Deep-Water Dockage in Palm Beach County: Where a Big Boat Can Live Behind the House
In Palm Beach County the house is the easy part. Whether a 60, 80 or 100-foot boat can live behind it depends on the inlet, the bridges and the water at the dock, and the listing sheet only tells you part of that.
Start with the inlet
Palm Beach County has one deep-draft inlet. The Lake Worth Inlet, which locals call the Palm Beach Inlet, was dredged to 35 feet in 1967 and has been maintained at that depth since, because it is the entrance channel for the Port of Palm Beach. It sits between the Town of Palm Beach and Palm Beach Shores at the southern tip of Singer Island, and it is a straight run from the sea buoy into the Intracoastal.
The Jupiter Inlet, 11 miles to the north, is a different animal. Average depths run 6 to 12 feet, dredged channels reach 20 feet, and shifting sandbars and strong tidal currents call for local knowledge. It serves Jupiter, Tequesta and the Loxahatchee River communities well for sportfish boats and cruisers, but owners of larger yachts in the north county tend to run south to the Palm Beach Inlet or keep the boat at a marina near it.
Then count the bridges
Between the Palm Beach Inlet and the waterfront neighborhoods north of it, three bridges cross the Intracoastal. Only the first is fixed.
| Bridge | Type | Closed clearance | Opens | Who it affects |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Heron (SR A1A), ICW mile 1017.2 | Fixed, high level | 65 ft | Never needs to | Every home on Singer Island’s lagoon side and in Riviera Beach north of the bridge |
| Parker (US 1), mile 1013.7 | Bascule | 25 ft | Quarter and three-quarter hour | North Palm Beach, Old Port Cove and the Lake Worth Lagoon north of US 1 |
| PGA Boulevard, mile 1012.6 | Bascule | 24 ft | Hour and half hour | Frenchman’s Creek, Juno Beach and everything north to Jupiter |
So the rule of thumb runs like this. Palm Beach Shores and the Palm Beach side of the inlet have no bridge at all between dock and ocean. Singer Island’s canal neighborhoods, Palm Beach Isles, Yacht Harbor Manor and Estates, Pine Point and the Lake Drive enclaves, pass under one high-level fixed span, the Blue Heron Bridge, with 65 feet of charted clearance and no drawbridges. That clearance is why boats of 100 feet live behind houses on the island, and why many MLS listings there still check “No Fixed Bridges”: read that box as the listing agent’s description of the route, and confirm the route and clearance for the specific house and boat. North of the Parker Bridge, a boat taller than 25 feet waits for an opening twice an hour; north of PGA Boulevard, twice more. Charted clearance is measured at a set water level, so the real clearance changes with the tide: a sportfish with a tower or a yacht with a tall mast should check its air draft against the current NOAA chart and the tide before relying on 65 feet.
How to read the listing sheet
BeachesMLS listings carry a set of waterfront fields that tell you a great deal if you know what each one is saying. On a deep-water listing, those fields might read: No Fixed Bridge, Ocean Access, Canal Front, Intracoastal, Point Lot, Seawall, Canal Width 121 Feet or More, Electric Available, Lift, No Wake Zone, Private Dock, and Over 101 Ft Boat.
- Ocean Access / No Fixed Bridge are two separate boxes: Ocean Access says the water behind the house connects to the ocean; No Fixed Bridge is the listing agent’s statement that the route has no fixed bridge. Neither tells you the depth or whether your boat clears the route.
- Canal width matters more than most buyers expect. A 100-foot boat needs room to turn; 121 feet or more is the widest MLS class.
- Point lot means water on two sides and usually a longer dock face. Dockage is quoted in feet of boat the dock will take, not feet of seawall.
- Lift and its capacity decide whether the tender or center console stays dry. Lifts are rated in pounds; ask for the rating and the age of the motors.
- Electric available is the start of a conversation, not the end. A large yacht wants 100-amp, 208 or 240-volt shore power, and water and pump-out at the dock.
- No Wake Zone protects the boat and the seawall from passing traffic, and it changes how the water in front of the house behaves every weekend.
Six things to verify before you make an offer
- Water depth at mean low water at the dock face and in the canal to the Intracoastal, from a recent survey or a captain’s sounding, not from the listing.
- The boat’s air draft against 63 feet if the route runs under the Blue Heron Bridge, and against 24 or 25 feet if it runs under a drawbridge you do not want to wait for.
- The dock permit. Docks in Palm Beach County are permitted structures; confirm the dock, lift and any extension are permitted as built.
- Seawall age, cap condition and tie-back condition. A seawall replacement on a point lot is a six-figure item.
- Dock length and piling spacing against the boat’s length and beam, and whether a second boat or a tender fits alongside.
- Flood zone and the elevation certificate, which drive the insurance quote and the cost of any future work on the house.
Where the deep-water houses are
On Singer Island the houses with dockage for the largest boats are on the Intracoastal side: Palm Beach Isles, Yacht Harbor Manor, Yacht Harbor Estates, Pine Point Road and the Lake Drive enclaves. In the twelve months to October 2026 the island’s canal neighborhoods recorded 38 single-family sales at a median of $1,560,000, and the sales above $5 million were all deep-water lots. The Singer Island guide covers each neighborhood, and the October 2026 market report has the numbers by street and building.
Palm Beach Shores, at the inlet, has the shortest run to the ocean in the county. North Palm Beach, Lost Tree and Juno Beach have fine docks and drawbridges to plan around. Admirals Cove and the Jupiter waterfront have the Jupiter Inlet, which is a sportfish inlet, or a long run south on the Intracoastal to the Palm Beach Inlet.
Buying for the boat as much as the house?
David Custons lives on Singer Island, holds the CLHMS GUILD Elite™ designation, and will walk the dock with your captain before you write an offer.
Sources: Lake Worth Inlet and Jupiter Inlet (Wikipedia); Blue Heron Bridge, Parker Bridge and PGA Boulevard Bridge (Waterway Guide); BeachesMLS waterfront fields via Home Platform; Singer Island sales from BeachesMLS, twelve months to October 22, 2026. Bridge schedules change for maintenance and events; check the Coast Guard notices before transiting. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
