Kent Narrows Chesapeake Bay Channel Depth

[sxsilver]

I am planning to sail from Baltimore to St Michaels this weekend. I was looking at going through Kent Narrows but I can't tell if my boat will make it. I have read so many posts. Someone says it doesn't go below 7ft. Others say they are bumping with a 4.8ft draft. I'm 5.25ft in my Cal 28-2.

In October we went into Whitehall Bay (just southwest of the bay bridge) and the channel says its 7ft but its really 10ft at least according to my depth finder. I feel like at almost all times the charts and my chart plotter numbers are 3 feet less then what it actually is.

Does anyone have experience with Kent Narrows? And whats up with the depth always being 3 feet off? Could 100% be my sensor I have no idea as I haven't messed with any of the instruments on my boat yet.

Thanks.

[Suijin]

You can get through the narrows, just avoid the shoaling in the middle at the north end and pay attention to markers. The controlling depth is 6'.

You have to remember that 99% of the Bay outside of maintained channels has not been surveyed since before WWII. While much of it has not changed, certain areas of it have. There are the infamous "Chesapeake Humps" where the water goes to 4' where it's charted 10'.

Basically, if I'm going outside of a market channel in any area that is 10-12' or less, I exercise a certain amount of caution if I've not been there before.

If I were you and it's a nice day for a sail and you have the time, I would go around Kent point and up the EBay from there. It's a lovely area.

As for your readings comparing with the charts, you said Whitehall bay was 3' deeper than what the charts say, but that your sound usually shows it to be 3' shallower. I find the charts to be generally accurate. If it's always showing 3' shallower to you, that would certainly indicate that your sounder needs calibration. It's pretty simple to test the depth under your boat and then adjust your settings.

[UNCIVILIZED]

Your depth sounder is out of calibration. It most likely happened when someone was fiddling with trying to set it to read the depth to read either depth below keel, or depth below WL, since the transducer is located between these two (WL, & keel).

[rwidman]

If you are concerned about the depth in a particular place, go there at high tide.

You should calibrate your depth sounder if it's capable of being calibrated. Otherwise, figure how much it is off and add or subtract that figure from the reading.

I calibrated mine to the depth to the surface but some people will calibrate theirs to the keel. Calibrating the depth sounder to the surface (the actual water depth) will make it agree with the charts.

As someone mentioned, many areas haven't been measured in years so the charts can be way off, even brand new charts.

[sxsilver]

Thanks everyone!

I think I am going to go the long way around on the way down and on Sunday take the narrows as it will be around high tide. I will take a look at my instruments. I have no clue how to do anything with them. I just bought the boat a few months ago and the speed doesn't even register. I pretty much make things up as I go.....Haven't sunk yet!

[wayne.b]

Originally Posted by sxsilver

Thanks everyone!

I think I am going to go the long way around on the way down and on Sunday take the narrows as it will be around high tide. I will take a look at my instruments. I have no clue how to do anything with them. I just bought the boat a few months ago and the speed doesn't even register. I pretty much make things up as I go.....Haven't sunk yet!

===

We took our 5 1/2 ft draft through the narrows twice last summer with no problems. Stay centered up in the channel, and if in doubt, do it on a rising tide

[cjsfsm]

sxsilver ~ That sounds like a good plan. You have a more scenic sail outside. I berthed at Kent Narrows for years, and know the north channel to be tricky and unpredictable. The shoaling near the north entrance is common. Hope you enjoy your trip to St. Michaels and have a fair wind going down. It's a long day trip from Baltimore. Cheers

[flymike]

Been there, done that (we're on the loop now but were on the Sassafras River for five years). I'd stick to the main channel and avoid Kent Island. There's a wicked current there too in addition to shoaling.

[Redpcx]

From Baltimore to St Micheals is shorter through Kent Narrows. Days are getting shorter. If the wind is Nice enough to wish to spend the extra time on the water, go around. If the bay is a bit choppy, it will be calmer going through Kent Narrows. Been through there with a 5' draft boat numerous times. a 3' draft boat many times and 7' draft boat a couple times.
No Problems.
Some advise going through shallow areas at high tide. If you get stuck...
Some advise going through shallow areas at low tide. If you get stuck, you float off on the rising tide.

Be aware there is a drawbridge that only opens at scheduled times. Some are deathly afraid of drawbridges.
(bascule bridge)

Just go through the narrows.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by sxsilver

I will take a look at my instruments. I have no clue how to do anything with them. I just bought the boat a few months ago and the speed doesn't even register. I pretty much make things up as I go.....Haven't sunk yet!

Calibration for depth will be in the set-up menuing system, however it is your brand/model does that. The manual will say...

