Any ft. Lauderdale sailors? How do you deal with draft?

[TropicalSeattle]

Have recently been in the Fort Lauderdale area recently, port Everglades, the new river, and beaches south of fll. Amazing channels, little islands, boats everywhere, including some unbelievable floating castles going through a impossibly narrow and busy new river.

I then came back to look at the charts. Looks like the ICW is 10ft, new river is 8ft, with some 6ft spots and the residential channels vary widely, with 6ft spots common and many navigable channels that go down to 2ft. My boat drafts 6'9, and when I see 10 on the depth meter I freak out.

Questions:

- what draft do you consider reasonable for the area, for a larger sailboat 40-45ft? Do you have to go to variable draft or cats?
- sailing there seems to be offshore mostly?
- once you sail to the Bahamas, the draft situation seems to get worse, as low as 5ft for miles.
- what is the docking situation there? Seems like there are a lot of options and supply, but demand could be high?
- lots of people seem to be able to dock in their backyards, is there any cost other than property taxes for that?
- how about limitations, who says I can't dock my 60 foot catamaran on a channel next to my house? Where are those limits defined?

Thanks for any information you can share, I am considering moving to the area and would love some insight.

 

[gettinthere]

Most of the popular routes are good for at least 8'. You get used to going thru a 7' spot with a 6' draft. It is what it is. S Fla is pretty good compared to spots in N Fl, Ga, SC, NC.

Anything less than 6' is OK for most places but less is better. 7' is doable but will have more limits.

Not much sailing in the ICW area around S Fl until you get to Biscayne Bay south of Miami.

We did fine in the Bahamas with 5+' draft. under 6' seems to be the preference. Again, less is better.

Dock space is expensive in S Fl. There are deals to be found behind private residences but there may be restrictions from air draft, depth, distance to ICW, etc.

There are usually deed restrictions as to how far out into a fairway you can extend. Some places are very tight even requiring excavating a cut out to provide dock space. Every place has its own set of rules

 

[2sticks]

All through S. Fl. the water depths are shallow and variable. Most local sailors prefer a draft of 5 ft. or less for these waters. When I see 10 ft. on the sounder, I freak out as well cause I know I've found a deep spot and it may be holding big fish! On the Gulf side of the state (Ft. Myers area) many homes are on canals, many with gulf access, and a large percentage of them house boats large and small. Your neighbors deserve access too and a cat or tri that infringes on their navigation isn't allowed. Here in S.W. Fl. marinas are available but are highly sought espescially with liveaboard amenities. My choice for cruising this area is a 32ft. centerboard ketch that allows me some wiggle room with a board up draft of 3'4". Good luck finding what you're huntin'.
Regards, Darrell

 

[Jimk]

I sailed Puget Sound for years before moving to the south east coast.

We now sail an Oceanis 400 with a shoal keel (5' 6") along the east coast from NC to the Gulf. Under 6' is very workable if you have a well calibrated depth sounder. Tides are minimum compared to the PNW. The typical bottom is soft mud and sand.

 

[Benny17441]

High tide will give you a few extra inches. Planning around the tides is not fun, but some times necessary.

 

[Stu Jackson]

If you freak out with 3 1/2 feet still under your keel, you may have to modify your "concerns" because there is still water underneath you!

We have a channel here that I can ONLY safely navigate when the tide height is 4.1 feet or more (it ranges from 7.1 to -1.6 some days!). As long as there's water underneath, I do it, although my "hit bottom" mark on my depth sounder is 4.4 and I've run through that channel seeing 5.6 on the sounder. I make it every time! Really.

Good luck, wonderful place to have a boat.

 

[Merlin Clark]

Not only is our water "skinny" but the ICW fixed bridges are 65'. Heard of a couple being slightly lower.

 

[Stu Jackson]

...but the ICW fixed bridges are 65'. Heard of a couple being slightly lower.

IIRC, the Julia Tuttle Bridge in downtown Miami is one of 'em, requires one to go outside to get by.

BTW, it's on the blinkin' charts! :naughty:

 

[Merlin Clark]

I'll fit!

 

[Merlin Clark]

.

BTW, it's on the blinkin' charts! :naughty:

Really? Wow!
I'd hope it would be, like all the other bridges.

