BTW- don't rely on the spec sheet for your height above water. Go up and measure. Those specs sometimes do not include your anchor light or wind instruments. If you have 64' of bridge clearance you need to know whether you are really 63.5 or 64.25.
When are you leaving?thanks to everyone for the advice about the trip. We have confirmed the boat has a 67'8" mast height so the ICW is not an option. The plan is to go around Key West and pick up the Gulf Stream as far north as possible while watching the weather. Plan to do some posting on this forum as long as we have internet connection. Keep up if you have interest and any advise is much appreciated.
Yeah--well, April should be a much better month for this kind of trip than January! There can still be nasty cold fronts coming through in the Spring, along with other weather. But, the overnight run to Key West, at least, allows you to pick a window and get down there where they're not as powerful. Just remember, there is a lot of shallow water along the west coast of Florida and around the Keys which could be of concern for the deep draft (7 ft) version of the H49 if that is what your friend has. Channels through some passes are not always as marked due to shoaling and sand movement into them--that is, even if you stay within the marked channels you could still hit. By the way--regarding channels--in case you have little experience, the markers should be sighted along bow and stern to avoid being set out of them onto a shoal. (Although GPS chart plotters have taken most of the fun out of doing that!!)schedule is for a 3/30 departure.