It isn’t hard to understand that boating is a big industry in Florida. Everywhere you look you see boats of all sizes and types. But it’s always mind boggling to spend a little time on or near the water in Fort Lauderdale to get a perspective on just how huge and important the marine business is to Florida.

There are some 300 miles of waterways winding through the Fort Lauderdale area, lined with marinas and marine manufacturing and repair facilities. Thousands of boats call in Fort Lauderdale every year en route to other places. You can buy everything from the most sophisticated electronics to snazzy crew uniforms in Fort Lauderdale.

I helped my friend Tom move a big motor yacht from Associated Marine in Fort Lauderdale back up to its home port of Palm Beach last week. Tom had gotten into the boating business many years ago in Fort Lauderdale where he helped crew and maintained big boats. He told me that every time he returns to the area on a delivery job, he’s shocked at how much the boat business has grown as evidenced by the number and size of the big boats tied up there.

Driving to Associated, which is one of many boat repair and construction operations on Dania Cut, took us past Marina Mile on Fort Lauderdale’s New River. We drove past one megayacht after another, each representing a sizable economic benefit to the area in terms of money spent on maintenance and support and the provision of thousands of jobs for skilled workers in the area. And if you aren’t passing big boats in Fort Lauderdale, you’re driving past suppliers of marine hardware, electronics, charts, provisions and anything else you can think of that pertains to boats.

Associated’s yard was full with big boats and more were moored awaiting their turn for a haul out and whatever maintenance or repair they needed. As we motored slowly down Dania Cut toward the Intracoastal Waterway, I just stood on the bridge shaking my head in amazement at the size and number of boats we saw, many of which were obviously undergoing extensive refit. There may be some place in the world that is a bigger or economically more important hub of boating than Fort Lauderdale, but I sure don’t know where it is.