West Marine

West Marine's Key West store is at 951 Caroline Street, in the Historic Seaport at Conch Harbor Marina, and that location is the useful part. If you are tied up at Conch Harbor or anywhere along the Bight, the store is a walk rather than a cab ride. Hours run 8 to 6 Monday through Saturday and 9 to 5 on Sunday.

The stock is what a marine chandlery at this scale carries: engine parts and maintenance supplies, electronics, rope and rigging hardware, safety gear and life jackets, rods, reels and tackle, paddle sport accessories and sailing hardware. It is where a boat problem that starts on a Saturday morning gets solved on a Saturday morning.

Three more West Marine stores sit up the highway in Islamorada, Marathon and Key Largo, so the chain covers the run from Key Largo down to Key West. Call the Key West store at (305) 296-0953.