Clearwater Beach Boat Ramp is Back

North beach residents and other ramp users won't have to worry about getting more than their boats in the water anymore.

The north beach boat ramp was recently reopened. It was replaced partly for safety reasons.

“On a couple of occasions we had vehicles end up in the water when trying to recover their vessels because they backed too far down the ramp to get into deeper water to float their larger vessels,” said Bill Morris the city's director of Marine and Aviation department.

The $430,000 project to replace the old ramp also included building new sidewalks, stabilizing the seawall and the boarding dock was moved further south.

About 75 percent of the project costs will be reimbursed with a grant from theFlorida Boating Improvement Program and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The ramp was used more when the Belleair ramp was closed for bridge construction, Morris said. On a busy weekend he estimates about 30 launches and retrievals.

The ramp worked well for smaller vessels that need as little as a foot of water to launch. However, larger boats were using the ramp. And getting trailers stuck. 

The ramp ended at the seawall, with a three to four foot drop after that, Morris said. And a lot of the new users were unfamiliar with the way the ramp was set up.

He expects the ramp will see less use now that the Belleair Causeway is complete.

There is not a lot of parking near the single lane ramp. However, there is a floating dock and 16 public boatslips nearby.

The ramp is at the east end of Bay Esplanade Drive near the Clearwater Beach Library and Recreation Center.