Max Draft in South Florida/Bahamas

[alexdiomedi]

I did the ICW from West Palm Beach to Ft Lauderdale, it's very pleasant, yuo get to see some nice scenery and on flat water you motor easy. Just mind the draw bridges schedule as it will take some of your time. Careful at Boyton Beach outlet, i touched the ground there, but just soft sand and a passing boat pulled me out!

[Vasco]

Originally Posted by Sbowman864

Please join the Facebook group Marinas and Anchorages. I am trying to get more members so we can all have up to date information on marinas and anchorages world wide.

Are you going to spam every thread?

[CartWizard]

I realize this is an old thread, but looks like it has been revived once already...

I'm looking at purchasing a C&C 36 and sailing the Keys. The C&C 36 has a draft of 5'11". Over two feet deeper than my current Watkins 27! I like almost everything else about the boat, but that draft just seems so deep... I plan on towing a dinghy.

Does a dinghy make up for such a deep draft in the Keys? Most of my sailing experience has been on tide-free, salt-free Lake Superior. Looking for some experienced, tide-filled, salt-filled opinions.

[ohdrinkboy]

if you are tied to that particular make/model, i think they also made it with a centerboard and a draft under 5 feet. I would not have a boat with greater than 5 foot draft in the keys....but that is just my opinion, and worth what you paid for it .

[Tom--]

In Florida the old saying goes that for every foot of draft you loose the number of possible anchorages double. The Keys have darn few decent anchorages to begin with.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Cartwizard.

[CartWizard]

Thanks for the welcome GordMay! And thanks for the opinions ohdrinkboy and Tom--, they are appreciated. I am not set on the C&C 36. While I do like it a lot, there are similar boats with less draft. So, I wouldn't necessarily want to find the centerboard or swing keel model of the C & C 36. Still, good to know that they exist.

I am looking at Marathon, FL as the wife and I's base of operations. It looks like the deepest entrance to Boot Key Harbor is 6' ! Looks like the C&C 36 is definitely not an option for Marathon...

I sail the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in Northern Wisconsin and there are already some docks that my 3' 8" draft is too deep for. Ideally, I'd like a boat with 4' or less for a draft. Plenty of other options that would work...

Thanks for reading my thinking out loud....

[hellosailor]

Alex-
It would be hard to find a rock to hit in Miami or the Keys. Although they have some hard coral and limestone type rock, it isn't quite the same as granite.(G) But you will find our NOAA marine charts are all available online, as is a free chart viewer if you don't already have one, so that you can look at the water depths and make up your own mind. On the trip down the coast from Miami to the Keys, you will see that if you don't want to worry about depths, you need to take a longer route further offshore. And if you want a minimum of 7 feet of draft, as opposed to 8-10 feet (~2.5 meters versus nearly 3) that also restricts where you can enter. Really, the only way to say what is right for you, is for YOU to look at the charts and see which areas will be critical to you.
Also note that in the Keys, the state patrol (FWC) is quite vigorous about enforcing anchorage rules. Areas of coral and sea grass where no contact with the bottom is allowed, may be a surprise to you. That should be noted on the detail charts.

[CartWizard]

Thanks hellosailor

I was aware that anchoring on coral was not allowed. I was not aware that some sea grass beds are protected as well. Thanks for the info.

Not much grass grows in lake superior so I normally don't have to worry about anchoring in grass.