spring transit

[rcaptainseaweed]

Moving motor boat from Cape Hatteras to Key West. What are my best available fuel/transit stops. 60' 1958 Chris Craft with pair of 871detroits. Prefer to travel outside as much as possible. Any advice ?

[tkeithlu]

Definitely outside from Fort Worth to Miami - that's 29 lift bridges on the ICW.

Hugging the coast a bit, particularly in the Georgia Bight, will keep you out of the Gulf Stream. Just watch your depths - you can be three miles off shore and hit a sand bar.

Recommended stops include St. Augustine and Marathon. I like Stuart, as well.

[Snore]

Unless you will be running 24-hours a day, break it into hops. I ran a somewhat “dodgy” powerboat from Ft Laud pretty much to GA. The trick to the bridges is timing. Download, or create an opening guide and time your approaches. It is more efficient than going in and out.

Like the NC inlets, the SC, GA and FL inlets should be studied carefully. St John’s River is a cakewalk. I do not do the St Augustine inlet in the dark. I just don’t use Boynton Inlet. Hillsboro and Boca have a shifting sand bar, since I left that area I skip them too.

No matter how you route, it would be prudent to have navioincs with their sonar charts on your tablet.