 

[MrBill_FLL]

any boat with a 6'9" draft will be very restricted in florda and bahamas.
I've seen boats hit bottom on the designated race course in biscayne bay.

most of the racing goes on in miami's biscayne bay.
http://www.bbyra.net/


hendrick's isle is the place for finding a private live aboard slip in fll (IMHO)

 

[Bob 04 H260]

We keep our boat in Florida with a draft of 5'2". It works OK for us. Grounding is in soft sand or mud, sometimes we can just push through it, leaves a nice trough, my brother calls it "Bahamian dredging" . Our keel does not have a big wing so we always go slow and if we stop can just back off it. The bridges have a tide scale on the side that is supposed to indicate the actual clearance. Sometimes it is right sometimes not so right.
The Julie Tuttle I know well, chart indicates a 56 ft clearance instead of the usual 65 ft all the rest of the new bridges have, I was told it was clerical error in the contract. We need 55 ft of airdraft on our boat, we lost an anchor light on the Julie Tuttle one day because of something hanging down off the bottom of the bridge. Nothing else was touched on the top of our mast, the Ryamarine anemometer was higher than the anchor light and it was fine. The tide gauge on the side of the bridge indicated 56.5' clearance.
Good slips are available, the easier to access the ocean and the further south you go the more expensive they are. Easier to find one if you do not have to live aboard.
Spending some time down here on a boat helps to learn lots of information that would be hard to get otherwise.
A great place to own a boat but getting any work done can be expensive, best if you are a do it yourself sailor or bring lots of money.
Good luck, Bob

 

[TropicalSeattle]

Very helpful, thanks. I'll see if I can find information on the fairway widths and docking restrictions with the city. To be fair, around here most of the time you don't see any depth at all in the meter (over 300 ft it doesn't bounce back reliably , and a read of 10 means it will go to zero in seconds and it will be hard and sharp rock. Looks like many shoal draft cruisers will do well in FLL waters.

I was curious, looking at the Beneteau range, it seems the oceanis 55 has the shallowest draft as an option, which was really surprising to me. Not seriously considering it, but they make a shoal draft model with only 4'9 draft, shallower than most of the smaller boats. Any idea why? Perhaps because it can carry a huge ballast?

 

[dont08901]

We sailed down the ICW this past fall from NJ to Marathon, FL in a Hunter Legend 37 (shoal draft 4'10"). My best advice is to get towing insurance. It saved us thousands of dollars in towing fees (they send you copies of the actual invoices).

 

[TropicalSeattle]

How about hurricanes and storms? It's not that often they hit, but it seems you think you could be hit once every couple of years. Assuming you are not living aboard, even during hurricane season it seems there are many (mostly?) good boating days, so you just have to keep an eye and rush to lift the boat out with everyone else (ignoring controversy if that is actually better or not)? What if you travel and will be away from the boat for 2 or 3 weeks? Do you just take it out, hope for the best, set it up for a storm, call a friend (yikes, what responsibility)? Is this just business as usual?

 

[Bob 04 H260]

With most insurance policies the deductible goes up with a named storm, ours is 5% if we have a hurricane plan. With a hurricane plan the yard will haul your boat and tie it down even if you are away. The chances of actually being hit by a hurricane are actually quite low, some areas like the panhandle seem to have a higher probability. If hurricanes are a concern checkout the areas with the higher probability and don't live there. In our case we are back up north for the summer so we have our boat hauled and tied down for the summer anyways.
Bob

 

[MrBill_FLL]

on hurricanes, you have a 3days to a week to prepare. and sailing is not great in summer (less wind) and brutal heat...

many folks rent a hurricane slip up the river, or have prior arrangements with yards to haul out.

indiantown near lake O has a lot of room for dry storage (cheap).

 

[wflowe2]

Hake/ Seaward makes a 46' yacht with retractable keel. I think with the keel up, it draws about 2.5'. Does anyone have experience with Hake/Seaward boats (any length)?

 

[Bob 04 H260]

I am in Stuart fl right now where the Seawards are manufactured. I have been through the factory a couple of times over the years. A friend has an RK26, only a couple of years old. He likes it very much. I have done two one week cruises with him. It is a very well built boat, looks quite salty. There are a couple of Seaward forums might be good to ask around there as well.

My experience with boats that have a retractable keel, dagger board or centre board is that they may float in shallow water they are very difficult to handle when lifted up, especially if there is any wind at all. They are great if you do run aground to easily float yourself off. They will all require maintenance to keep them functional. In a grounding they may require an expensive repair.

Bob

 

[wflowe2]

I will be in Venice Fl. for the month of May. I was planning on visiting the Seaward factory,even though it appears to be about a 3+ hr drive, one way, from Venice. Did you feel that it was worthwhile tour?

When you sailed on your friends Seaward, did it seem to perform (speed, handling, stability etc.) like other "fixed keel" boats you have experienced?

Thanks
Bill