Very possibly easy to fix the speed thru the water thing. Could be the paddlewheel is just stuck, from crud or barnacles or whatever. Many transducers can be removed while you're in the water BUT BUT BUT most of those are also meant to be (relatively) quickly replaced with a temporary blanking plug... while you're working on the real transducer. You might have a look at your transducer, and see if there's a blanking plug zip-tied to it for when it's needed.

And then in the meantime, GPS will give you more accurate speed over ground (SOG) anyway.

-Chris

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by sxsilver

Thanks everyone!

I think I am going to go the long way around on the way down and on Sunday take the narrows as it will be around high tide. I will take a look at my instruments. I have no clue how to do anything with them. I just bought the boat a few months ago and the speed doesn't even register. I pretty much make things up as I go.....Haven't sunk yet!

If you get your depth through a chartplotter/mfd it should be pretty easy to calibrate, with a page in settings for the "offset" for how far below the waterline it's located. Tie a rock to a string while you're at the dock, toss it over the side, measure the depth, set the offset so the displayed depth agrees with your measurement.

If you're not getting speed through the water, then your paddle wheel is either dirty or broken. As noted you'll need a blank plug to insert when you pull the transducer out. Some have a half-assed "check valve" that slows the incoming water, but only enough to prevent a fountain of water while you actually switch plugs. You may, depending on your instrument set up, have more than one transducer; one for STW and one for depth, so make sure you know which is which before you start.

[GoAway]

No question that one area near the north end of the channel north of the Narrows can get quite shallow. The draft of my Niagara is just over 5'2" laden and I have scraped there at low tide. The deeper part of the channel is so narrow there is little room for error.

The wind Friday and Saturday will be out of the North which will make the water level even lower.

The draw bridge opens every 1/2 hour.

[JD-Odyssey]

The northern leg of the Narrows is notorious for shoaling as a number of people have mentioned. We draw 5' on our Hunter 41 and when leaving Langford Creek to go to Shaw Bay (near St Michaels) , we elected to not go through the Narrows. The water level is not just affected by low and high tides but the wind has just as much if not greater impact on water level. High northerly winds blow water out of the bay and depths could be much shallower than identified on charts. Conversely, when we have strong southerly winds, water is blown into the bay and can cause water levels to rise to coastal flooding warning levels. So, keep that in mind in addition to the tidal changes.

We are currently anchored near Oxford, MD (Fri, Nov 11) and will be sailing to Cambridge tomorrow. If you get down into the Choptank, give me a ring, 410-263-2381.

[sxsilver]

Originally Posted by JD-Odyssey

The northern leg of the Narrows is notorious for shoaling as a number of people have mentioned. We draw 5' on our Hunter 41 and when leaving Langford Creek to go to Shaw Bay (near St Michaels) , we elected to not go through the Narrows. The water level is not just affected by low and high tides but the wind has just as much if not greater impact on water level. High northerly winds blow water out of the bay and depths could be much shallower than identified on charts. Conversely, when we have strong southerly winds, water is blown into the bay and can cause water levels to rise to coastal flooding warning levels. So, keep that in mind in addition to the tidal changes.

We are currently anchored near Oxford, MD (Fri, Nov 11) and will be sailing to Cambridge tomorrow. If you get down into the Choptank, give me a ring, 410-263-2381.

We unfortunately did not make it. We ended up going from Baltimore to Rock Hall Friday night. I'm not sure what the waves were but the wind was up to 29MPH and the boat was being pushed sideways. I was trying to get to the Narrows to anchor for the night but because of how strong the waves were I changed course to point more into the waves so the boat would stop going horizontal. We ended up on the coast just outside of Rock Hall and we were so tired we just stayed in Rock Hall on Saturday and left Sunday to go back to Baltimore.

Does anyone know of a site that keeps the records of how high the waves were? I would love to know. Once we turned into the current we went from 6.5 Knots down to 2 Knots. It was brutal and the first time I have ever experienced the bay like that.

In those situations is it best to either go straight with the current or straight against it? I feel like I was playing a very dangerous game when I was trying to head for the Narrows which is why I eventually pointed toward Rock Hall.

To top it all off it was our first time anchoring and the wind and current kept up pretty much until 6AM. Although we didn't drift I barely slept. I ended up getting a GPS anchor drift app on my phone to alarm me if we did drift though. I put out about 120 feet of line as we were around 18 feet deep. I think at one point in the night we felt it drag like 5 feet (there was a huge jolt) but after that we barely moved at all as far as position.

Many things to learn.....not quite the way I wanted to learn them though.

[Tayana42]

Sxsilver, you did great. You made it through and back again. You used your own good judgment to alter you course and pick a safer destination. Every time out is a lesson to be learned and most are more pleasant that that one was for you. Good for you. The Bay is a great place to sail. Enjoy.