ICW and the Hunter 49 short rig

[tkwhalen]

I'm planning a trip south next year and just spent some time physically measuring my rig. From the mast head to the deck it is 56'9". From the deck plate to the water line it is 6'6" for a total of 63'3", So far so good. The anchor light is 7 inches above the mast head, wind cups are 8', the windex is 24' and the VHF antenna is 32'. In theory I might be able to squeeze by if I remove the windex and VHF antenna. However, I have a friend who went south this year and said that the 65' foot markers on a lot of the bridges were under water and on several so were the 64'. Couple that with shallow spots and I am beginning to think I should just plan to do the trip offshore.

So to my question.... Have any other 49 owners taken the ICW north or south and what was you experience?

 

[Davidasailor26]

@Captain Larry-DH just posted about ICW bridge videos he took from atop his 64’6” air draft here - ICW Masthead Bridge Videos

 

[smokey73]

What is your draft? Draft can be a problem in a few places and you may have to time your passages based on the tide for both air draft and water draft. My 40.5 air drat is is 63 ft 3 in like yours and my draft is 4 ft 10 in. You also need to be aware that some of the bridges will not open if the wind is above a set speed (I think it is 35 mph or so.) One bridge that is particularly troublesome is the Wilkerson Bridge near Bell Haven, NC. It is actually nominal 64 feet and if the wind is from the South it will build up and there is not much tide to allow to wait it out. I did not go through this and went around Roanoke Island but it was a tense trip with some really skinny water. The problem with skipping this bridge is that the offshore route is around Cape Hatteres, which can be challenging. I went through with a friends Moody 46 that has 65 foot clearance but we heeled the boat over with a large "salvage bag" filled with water suspended from the boom extended out to one side. We still tinged the VHF antenna. There is at least one thread (probably more) on this forum that discusses the trip. How far South are you planning on going?