Flagship guide · Boating

Boating from Idlewyld: Bridges, Clearances & the Route to Port Everglades

By Glen Primak, GLEN PRIMAK GROUP · Updated October 24, 2026

The short answer

Idlewyld sits on the west side of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (ICW), just south of the East Las Olas Boulevard bridge, according to the City of Fort Lauderdale’s neighborhood-association map. So the usual run to the ocean, south on the ICW to Port Everglades, passes one bascule (opening) bridge: the SE 17th Street (Brooks Memorial) Bridge. There are no fixed bridges on the ICW between the two. If your boat clears that bridge in its closed position (55 ft at mean high water), you can pass at any time.

The East Las Olas bridge (24 ft closed) matters only when you head north on the ICW.

Sources: 33 CFR 117.261(y) and (z) (eCFR, current); Federal Register 2026-00932; Coast Pilot 4, Ch. 12 (Oct 18, 2026 ed.); USCG Federal Register 2012-8873 (Las Olas 24 ft); City of Fort Lauderdale GIS (neighborhood boundary).

Step by step: Idlewyld to the Atlantic

1. Leave your dock for the ICW. Canal widths, depths, and turning room differ from lot to lot. Check depth at your dock and along your canal at low tide, with a survey if needed.
2. Head south on the ICW. Coast Pilot places the Bahia Mar Yachting Center about 0.4 mile south of the Las Olas bridge on the east side, across the waterway from Idlewyld. You also pass the mouth of the New River to the west.
3. Pass the SE 17th Street (Brooks Memorial) Bridge (ICW mile 1065.9), roughly a mile and a half south of the Las Olas bridge by ICW mileage. It is a twin bascule with 55 feet of vertical clearance at mean high water when closed (Federal Register 2026-00932; Coast Pilot 4 lists an authorized 55 ft at center). Under 33 CFR 117.261(z), it opens on the hour and half-hour. The exception is weekdays (except federal holidays) from 6:50 to 9:10 a.m. and 3:50 to 6:10 p.m., when it opens only once an hour, at the top of the hour.
4. Enter Port Everglades (ICW mile 1066.3) and run out the inlet. Commercial traffic, cruise ships, and security zones are common here. Monitor the harbormaster on VHF Ch. 14, keep clear of large vessels, and watch posted manatee and slow-speed zones.

What the clearances mean for your boat

• Under 55 ft air draft (most powerboats without tall towers, depending on arch, T-top, and antennas): you can usually pass under the 17th Street bridge without an opening, subject to the tide and the clearance boards.
• Over 55 ft (larger sportfish with towers, sailboats with tall masts): you need a 17th Street opening. Plan around its weekday rush-hour limit (top of the hour only).
• Heading north past Las Olas: anything over 24 ft needs a Las Olas opening, at :15 and :45.

Bridge clearances are published at a stated datum, usually mean high water. Actual clearance falls on spring tides and king tides, so read the clearance boards on approach. To request an opening, hail the bridgetender on the listed channel or use the sound signal in 33 CFR 117.15.

Heading north instead

Northbound boaters pass the East Las Olas bridge first, then the East Sunrise Boulevard bascule bridge and others on the way to Hillsboro Inlet. Their schedules are also set in 33 CFR 117.261. Check the current text before relying on a time.

Charts and publications to keep aboard

• NOAA Electronic Navigational Charts (ENC). NOAA canceled its traditional paper/raster charts for this area, including 11466, 11467 and 11470, on April 3, 2024. Use current ENC data in a chartplotter or NOAA’s chart-viewing tools.
• U.S. Coast Pilot 4 (Chapter 12 covers the ICW through Fort Lauderdale, and Chapter 10 covers Port Everglades). It is free from NOAA and updated weekly.
• Coast Guard Local Notices to Mariners for temporary bridge deviations, for example during the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show at Bahia Mar.

Dock and seawall rules

These are the City of Fort Lauderdale rules most relevant to an Idlewyld dock or seawall, from the Unified Land Development Regulations (ULDR) as amended by Ordinance C-23-05 (adopted March 23, 2023). They are a summary, not legal or engineering advice. Confirm the current code and permit requirements with the City before any project.

Seawall height (ULDR Sec. 47-19.13)

• A new seawall, or one being substantially repaired or rehabilitated, must work as a tidal flood barrier with a top elevation of at least 5 feet NAVD88.
• Applications submitted before January 1, 2035 may be permitted at 4 feet NAVD88, if the wall is designed to reach 5 feet NAVD88 by January 1, 2050.
• “Substantial repair” means work on more than 50% of the length of the property’s shoreline, or work costing more than 50% of the structure’s replacement value. That work must run along the property’s entire shoreline.
• The top of a new or modified barrier may not exceed the FEMA base flood elevation or 6 feet NAVD88, whichever is lower.
• Owners must keep seawalls in good repair. If tidal water flows through or over a wall onto a neighbor’s property or the street, the City can cite the owner. The owner must then show progress within 60 days and finish within 365 days.
• Contracts to sell property in tidally influenced areas of the city must include a specific tidal flood barrier disclosure.

Docks, lifts and how far you can extend (ULDR Sec. 47-19.3)

• Docks attached to a new or rebuilt seawall may sit up to 12 inches above the maximum allowed barrier elevation, if they are not poured as one piece with the seawall cap and don’t block water draining over the cap.
• Docks, lifts and similar mooring structures may not extend into the waterway more than 25% of its width or 25 feet, whichever is less, measured from the property line. Mooring or dolphin piles may extend up to 30% of the waterway width or 25 feet, whichever is less.
• A dock or lift needs a principal building on the lot.
• Lifts and davits: one per the first 100 feet of lot width, plus one more for each additional 100 feet. A second one on a lot between 100 and 200 feet wide needs Site Plan Level II approval. One personal-watercraft lift is allowed in addition. Lifts may be no more than 6½ feet above lot grade, and a hoisted boat’s lowest point may sit no more than 1 foot above the seawall cap.
• Boat length and side setbacks: a boat docked behind a home may not extend past the side setback lines for the house, extended out into the water. This is often what actually limits boat length on a canal lot.
• No boathouses or boat covers in the required setback area or over a public waterway.

Boating questions to ask about a specific Idlewyld lot

• Is the lot on the water at all (most homes on Idlewyld Drive and the majority on Poinciana Drive are), and is the frontage on the Intracoastal or on a canal? How wide is the canal at the dock, and how much room is there to turn?
• Is there any bridge or obstruction between the dock and the ICW, and what is its clearance?
• What is the depth at mean low water at the dock and along the canal, by survey?
• What dock, lift and seawall permits are on file with the City of Fort Lauderdale, and what condition is the seawall in, by inspection?
• How long a vessel fits within the lot’s side setback lines extended into the water, and how far a dock or lift can extend under the 25%-or-25-feet rule? See dock and seawall rules above.

Glen can pull the recorded permits and arrange a marine survey as part of a showing. Ask about a specific property →