Do tall masts mean deep draft?

[Woodland Hills]

As I was heading south on the ICW the other day it occurred to me that I had passed several places with anchored boats that day, all of them sail, not powerboats. I have a Hatteras motoryacht and am not familiar with cruising sailboats so I had no way of knowing if a given sailboat in the 40’+ range had a 4’ draft or a 8’ draft and thus if an unmarked Anchorage was available to me. There was usually at least one boat with a near 65’ mast and often several: would it be unreasonable to think that a boat with a cutter, sloop or even ketch rig with an ICW maximum air draft might also have a 5’ water draft (the same as my Hatt).

I obviously would not make this the go/no go criteria, but rather for informational purposes and general anchorage evaluation. I suppose, what I’m asking is how do you tell if a sailboat with a 64’ mast has a fin keel and if not, is a draft of under 5’ common?

[MartinR]

Unless the anchored yacht is a catamaran, you should be safe

[raton2010]

There is really no good way to guess with any accuracy the draft of a sailboat without identifying the particular model. Southerly for example makes a 57' sailboat but only draws 3+ feet because of its ballast and retractable keel design. Air draft on that boat is over 80' I believe. Hope that helps but probably not the answer you were hoping for!

[markpierce]

Most monohull sailboats 30-feet and longer have at least a four-foot draft. Nevertheless, a depth finder is a handy convenience.

[john61ct]

Twin keeled monohulls also don't need to be so deep

[markpierce]

Originally Posted by john61ct

Twin keeled monohulls also don't need to be so deep

Yes, you can't trust everybody. That's why a depth finder is handy.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by john61ct

Twin keeled monohulls also don't need to be so deep

Nor centerboard boats, nor lifting keels, nor catamarans...

So directly to the OP's question: a bigger monohull with a tall mast is likely to have a deeper draft too, but not necessarily.

[Tillsbury]

Also look at the length. There are plenty of smaller sailboats with bilge keels that draw very little. However, above about 40 feet every monohull is going to draw more than you unless it’s a Southerly, Discovery, Feeling, or one of a small number of others.

[valhalla360]

Almost standard monohull over 45' will have draft as deep as your boat...

That said, I ain't paying for new props when you find the oddball boat that isn't so deep.

Also, in tidal areas, be careful, they may have gotten past a bar at higher tide and can't get out until later...or did they find a narrow winding channel to creep in.

[Dooglas]

Why not start with a chart plotter to estimate whether a possible anchorage may be suitable, and then confirm with a depth sounder? That is how I select places to anchor. And the ICW must be as well charted as any place in the US.

[jkleins]

For your purposes you can probably bet that if you see a large monohull with a tall mast you can probably anchor in that space. From my experience in the ICW though it is the “getting to “that space that may be the tricky part? :-)

[LoudMusic]

Absolutely not. What's above the water does not accurately depict what is under the water.

Marcella Burnard: Keeping Upright

Even same model sailboats can have different keels, as requested by the owner.

[hamburking]

Many times I (on a sailboat) have been followed through a narrow or tricky passage near a shoal or islands by a powerboat. I suppose its often easier to follow a sailboat than to look at a chart. I hope they realized my C&C25 drew only 3'10" and my paceship 29 used a foot less than that!

[Cpt Pat]

As the other posters have said, there is no correlation between a vessel's "air draft" and its water draft.

It's not "impossible" to determine a boat's draft - just unlikely. If any of the boats have a Class A AIS transponder (mine does), they will broadcast their draft in their AIS data block. If you have an AIS receiver, look for that data in the vessel's details. Unfortunately, most recreational boats with AIS transponders have only a Class B transponder that doesn't support reporting vessel draft.

If a Class A AIS equipped vessel is within range of a Marine Traffic (www.marinetraffic.com) volunteer receiving station, and you have Internet access, you can also see the vessel's "Draught" there under "vessel details." Here's an example showing my vessel data: https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais...essel:AD_ASTRA. My draft is 1.2 meters (4 feet).

[FlightPlan]

Don't think so, mine is 82' off the water and draws 5.5' with the board up.