Bob Beck waited four years to dock his home away from home, a shiny vessel named Agape, at Crandon Park Marina in Key Biscayne. It's a Greek word meaning God's love.

Beck is among 427 members with an annual permit to use the marina. Patrons with boats that are 30 feet or larger, like his, typically have to sit on a waiting list for five to seven years for a spot.

He got lucky.

And now Beck has something more to look forward to as the marina prepares to open a new two-story dock master complex in mid-August.

The 2,250-square-foot facility, which cost nearly $3.8 million to build, has a new bait and tackle shop, restrooms, showers and laundry facility. It is all accessible to the handicapped.

The top floor will house marina offices overlooking the entire area. There are also plans to open a restaurant in the future.

``I absolutely love it here,'' Beck said. ``Aventura is nice, but you get out here and it feels like you're on vacation.''

Part of the allure, said Steve Vazquez, Crandon Park Marina dock master, is the modern floating dock sustained by concrete pilings. The system keeps the vessels in place when the tide rises.

Vazquez is the man behind all marina operations. Now approaching retirement age, he's been around boats since age 9 in Havana. Since taking the position of dock master about 1 ½ years ago, Vazquez has become familiar with many of the marina's patrons.

``That one is called Poco a Poco,'' he said, while walking along the floating dock. ``It belongs to a detective from Miami Beach.''

There are other vessels with interesting names, like Taikirisi, a phonetic version of the catch phrase ``take it easy.''

Alex Perez, for instance, named his boat Reel Therapy in honor of his wife, a therapist.

``This is one of the nicest marinas I've been to,'' said Perez, a Westchester resident who comes by weekly.

During peak season, mainly from Easter to Columbus Day, the marina caters to more than 2,000 patrons a weekend. Some go for a weekend getaway. Others can stay for months as long as they follow the marina's regulation to leave the dock every five days in order to pump out used water into the ocean.

``We have a lot of transient vessels that travel all along the eastern coast as far down as Key West or the Caribbean,'' Vazquez said. ``We have many that come down from Nova Scotia or New Jersey, for instance.''

Annual permits go for $176.55 with unlimited access. For others, the marina charges $12 to launch a boat from Monday through Thursday. On Friday, Saturday, Sunday and holidays, the fee is $15.

Crandon Park Marina originally opened in 1942 just after the Unites States entered World War II when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor.

It is among six marinas run by the Miami-Dade County Parks and Recreation Department. It features 425 wet slips, dry storage for up to 130 vessels, and moorings, as well as 10 commercial slips.

The commercial boats take visitors fishing and have stations where they sell fresh fish. There is also an on-site diving and snorkeling subcontractor.

It took nearly three years to complete the new dock master building with a grant from the Florida Inland Navigation District, a Sunshine Loan and Marina Memorandum of Understanding.

Now Vazquez and his crew of 13 employees are ready to move in. Their current office, a small trailer with wood paneling parked near the new building, is packed with cardboard boxes.

``The building is beautiful. From here, you can see the whole Miami skyline,'' Vazquez said, standing on the second-floor balcony just steps from his new office.

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