seasons.
$0/yr
indoor dry vs. a wet slip$0
at today's rates, before inflationPlanning estimate only, not a quote. Built on typical Sarasota and Bradenton Gulf-coast rates and ownership costs for 2025 and 2026. Your numbers will vary by vessel, slip, and season.
Eighteen public ramps sit within a 45-minute tow — the closest, Centennial Park, just ten. Your home water is covered.
Location & Launch Access
Gold Key Boathouse sits inland but central, with quick access to the public ramps that matter most to Sarasota and Manatee boaters — 18 ramps within a 45-minute drive.
The Stickney Point corridor is one of the busiest boating access points in Sarasota County and a leading indicator of local launch demand. Its activity — and the development clustering around it — is direct, on-the-ground validation that this is exactly where boaters want to be and store. Gold Key Boathouse is positioned to serve that demand.
| Drive time | Ramp | Water access |
|---|---|---|
| 10 min | Centennial Park | Sarasota Bay |
| 15 min | Ken Thompson Boat Ramp | Sarasota Bay / Big Pass / Gulf |
| 15 min | Ken Thompson Park | Sarasota Bay |
| 20 min | Turtle Beach Public Boat Ramp | Little Sarasota Bay / Midnight Pass |
| 20 min | Don Roehr Boat Ramps | Sarasota Bay |
| 25 min | Blackburn Point Park Boat Ramp | Intracoastal Waterway |
| 30 min | Higel Marine Park | Venice Inlet / ICW |
| 35 min | Venice Train Depot Boat Ramp | Venice-area waterways |
| 35 min | Manasota Key Boat Ramp | Lemon Bay |
Sarasota County ramps
| Drive time | Ramp | Water access |
|---|---|---|
| 25 min | Palma Sola Causeway Boat Ramp | Palma Sola Bay |
| 30 min | Warner’s Bayou Boat Ramp | Palma Sola Bay / Anna Maria |
| 30 min | State Road 64 Boat Ramp | Manatee River |
| 35 min | Coquina North Boat Ramp | Longboat Pass / Gulf |
| 35 min | Coquina Beach South Boat Ramp | Longboat Pass / Gulf |
| 40 min | Riverside Boat Ramp | Manatee River |
| 45 min | Fort Hamer Boat Launch | Upper Manatee River |
Manatee County ramps (north of Sarasota)
| Drive time | Ramp | Water access |
|---|---|---|
| 35 min | Marina Park and Boat Ramp | ICW / Venice Inlet |
| 40 min | Nokomis Beach Park | Gulf via Venice Inlet |
| 45 min | Indian Mound Park | Lemon Bay |
South County (Venice / Englewood)
Closest ramps — Centennial Park (10 min) and the Ken Thompson complex (15 min) — put open water minutes from your boat.
Your boat and trailer protected together — out of the sun, salt, and storms — in a building designed for how Sarasota and Manatee really boat.
Inside the Facility
Prefer to explore it yourself? Below is the same boathouse as an accurate, interactive 3D model built to the architect’s plans.
Loading the boathouse…
An accurate 3D model of the Butler Avenue boathouse, built to the architect’s plans — drag to look around, zoom with the controls, or take the cinematic tour from the front apron all the way to a boat in the rack.
| Total capacity | Up to 350 boats (each stored on its own trailer) |
|---|---|
| Maximum boat length | Up to 50 ft (length premium on the largest vessels) |
| Structure | Indoor, hurricane-resistant building with four-high storage bays |
| Storage format | Boat and trailer stored together — never a boat alone |
| Retrieval | Ground-floor boats roll straight out; bays 2–4 handled by marine forklift |
| RV allocation | Up to ~87 ground-floor spaces (~25%); reservation-based |
| Trailer-only storage | ~100 trailer spaces; priority to storm-storage customers |
| Business hours | 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Tuesday – Saturday |
| Boat drop-off & pick-up | 24/7 |
| Security | 100% perimeter-fenced with camera surveillance; boathouse secured after business hours |
Call ahead, and your boat — always on its own trailer — is staged and ready to tow when you arrive. Ground-floor boats roll straight out; boats in the upper bays are brought down by our marine forklift and set on the ready line. Hitch up and go — no separating boat from trailer, no scramble.
Schedule your pickup by app or phone — 24/7.
Your rig is washed, staged, and ready on the line.
Tow to the ramp of your choice and go.
Who Gold Key Serves
Indoor, hurricane-resistant storage for your boat and trailer together. Reserve your space.
Reserve your space →Hand buyers a real storage answer at the point of sale and close more deals.
Become a partner →A scarce-asset opportunity in a supply-starved coastal market.
See the opportunity →Partner with Starboard Tack, the operator behind Gold Key Boathouse.
Explore a partnership →A private members' community for boaters and RV owners, anchored by Gold Key. Curated events, real camaraderie, and a higher standard of service around the lifestyle you already love.
Explore The Key Club →Why Demand Keeps Growing
Florida added roughly 467,000 residents between 2023 and 2024 — many relocating from northern states where boating participation is high.
Sarasota / Manatee is an affluent coastal region with strong recreational spending.
Seasonal residents sharply increase winter boating demand and the need for secure, year-round storage.
Every one of these trends points the same direction: more boats, and not nearly enough places to keep them.
Validation & Proof
The gap between them is the opportunity — and it keeps widening.
Reserve your place at Gold Key Boathouse, or ask us anything.
