Boston Whaler 330 Outrage33' 0"
View Specs & ReviewPonce Inlet up the Halifax — New Smyrna to Ormond
Yachting in Daytona Beach
A Minted Location · Daytona Beach, Florida
If the plan is a boat that idles past the downtown docks at sunset and still clears a real ocean inlet when the bite is on, the Halifax River is where that plan lives. The river runs as the Intracoastal here, crossed by fixed high-rise spans from Ormond to New Smyrna — 65 feet at all but Broadway's 63 — and its front door is Ponce de Leon Inlet, a jettied entrance under a 159-foot light that the Coast Pilot treats with respect: an average 3-knot ebb, building to 5 or 6 knots on southeasterly wind, with local knowledge advised.
Minted Yachts runs this coast with buyers, and everything below comes from each facility's or agency's own published information — the same standard behind every yacht review on this site.
For an owner, the market sorts into three waters: downtown Daytona's protected basins, with the city's 550-slip Halifax Harbor Marina as the flagship; the working inlet cluster at Ponce Inlet, where the region's biggest haul-out lives; and New Smyrna Beach's first-come city slips at the edge of Mosquito Lagoon. Pick your water, and the boat follows.
Where to keep a yacht in Daytona Beach
Daytona dockage sorts by bridge and basin. Downtown, the city's 550-slip Halifax Harbor Marina anchors a 60-acre basin off ICW Mile 831, with the Halifax River Yacht Club and the 1903-vintage Daytona Marina & Boat Works on the same Beach Street shore and the Ballough Road pair to the north — Loggerhead's 60 wet slips and Coquina's berths for yachts to 112 feet. South of the Dunlawton bridge the river turns working: Seven Seas' do-it-yourself yard at the causeway, Adventure Yacht Harbor's fuel dock on the run down to the inlet, and Loggerhead's Inlet Harbor basin just inside Ponce de Leon Inlet, with Sea Love's big lift up the street. New Smyrna Beach runs its own first-come city marina at Mile 846.1, and Ormond's access point is the Cassen Park ramp and day docks at the Granada Bridge. Figures below are what each facility or agency publishes about itself.
Marinas
| Name | Where | Max yacht | Slips | Fuel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Halifax Harbor MarinaThe region's flagship: 550 slips in a protected basin at the south end of downtown, owned by the City of Daytona Beach and managed by F3 Marina — boaters' lounge, five bathhouses, gated docks, mobile pump-out and a free public launch in the adjoining 55-acre park. The Coast Pilot charts its privately dredged, daybeacon-marked channel west from Mile 831.0. | Downtown Daytona Beach — 60-acre basin off ICW Mile 831 | — | 550 | Gasoline & diesel — 300 ft of floating concrete fuel dock |
| Daytona Beach City Dock (Municipal Yacht Basin)The downtown small-craft basin the Coast Pilot charts north of the Halifax River Yacht Club — the City Dock stands on the basin's north side, a marked channel west from the ICW. | Downtown — marked channel south of the Veterans Memorial Bridge, Mile 830.7 | — | — | — |
| Loggerhead Marina — Daytona BeachThe Ballough Road basin with a resort layer — pool and hot tub, captain's lounge, marine center, and Caribbean Jack's on the property, whose own marina page says it plainly: visit by boat, dry racks and wet slips. | Daytona Beach — 721 Ballough Rd, west bank of the Halifax | 95 ft | 60 | Fuel dock on site |
| Coquina Marina Daytona BeachThe newer luxury basin just north of Loggerhead — yachts to 112 feet on floating docks, with pool, jacuzzi, fitness center and laundry; slip count, fuel and depths are not published on its site. | Daytona Beach — 841 Ballough Rd, at the marina's Mile Marker 32 | 112 ft | — | — |
| Adventure Yacht HarborThe Suntex-run full-service stop closest to Ponce de Leon Inlet on the Halifax side — 87 wet slips, honest published depths, and Boondocks Restaurant on the property inviting you to come by boat. | Wilbur-by-the-Sea — 3948 S. Peninsula Dr, east bank above Ponce Inlet | 65 ft | 87 | High-speed fuel dock — diesel & ethanol-free gas |
