ICW with 7 1/2 Foot Keel - Piece of Cake

[carstenb]

Just landed in Wilmington after traversing the ICW from Charleston SC. We have a 7 foot keel but fully loaded and running in fresh water - we're much closer to 7 1/2 feet than 7.

So - how'd we make out? In Charleston we ran into a couple of old salts who told us "never - no way, you're not gonna make it!" One of them claimed to have taken a boat with a 6 foot keel up last year and he would never do it again.

We touched bottom twice at Jeremy -Creek - otherwise we just ran it. We minded our tides and had no problems whatsoever.

Easy Peasy

or Piece of cake - what is everyone so nervous about?

[Fiveslide]

Well done.

I have a few hundred miles on the ICW, never touched bottom on it. Never with anything that deep, though.

I thoroughly studied each chart before each leg we've done. I remained alert and aware of where I was, used paper and the plotter to make sure I was right.

I think the folks who run aground a lot, it's their fault. I was with one guy that was just talking up a storm and would never have noticed the course change he needed to make if I hadn't said something as we passed the marker. One got us stuck by relying on the plotter instead of the new floating markers, could not understand why he was in the channel on the screen but aground. Seen people never check the tides.

I've been aground before, just not on the ICW. It was entirely my fault.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by carstenb

Just landed in Wilmington after traversing the ICW from Charleston SC. We have a 7 foot keel but fully loaded and running in fresh water - we're much closer to 7 1/2 feet than 7.

So - how'd we make out? In Charleston we ran into a couple of old salts who told us "never - no way, you're not gonna make it!" One of them claimed to have taken a boat with a 6 foot keel up last year and he would never do it again.

We touched bottom twice at Jeremy -Creek - otherwise we just ran it. We minded our tides and had no problems whatsoever.

Easy Peasy

or Piece of cake - what is everyone so nervous about?

Thanks, Carsten! That post is a breath of fresh air to me! After reading so many posts saying that <5 feet is absolutely required for traversing that ditch, I'm pleased to hear of a realistic transit with draft similar to ours... although we'll never be faced with that task.

Well done, and thanks for posting.

Jim

[hpeer]

I ran bits of it last fall. 6-1/2'. I got stuck a couple of times paying close attention to the charts, and Active Captain. Only once needed a tow, hit hard just at high tide. I'd say at 7-1/2' you were lucky. I hit one place pretty hard where I was in the middle of the marked channel and with no notes on AC. I got off OK, but there was zero indication of a problem there.

We have a friend who came through the entire length to Canaveral with 7'. He hung up a few times but I'm not sure if he ever needed a tow, I think in one instance. Another time he got off using wakes I think.

Personally I much prefer running outside. But that's just me, I don't like coming inside.

[model 10]

BS. You may have ended up on a short section of 7' but it will not continue. Make sure you have your Boat US towing up to date.

[jkleins]

Congratulations.
How tall is your mast Carstenb. We found at 63.5' high and 6' deep that we were always balancing getting under the bridge at low tide and over the bumps at high tide. It was just more painful then going outside.
Could be done but the attention to the schedule just didn't seem like cruising. We never got through the turn just south of the Ponce de Leon inlet at low tide and strong ebb. We just were too chicken to run it fast enough to avoid the current moving us out of the channel. :-)

[carstenb]

Originally Posted by Guy

BS. You may have ended up on a short section of 7' but it will not continue. Make sure you have your Boat US towing up to date.

well we ran from Charleston SC to Wilmington - 265 ST. miles and we'll do the rest to Norfolk in about a week.

Most have said that the section we just ran is the worst - time will tell. But so far we just ahven't seen any problems

[carstenb]

Originally Posted by jkleins

Congratulations.
How tall is your mast Carstenb. We found at 63.5' high and 6' deep that we were always balancing getting under the bridge at low tide and over the bumps at high tide. It was just more painful then going outside.
Could be done but the attention to the schedule just didn't seem like cruising. We never got through the turn just south of the Ponce de Leon inlet at low tide and strong ebb. We just were too chicken to run it fast enough to avoid the current moving us out of the channel. :-)

our air draft is 18 meters = 59.4 feet, but I'm chicken so I say 62 feet just to make sure. You shouldn't have any air draft problems at 63.5 the bridges are 65 feet at high tide so you can go under easily

[carstenb]

Originally Posted by hpeer

I ran bits of it last fall. 6-1/2'. I got stuck a couple of times paying close attention to the charts, and Active Captain. Only once needed a tow, hit hard just at high tide. I'd say at 7-1/2' you were lucky. I hit one place pretty hard where I was in the middle of the marked channel and with no notes on AC. I got off OK, but there was zero indication of a problem there.

We have a friend who came through the entire length to Canaveral with 7'. He hung up a few times but I'm not sure if he ever needed a tow, I think in one instance. Another time he got off using wakes I think.

Personally I much prefer running outside. But that's just me, I don't like coming inside.

we sailed over from Denmark and have seen plenty of ocean sailing - this is just for a change of pace -the scenery is extraordinarily beautiful and we haven't regretted going inside for minute

[Elie]

Originally Posted by jkleins

Congratulations.
How tall is your mast Carstenb. We found at 63.5' high and 6' deep that we were always balancing getting under the bridge at low tide and over the bumps at high tide. It was just more painful then going outside.
Could be done but the attention to the schedule just didn't seem like cruising. We never got through the turn just south of the Ponce de Leon inlet at low tide and strong ebb. We just were too chicken to run it fast enough to avoid the current moving us out of the channel. :-)

Mast height is a problem when it is close to 65 ft. Every bridge on the intracoastal had my VHF antenna bent lalmost flat with 63.8 ft of clearance. On bridge is given on some charts as 60 ft has many dents in the concrete, proof that being carelfull when passing is mandatory. I had to wait 'til midnight the low tide to risk passing. my wind sensor barely made it through... My draft is 6.6 ft, and never had any issue with the bottom except once in Pamlico Sound when my keel just grazed the bottom without stopping the boat. I hate the Intracoastal , and most of the time I go by the sea...

[MAJICDAN]

The northern ICW has more depth mainly because of the tides.
Just don't go south of Miami.
I had problems with a 5 1/2 ft draft in the ICW in the Keys.
I sailed the outside in the Gulfstream on the way back north from Key West
.

[wayne.b]

Originally Posted by carstenb

well we ran from Charleston SC to Wilmington - 265 ST. miles and we'll do the rest to Norfolk in about a week.

Most have said that the section we just ran is the worst - time will tell. But so far we just ahven't seen any problems

===

From Snow's Cut to Morehead City can be pretty gnarly. Hope it goes well for you.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by carstenb

well we ran from Charleston SC to Wilmington - 265 ST. miles and we'll do the rest to Norfolk in about a week.

Most have said that the section we just ran is the worst - time will tell. But so far we just ahven't seen any problems

Carsten,

You paid attention to the tides. I hope anyone reading this picked up on that.
Only easy peasy when exerting some sense.

Roger
















Roger

[denverd0n]

From Charleston North. Yeah, not a big problem. Try going South, through Georgia and down to Miami. You will find that keel to be a pretty big headache. Never mind trying to go through the Keys and up to Clearwater.

[Cadence]

[QUOTE=Cadence;2404094]Carsten,

You paid attention to the tides. I hope anyone reading this picked up on that.
Only easy peasy when exerting some sense.

Roger