Itmac

We could sure use some more info to better answer your question. For instance, gas or diesel engines, boat type,will you be running alone, or will you have partners so you can keep the boat moving 24/7, what;s yuor range on a tank of fuel (how many fuel stops will you need?), etc.

I've done dozens of deliveries from the Northeast to Florida. If the boat is up to it, and the weather is cooperating, I run outside: Break the inlet and keep America on the right until you see palm trees. With two landfalls for fuel, and good weather, and a co-captain so we can run night and day, I typically make West Palm from New York in 4 to 5 days. Add 1/2 a day since your coming from Boston.

Just North of West Palm Beach is Stuart, from which you can enter the Okeechobee Waterway. This is 150-mile stretch of canals and open lake tales you direct to Ft Myers, without having to go round the keys. There are locks and many bridges on the waterway, so budget a day-and-a-half. ( There are many marinas as well).

So, going outside, you can get from Boston to Ft. Myers in about a week, weather providing

Running the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is slower. Its well marked, and mostly protected water, but there are a lot of bridges.(This is why I asked your boat type--whats your bridge clearance?)Many open on demand, some open on a schedule...so you'll have to wait. Then the navigation is a biut challenging, as their are sections of the ICW that are shoal. Plan on two weeks going inside--ten days is what you'll probably need though.

For more info on transiting the ICW, see our recent feature article "Real Men Run Inside"

G'Luck
Kevin