| Inlet Harbor Marina (Loggerhead)The marina inside the inlet itself, with Off the Hook on the property. The Coast Pilot reports a 6-foot controlling depth from the waterway (2002 report) and about 8 feet alongside the wharf; the legacy inletharbor.com domain is dead — Loggerhead's page is the official record now. | Ponce Inlet — 133 Inlet Harbor Rd, 0.5 mi SE of ICW Mile 839.6 | 75 ft | 44 | Ethanol-free gasoline & diesel |
| New Smyrna Beach City MarinaThe city's own basin steps from the Canal Street Historic District — pump-out, Wi-Fi, laundry, showers and shorepower at published rates ($3–$10 a night by voltage), with one night prepaid to reserve. Fuel is not listed on the city's page. | New Smyrna Beach — 201 N. Riverside Dr, ICW Mile 846.1 | — | — | — |
| Cassen ParkOrmond Beach's boating access point: a 3.7-acre riverfront park with ramp, docks, a pier reaching under the Granada Bridge, bait shop and cleaning stations — the city publishes no transient marina, so this is the Ormond stop. | Ormond Beach — 1 S. Beach St, at the Granada Bridge | — | — | — |
Yacht clubs
| Name | Where | Max yacht | Slips | Fuel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Halifax River Yacht ClubIncorporated 19 May 1896 and believed the oldest yacht club on the eastern seacoast still on its original site — 39 fixed slips (largest to 75 feet) in a sheltered basin south of the Veterans Memorial Bridge, with 8 feet reported alongside (2000 report) and reciprocal courtesies per the Coast Pilot. | Downtown Daytona Beach — 331 S. Beach St, on the Municipal Yacht Basin | 75 ft | 39 | — |
| Smyrna Yacht ClubThe 1928 dining club of the Indian River North, candid about its water: tide runs to 3 miles per hour in either direction, fluctuates about 3 feet, and the reach is not a no-wake zone — read the current before you land. | New Smyrna Beach — 1201 S. Riverside Dr, west bank of the Indian River North | — | — | — |
Figures are as each facility publishes them on its own site; blank cells mean the facility doesn't state a number. Confirm slip availability and current rates directly — or ask us to make the calls.
Cruising from Daytona Beach
The inlet. Ponce de Leon Inlet sits 53 miles south of St. Augustine Light and 41 miles northwest of Cape Canaveral Light — the only ocean door on this stretch, used by recreational and small commercial traffic bound for New Smyrna Beach or Daytona Beach. The Coast Pilot's brief is specific: a jettied entrance over a bar, the outer end of the north jetty lit and the inner end awash, numerous recreational fishing vessels anchored inside the north jetty, and a plain recommendation of local knowledge and extreme caution. The ebb averages 3 knots and builds to 5 or 6 with southeasterly winds. A Coast Guard station stands on the south side, and the 1887 red-brick tower on the north side — 159 feet above the water, 175 feet of masonry, a National Historic Landmark with its own museum — is the seamark you steer by. Volusia County's inlet and port district sponsors the federal channel project and funds the dredging, the derelict-vessel removals and more than 148 artificial reefs offshore.
Inside the jetties. Three channels connect the inlet to the ICW, and the Coast Pilot prices each one: north via the Halifax River at a 5-foot midchannel controlling depth (2010 report), west via Rockhouse Creek at 7 feet (1986 report), and southeast via the Indian River North at 9 feet (2010 report). Shoaling is the inlet's reputation — run the current numbers, not the chart's.
The bridge math. From Ormond to New Smyrna the fixed spans clear 65 feet — Granada (Mile 824.9), the Seabreeze twins (829.1), Veterans Memorial (830.6), Dunlawton (835.5) and Harris Saxon (846.5) — with Broadway (830.1) at 63. Three bascules do the opening: Highbridge Road at Mile 816.0 (15 feet closed, an 85-foot power cable just north), Main Street at 829.7 (22 feet — the only opener on the Daytona city stretch), and the SR 44 causeway bridge at New Smyrna, Mile 845.0 (24 feet). Two current warnings from the same source: strong cross-currents veer side to side in Ponce de Leon Cut at Mile 840.0 where Spruce Creek enters, and the flood from Sheephead Cut sets westerly north of the Harris Saxon bridge.
