Bridge heights in Ft. Myers, FL on Caloosahatchee

[mdbrownsail]

I am looking for any information, sites, etc. that show bridge heights that would accomodate a certain size mast on the Caloosahatchee River in FL around Ft. Myers/Cape Coral. Is there a good place to get that info?
Thanks!

[Kettlewell]

The controlling height on the main channel bridges up past Ft. Myers is 55 feet.

[SailingHarmonie]

Originally Posted by mdbrownsail

I am looking for any information, sites, etc. that show bridge heights that would accomodate a certain size mast on the Caloosahatchee River in FL around Ft. Myers/Cape Coral. Is there a good place to get that info?
Thanks!

Every nautical chart (either paper or electronic) has this information, and additional details for every bridge are in the Coast Pilot. For that area it would be Coast Pilot 5, for free here:

https://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/publ...5/CPB5_WEB.pdf

If you are not familiar with the Coast Pilots you should be. They are basic navigation tools.

[patoddh]

Assuming there are clearance boards on the bridges showing the actual clearance at different tides, does anyone know what clearances are at MLW to mid-tide? Wondering if a mast height over water of 55' can make it.

[Leadfree]

As was previously mentioned, charts and Coast Pilot, plus tide tables, have all that information.

[Rocinante33]

Originally Posted by patoddh

Assuming there are clearance boards on the bridges showing the actual clearance at different tides, does anyone know what clearances are at MLW to mid-tide? Wondering if a mast height over water of 55' can make it.

The bridges on the river and canals do not always have boards indicating the height.

There is an RR bridge (table lift, not bascule) that is more like 49 feet. It’s horrifying if you are close, because there is no board and the bridge operator has to be relied on to have raised it all the way. It never quite looked like it was all the way up to me and the operator is only there when there is a train…..which is not common.

Back in the day there was a guy who would load a bunch of water barrels on your gunwales to tip the boat over but I don’t think anybody is doing it these days. I’ll leave you and trigonometry to work out the max mast if you do that, it I’m pretty sure 55’ is too much.

[Kettlewell]

There is an RR bridge (table lift, not bascule) that is more like 49 feet. It’s horrifying if you are close, because there is no board and the bridge operator has to be relied on to have raised it all the way. It never quite looked like it was all the way up to me and the operator is only there when there is a train…..which is not common.

That bridge is to the east of Lake Okeechobee. The OP was talking about the Ft. Myers area, which has several 55-foot fixed bridges. Not sure if they have accurate tidal boards on them or not--many fixed bridges do not have boards. To the OP--measure your mast carefully--many specs from boat listings and even manufacturers are incorrect.

[patoddh]

Yes, specifically there are 4 55' bridges between Cape Coral and I75 in the Fort Myers vicinity. My question now is whether the 4 bridges have boards, in case there is a local here who know the answer.

My interest is in going up the river past the first lock for hurricane season... pretty much the best hurricane plan for this area.