Hull Cleaning in Sunny Isles Beach, FL

Boat care on the water in Sunny Isles Beach

Baker's Haulover Inlet, cut in 1925 between Bal Harbour and Sunny Isles, connects the Atlantic to the Intracoastal, and it's known for wind, tide and current conditions that can swamp a boat that isn't ready for them. Bill Bird Marina, inside Haulover Beach Park, keeps 152 gated wet slips from 35 to 120 feet and is home to South Florida's largest charter and drift-fishing fleet; Haulover Marine Center is a 488-space dry-storage facility right on the ICW at the inlet.

Oceania Sunny Isles Marina is the only marina attached to a Sunny Isles Beach condominium tower, sitting between the Atlantic and the ICW. Given the inlet's reputation for rough water at the mouth, a boat that regularly runs Haulover sees a different fouling and wear pattern than one that stays inside calmer water.

The NE 163rd Street bridge, also called the Sunny Isles Causeway Bridge, closes to 30 feet and runs a tight published schedule: no openings at all Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and the same on weekends and federal holidays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., except on the quarter and three-quarter hour. That's one of the more restrictive drawbridge schedules on this stretch of coast, separate from the dangerous currents already known at Baker's Haulover Inlet just to the north.

Haulover Marine Center's 488-space dry-storage facility sits right at that inlet, and Bill Bird Marina's 152 gated slips inside Haulover Beach Park hold what's described as South Florida's largest charter and drift-fishing fleet. A boat stored dry at the Marine Center and a boat wet-slipped at Bill Bird are using the same inlet, just handling its rough-water reputation two different ways.

Water conditions: Baker's Haulover Inlet is known for wind, tides and natural obstacles that can generate large waves at the mouth.

• the Intracoastal Waterway
• Baker's Haulover Inlet