The downtown stop. Halifax Harbor's privately dredged, daybeacon-marked channel leads west from ICW Mile 831.0 into the small-craft harbor — gasoline and diesel on 300 feet of floating concrete fuel dock, mobile pump-out, transient slips with the marina staffed 24 hours, and a free public launch in the adjoining park. Just north, a marked channel south of the Veterans Memorial Bridge leads to the City Dock on the Municipal Yacht Basin's north side, with berths reporting 6.5 feet alongside per the Coast Pilot and water, ice and electricity at the wall.
Fuel and haul-out on a passage. Southbound or north, the diesel is at Halifax Harbor downtown, Daytona Marina & Boat Works on Beach Street (diesel and ethanol-free gas, VHF 16, working the waterfront since 1903), Adventure Yacht Harbor's high-speed dock below Dunlawton, and Loggerhead's Inlet Harbor basin at the inlet itself. When something breaks, Sea Love Boat Works at Ponce Inlet swings the region's biggest lift — 75 metric tons by its own page, a 70-ton lift by the Coast Pilot's — and Seven Seas at the Dunlawton causeway is the do-it-yourself yard, blocking boats to 42 feet with a 14-foot beam.
New Smyrna and the lagoon. The city marina at Mile 846.1 takes transients first-come at published rates — $2.50 a foot per day, sliding to $1.25 for 90-plus days — with pump-out, laundry and the Canal Street district a walk away. The Smyrna Yacht Club's own guidance frames the reach honestly: tide runs to 3 miles per hour in either direction, fluctuates about 3 feet, and this is not a no-wake zone. South of town the Indian River North opens into Mosquito Lagoon toward Canaveral National Seashore — thin, wild water where the fish camps still look like fish camps.
- Rockhouse Creek (inside Ponce de Leon Inlet) — Ponce Inlet — the westward channel from the inlet to the ICWThe inside water behind the jetties — the Coast Pilot notes numerous recreational fishing vessels anchored inside the north jetty, so pick through with care and mind the 3-knot-average ebb at the entrance.
Service, refit & supplies
Shipyards & refit
| Name | Where | Max yacht | Dockage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daytona Marina & Boat WorksWorking the Beach Street waterfront since 1903 — cleaning, refurbishing, painting and engine work with a restaurant on site. Its own site says over 100 slips for boats to 200 feet; the Coast Pilot describes the facility at this location as 350 open and covered berths for vessels to 90 feet with a 7-foot controlling depth (1993 report) — call the marina with your specs. | Downtown Daytona Beach — 645 S. Beach St, Mile 831.2 | — | Annual, seasonal, monthly & transient dockage; monitors VHF 16 |
| Sea Love Boat WorksThe big-lift yard of the region — a 75-metric-ton lift with 23 feet of beam in the well by its own page, noted as a 70-ton lift in the Coast Pilot's survey of the Ponce Inlet facilities. No boat sales on its site. | Ponce Inlet — 4877 Front St | — | Haul-out yard — complete bottom work, fiberglass, mechanical, carpentry, rigging, prop reconditioning, electrical & detailing |
| Seven Seas Marina & BoatyardThe do-it-yourself yard on this stretch, established 1980 — blocking vessels to 42 feet with a 14-foot beam, a jib crane, a 66-slip dry-storage stackhouse, and machine and carpenter shops with mobile hoists to 30 tons per the Coast Pilot's description of the site. | Port Orange — 3300 S. Peninsula Dr, east side of the ICW at the Dunlawton bridge | — | Permanent or transient dockage — 90% of slips available to the public |
On the Daytona Beach calendar
The lighthouse — Ponce de Leon Inlet Light is the standing appointment on this coast: the 175-foot brick tower of 1887, a National Historic Landmark with its museum at the base and the light still charted at 159 feet above the water.
The reef program — Volusia County's inlet and port district has built more than 148 artificial reefs offshore, alongside its standing work funding inlet dredging, beach erosion control and derelict-vessel removal — the quiet machinery that keeps this a fishing coast year-round.
Yachts we'd shortlist for Daytona Beach
Reviewed the same way as everything on this site — specifications verified against the builder's own numbers.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the bridge clearances on the Halifax River?
Fixed spans clear 65 feet from Ormond to New Smyrna — Granada (Mile 824.9), the Seabreeze twins (829.1), Veterans Memorial (830.6), Dunlawton (835.5) and Harris Saxon (846.5) — with Broadway (830.1) at 63. Three bascules open on request under the federal drawbridge rules: Highbridge Road at Mile 816.0 (15 feet closed), Main Street at 829.7 (22 feet — the only opener on the Daytona city stretch), and New Smyrna's SR 44 bridge at 845.0 (24 feet). Watch the cross-currents in Ponce de Leon Cut at Mile 840.0.
