OH NO! Myakka RR Bridge

[seajester]

YouTube ‘boat balls’.
I love this clip - might even be an answer for you 😉

[Boatguy30]

Certainly, Windex and anchor light come off. I built every piece from the keel to the mashead. It's actually 51' 10" to the top of metal and normal load. Possibly a bit less in fresh water.

[Crusty Joker]

Some thoughts on this as I have never had need, but have observed this done by some of the riggers for different reasons on small craft.

Test yourself and ability to control ballast to provide the tip to do the under the bridge thing... at the dock and marina where boat is located. Rehearse it 2X or 3X. Making sure you can get the angle to give yourself an extra foot or two of space... and keep the barrels or other ballast secure. That should be the only tricky part. Use basic trig to get the angle required to get the height. That is Pathagorus... a2 plus b2 = c2... You are looking for the angle between the short base and the hypotenuse to reduce the height to clear the bridge... Hire a millennial for the trig and find a knot expert to secure the drums. Or use cement parking bumpers on deck and sell them at destination... Engines and fuel cans or other things with weight... I have used a 850 lb engine hanging from the boom and that is as good as your rigging and knots. The engine found the shopping cart used so 4 guys could take it up the gangway and shove the ** manufacturing flawed Ford Lehman into my truck full of oil and cooling water and (broken crank with missing main cap bearing bolts) to deliver to the Lehman rep...
IF you can jibe with jib and all other things stressed you can do this, Captain!
Be bold and be well.

[Boatguy30]

Carbide depot.com or something has an online Trig calculator. I'd think you need more than 20 deg, but I haven't worked it out.

[denverd0n]

The trig is pretty simple. I have worked it out. 20 degrees will get you down from 52' to 48.9'. I would probably try for 21 or 22 degrees, just to be sure. 22 degrees gets you down to 48.2'.

[realem]

I was just down at the upper keys. I agree provision and head south and around. You wont need an marinas but there is a good chance you will be able to get fuel.
Food is a different story but you should be able to dink to shore and get take out

[DDabs]

go back out and sail through marathon. What else are you gonna do with your time, go to work? lol

[smallFry]

The way Billy did it for us was to hang a plumb bob on his 49 foot line from the main halyard, and pull it to the top. 55 and 35 gallon drums were strapped to the grab rails and filled until the plumb bob touched the water. We motored through and Billy pulled the bungs, allowing us to come upright. No strain on the rig.

[SV Bacchus]

I’ve not done this trip but have heard others talk about shallow spots in the lake itself.

Might be the old story of too good to be true. Lower level helps you under the bridge but may keep you f try on crossing the lake.

Know your draft and read charts carefully to see if it will affect you.

Me personally, I would sail around. Heck I don’t even do the Intercoastal, I go offshore.

[Quadrille in JB]

Our O’Day 34 is spec’d at 48’ but when we passed under the PM RRBridge the vhf antenna struck each beam of the bridge. The PM lockmaster said that clearance was 49’6” at that time. When we returned the clearance was 50’6” and we cleared with no problem.
On another occasion I hung from the boom’s end in my bosons chair but the boat hardly heeled at all. I ended up by swinging 2-55 gal plastic drums off the halyards which produced a significant heel when pushed out with the boathook.
Call the Port Myacca lockmaster for an up to date clearance.

[geoleo]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Tip it yourself with a dinghy on a halyard and partially filled with water, you don’t need a whole lot, or just sail around.
You should be able to easily carry enough fuel and water to not stop anywhere.

You know it Sir!

[scargo]

Originally Posted by mocha

Long Story Short -
I bought a Sailboat in Ft Pierce FL, 52' mast, with the idea of sailing her across the state via Lake Okeechobee, to our home on the west coast.

I was planning on employing Billy Owen, the Boat Tipper, to make our mast fit under the 49' bridge. Using 55 gallon drums, filled with water to force the boat to heel.
I am in the planning process, and called Indiantown Marina to get Billy's phone number, to make sure he was still providing this service, during these uncertain times. Billy DIED a few months ago, and I was told no one was taking over his business. CR*P!
Anyway,,, sailing south around the tip of FL, through the keys, is not an option will all of the counties CLOSED Palm Beach south, marinas included.
The Keys are closed to ALL visitors.
I hate the stick on the back of a truck option,, however,,,


any other ideas?


stay healthy

This option ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qe9vTG2AEIg

[Quadrille in JB]

The ladder is an ingenious solution.
Longer than my boom.

[Scaramanga F25]

Sail non-stop around the bottom of Fl.

[mocha]

I love the ladder idea ---
question is can I get the boat to heal 21*-21* with a ladder-
and how much weight would be required - maybe use a 55 gallon drum, or similar, partially filled with water, rolled out on the ladder -

full load of water would be 485 lbs.,, probably too much weight,,


Thanks for ALL the input - I may just wait a while for while, and sail around when marinas, etc. open back up in South FL,