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B-Baysailer · 22-07-2011, 17:42

Looking at houses in that area to go for the winter . How is the sailing
and what is the depth of the canals I have a boat with a 5'8" draft and a 51' mast off the water

**sailorchic34** · 22-07-2011, 17:56

I lived there for a few years oh 7 ish years ago. Not all sailboat access lots are. Got to watch for power lines in a few places that the cross the canals. One south of cape coral parkway for sure. Most of the west coast is shallow, but not a problem for 6' draft, just have to watch out for the high spots. nice anchorages along the inter-coastal waterway toward boca grand and the keys are only 100 ish miles away.

Most of the sailboat access canals are deep enough, though you might touch bottom at low tide in a few spots. We did not find it a problem and we had 6' draft

auto traffic in high season (winter) gets exciting, and lots of powerboat wakes to deal with. But its a nice place all in all.

Ocean Roads · 22-07-2011, 18:00

Too much draft for this area.

Jon4399 · 22-07-2011, 19:07

I just moved my Hunter 37.5 to Cape Coral. I came down here last Spring to check out the area. Just about every one I spoke with (at the marina bar) urged me to get a boat with max 5' draft if you want to sail in this area. I do know that even with a 4'-9" draft, we had to be careful about depth on the way in.

**sailorchic34** · 22-07-2011, 20:30

There is a lot of skinny water in SW florida. Gee you can be 5-7 miles off shore in less then 20' of water. In 2-1/2 years sailing that area we ran aground once (OK that was my first grounding and my first time at the wheel of a larger sailboat.. blond happens).

I will say a chart plotter and a good calibrated depth sounder is a must. But I still say 6' is ok if you keep aware of where you are. Really you'll run aground with a 5' keel almost as much if you don't mind the rudder.

B-Baysailer · 23-07-2011, 17:42

Thanks for the replys looking at my plotter looks like you have to get to the gulf to be able to sail ? How long does it take from red fish point to the gulf ?

**capngeo** · 23-07-2011, 17:57

Beware..... A lot of the old General Development Corp properties had "sailboat water" in the back yard, but only if you dropped the boat there by helicopter!

CruisingWriter · 27-07-2011, 07:14

Depths on the various canals piercing the Cape Coral shoreline vary greatly.

I can speak with some authority on depths in the Caloosahatchee River/Okeechobee Waterway, and cruising north on the Western Florida ICW into Pine Island Sound, having researched these waters since the early 1990's for various editions of my "Cruising Guide to Western Florida."

Normally, I advised cruisers to limit their draft to 5 feet if at all possible. That's not to say you can't cruise Pine Island Sound with a 5' 8" draft, but there will be many great anchorages, and even some ports of call like Boca Grande, which will be tough to enter with your draft.

For more info on these waters, check out:

http://cruisersnet.net/category/west...le-gasparilla/

Good luck and good cruising!

**GordMay** · 27-07-2011, 08:15

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, CruisingWriter (Claiborne?).

Seadaddler · 04-08-2011, 11:11

I have 4'10 '' draft and wish I had 4' draft and live in Port Charlotte and keep my boat at Burnt Store because of my draft,I do sail in Charlotte Harbor no problem,did my a trip down to Cape Coral and could not sail because needed to stay in channel and even ran aground so 6' ft draft would need to travel into harbor over 1 hour motoring but good sailing in harbor,every thing far to go to that's why most power boats use too much gas for fishing near Boca Grand.
If I had your draft I would not be going to Cape Coral unless a power boater owner,too much shallow water and too far traveling to open water.

Seadaddler · 04-08-2011, 11:21

May I suggest at looking at keeping your boat at Burnt Store for your winter stay and will always get out sailing but 2 hour motor to Boca Grand,winter months tend to have lower tides in winter.

Jon4399 · 04-08-2011, 13:22

I looked at Burnt Store last year and like it. But I heard that the distance from there to open water was about the same as for Cape Coral (1 1/2 hrs). In looking at the charts, I could not see how folks can sail in Charlotte Harbor. The depths there looked way too shallow. But I may end up there soon anyway.