Gulf Coast to East Coast of Fl

[DutchAW]

Has anyone used the FL intracoastal from the Ft. Myers area over to Stuart? If so, could you point me in the direction of some good info possibly a time schedule of the route?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Dutch

[skipmac]

Well it kind of depends on what kind of boat you have and how fast it goes.

Then it will depend on whether you are in a hurry and go nonstop or take your time.

Based on answers to the above you can get a chart, measure the mileage, figure your boat speed and schedule and the calculations are pretty straight forward.

[Unicorn Dreams]

Depending on your draft, air and water, you could take the Okeechobee Waterway. Unless you just want to go around.

Miami and Ft. Lauderdale area can be intimidating for some because of pleasure craft and ship traffic.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Unicorn Dreams

Depending on your draft, air and water, you could take the Okeechobee Waterway

Going via the Okeechobee in a 25' power boat I once made the trip in a day.

In a sailboat if you go via the Keys could easily take a week.

[DotDun]

I hope you have a very shallow draft boat, Okeechobee is at an 80 year low. The depth on Nav route #1 is 4.39' yesterday.

Check depth here:

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers®*— Jacksonville District

Locks are operating a 900 and 1600 only!
Check lock operation here:

Waterway Cruising Guide | Navigation Updates

[VelascoGuy]

Update:

Went through in October 2017. Water depth was nearly 12 feet in the lake. All locks working on demand. Construction on the rim route makes passage tough during choppy seas (the very time you would want to use it). If staying at Roland Martin's Marina (just west of the Okeechobee and good stopping point) the lock to get to the marina works better with your horn than VHF (one long and one short to open the lock)

[kingofcary]

Thanks VelascoGuy ... can you menton any bridge height status ? My sailboat at 5' draft seems ok based on your depth comment. However, my 56' air draft I have heard could be problematic .. tx ..