We moved ashore about a year ago, so our info is fairly current.
As with about 98/100 of cruisers, we pretty much stayed at marinas only when we needed repairs. Moorings ranged from 8-12/day, but we only used those when the location was well worth it, as with Vero Beach. Otherwise, dropping the hook in a protected and convenient (if we wanted convenience instead of tranquil pivacy) anchorage was the rule. I don't think we ever
needed to use a marina or mooring.
The vast majority of places were free. A couple of months at Miami, weeks in the Keys (Islamorada), a week in Marco Island, a week Sarasota, another month at St Petersburg, a couple of weeks in St Augustine, days in Fernandina, days in Daytona, weeks in Cocoa and Melbourne, weeks in Cape Coral, and days in innumerable nameless coves all up and down the east and west coasts of Forida cost perhaps a total of $10 for fuel for the dinghy and $75 for many local all-day (or longer) bus passes to just about anywhere we could think of to go. Usually, if a shore visit was planned, we'd anchor in a protected spot where we could dinghy to some place within easy walking distance of whatever we needed to get to.
Typical situation: Beaufort SC marina was $1.50 a foot or so, but anchoring 500 yards away was free, and they provided a free municipal dinghy dock right next to the municipal marina. I stopped in the marina one night in perhaps 8 trips past there -- and that was to repair a ruptured water line. The otner trips, I always anchored. Boats suitable for cruising are inherently self-sufficient, so why waste money at a marina? We only used moorings when the local rules required it. That was true, from DC to St Petersburg, only in Vero Beach ($8/day, recently up to $10), Key West ($12/day or $120/month), and Naples (about $8/day, I forget). Everywhere else, there were ample free anchorages everywhere from the armpit of Florida to the mouth of the Potomac and up to Washington, which was our normal path. But many friends, still at it, are still seeing the same thing all the way up to the coast of Maine, as of this morning.
Perhaps 3-4 places that we stopped at between DC and Miami charged as much as $5/day to land your dinghy, and there were no free places nearby. But the places that did that, such as St Augustine, Washington DC, and perhaps others that I bypassed, also offered use of their showers, laundromat, etc.
Some places were simply wonderful. Beaufort NC's maritime museum provided a free courtesy car to cruisers who anchored nearby, making grocery runs a breeze. Vero Beach, N. Myrtle Beach, and several others provided free busses from the waterfront to shopping areas.
Most cruisers used and contributed to Skipper Bob's anchorage guide (
http://skipperbob.home.att.net/publications.htm) to identify the best places to drop the hook.
Dory36
And don't forget - while you might love traveling, etc., there could be a lot more free time when you're not traveling than you realize (unless you're gunning for the perpetual traveler thing).
