Sailing Great South Bay-Keel Draft??

[John Giaccio]

I currently own a H-27 with the 4'3" draft keel. (Deep for that boat) I am considering trading in the boat for a 36' with a 5'draft. The question I have is will I still be able to sail the great sout bay? We are currently in Bay Shore, and have relatively no problem with the 4'3", so what's another 9 inches gonna do? I need to know soon, because the marina cannot hold the new larger beam slip for me much longer. Any help will be greatly appreciated! Thanks,John Giaccio H-27

 

[TOM MCNAMARA]

BAYSHORE

I bought my 450 at long island yacht [they do not deserve capital letters] in Bayshore,it has 5.6" draft and they ran aground every time they took me out. I sailed that mother right out the Moses Bridge to the ocean and into Jones Inlet to Freeport. Sailing on the south shore is bad with a larger boat than you have. I am now in Glen Cove and can go any place I want and to start sailing deep water is about 10 minutes away. And another thing is that you can go a large distance for weekend or vacation. I realize I am retired but last summer I was gone from the marina a good 8 weeks.

 

[Bob Fischer]

very restrictive

I've been sailing the bay for a long time. I set my own theoretical draft limit at 4 feet for the bay. Any deeper limits your access not only to sailing areas, but to marinas as well. With 5 feet needed you will be able to enter the Patchogue river, Bay Shore marina, Captree marina, and parts of the connetquot river, (high tide only) All other rivers and marinas will be a risk. Good luck.