Where can I anchor near Ponce Inlet?
Inside the jetties. The Coast Pilot says the inlet is used by vessels entering for an anchorage and notes numerous recreational fishing boats anchored inside the north jetty — so there is company, and you should pick through it carefully. Rockhouse Creek, the westward channel to the ICW, carried a 7-foot controlling depth in its 1986 report. Mind the entrance current — a 3-knot average ebb rising to 5 or 6 knots on southeasterly wind — and remember the area is known for shoaling, so run current survey numbers rather than trusting the chart.
Is Daytona Beach a good home port?
For an owner who wants river miles and ocean access in the same week, it's a strong one: a 550-slip city marina with published transient welcome, fixed 65-foot spans that let most boats run the Halifax without a single opening, a real inlet with a Coast Guard station on it, and yards that still haul and fix boats — including a 75-metric-ton lift at Ponce Inlet. The trade-off is the inlet's shoaling reputation, which rewards local knowledge. Minted Yachts runs this coast with buyers — tell us how you'll use the water: TS@MintedYachts.com or +1 (404) 805-9819.
Where can I dock in Daytona Beach?
Halifax Harbor Marina is the flagship — 550 slips in a protected 60-acre basin off ICW Mile 831, city-owned, managed by F3 Marina, with transient slips, 24-hour staffing and gasoline and diesel on a 300-foot floating fuel dock. On Ballough Road, Loggerhead's Daytona basin runs 60 wet slips to 95 feet with Caribbean Jack's on site, and Coquina Marina berths yachts to 112 feet. Daytona Marina & Boat Works on Beach Street adds transient dockage with diesel and ethanol-free gas.
Which Daytona-area restaurants can I reach by boat?
The sourced welcomes: Caribbean Jack's downtown says visit by boat — dry racks and wet slips; Off the Hook at Inlet Harbor says arrive by car or boat; Our Deck Down Under publishes first-come slips at the Dunlawton Bridge; Boondocks gives boaters directions into Adventure Yacht Harbor; Outriggers in New Smyrna lists waterside dockage with the marina taking calls at 386-427-4514; and RiverGrille on the Tomoka states boat access outright. Landmarks like Down the Hatch, Aunt Catfish's and the Chart House publish no dock — use the marina next door and walk.
How do I run Ponce de Leon Inlet?
With respect and current numbers. The Coast Pilot describes a jettied entrance over a bar — north jetty lit at its outer end, awash at its inner — an ebb averaging 3 knots that builds to 5 or 6 with southeasterly winds, anchored fishing boats inside the north jetty, and a plain recommendation of local knowledge and extreme caution. Inside, three channels reach the ICW: the Halifax at 5 feet midchannel (2010 report), Rockhouse Creek at 7 feet (1986 report), and the Indian River North at 9 feet (2010 report). A Coast Guard station stands on the south side.
Where do boats get hauled and serviced near Daytona Beach?
Ponce Inlet and the Dunlawton causeway. Sea Love Boat Works swings the region's biggest lift — 75 metric tons with 23 feet of beam by its own page, a 70-ton lift in the Coast Pilot's account — with full bottom, fiberglass, mechanical, rigging and electrical trades. Seven Seas Marina & Boatyard at the Dunlawton bridge is the do-it-yourself yard, established 1980, blocking boats to 42 feet with a 14-foot beam. Downtown, Daytona Marina & Boat Works has worked the Beach Street waterfront since 1903 — cleaning, painting and engine work.
Can transient cruisers stop in New Smyrna Beach?
Yes — the city runs its own marina at 201 N. Riverside Drive, ICW Mile 846.1, southwest of Red Marker 38. Slips are first-come, first-served at published rates: $2.50 a foot per day for stays to 29 days, $1.57 for 30 to 89 days, $1.25 for 90-plus, with a 34-foot minimum billable length, card payment only and one night prepaid to reserve. Pump-out, Wi-Fi, laundry and showers are on site, shorepower runs $3 to $10 a night by voltage, and the Canal Street Historic District is steps away. Fuel is not listed on the city's page.