Sailing without a depth finder

jssailem

jssailem

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Oct 22, 2014
22,979
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Crusty Ol Salt said:
The draft on a hunter 280 with a wing keel has a draft of 3'6".
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Man... follow the Nike Motto... Just Do It.

I loved my time sailing from near Baltimore to Annapolis and back. Sure the boat drew 5 and bit feet. We sailed and motored there and back. Discovered some abandoned light houses place to make boaters aware of the shoals this past May.

I remember on a sail form NAS Norfolk up to and into the Rappihannock that shallow water extends a fair way out to the pimary North/South channels. While my Helmsman (my dad then a Supply Captain) ventured west of the channel buoys. Suddenly there was a bump and shudder that got me out of the cabin where I was sorting sails... Seeing the rhumb line was some 100 yards to the east, I regained the helm and corrected our course to get us out into deeper water. I suggesed to the Captain that getting stuck in shallow water was not a good idea. He agreed said he had just lost sigh of the next buoy. It was a great time on the Chesapeak. One of those beautiful clear sunny days when the wind is out of the west. It seems you can sail on a reach forever.
 
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Tally Ho

Tally Ho

.
Jan 7, 2011
5,502
Oday 322 East Chicago, IN
Crusty Ol Salt said:
Can it be done?

I will not go into how the PO really did not keep up with things, anything....

He sailed without a depth finder for years.

What are the real dangers of sailing in well traveled channels and the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay without one?

I really want to get out and do a seatrail with the new genoa before I schedule a haul out for bottom work. Actually I was hoping to push that into the fall. Sanding and prepping the bottom in 90° heat and 90% humidity is not my thing.
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I can, but my marina is 15’ deep, and as I exit the marina, I am in 25-50 feet of Lake Michigan.

About the only time I even look at my depth gauge is when I sneak close to a beach to anchor for the night.


Greg
 
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Crusty Ol Salt

Crusty Ol Salt

.
Aug 19, 2021
505
Hunter 280 White House Cove Marina
jssailem said:
Man... follow the Nike Motto... Just Do It.

I loved my time sailing from near Baltimore to Annapolis and back. Sure the boat drew 5 and bit feet. We sailed and motored there and back. Discovered some abandoned light houses place to make boaters aware of the shoals this past May.

I remember on a sail form NAS Norfolk up to and into the Rappihannock that shallow water extends a fair way out to the pimary North/South channels. While my Helmsman (my dad then a Supply Captain) ventured west of the channel buoys. Suddenly there was a bump and shudder that got me out of the cabin where I was sorting sails... Seeing the rhumb line was some 100 yards to the east, I regained the helm and corrected our course to get us out into deeper water. I suggesed to the Captain that getting stuck in shallow water was not a good idea. He agreed said he had just lost sigh of the next buoy. It was a great time on the Chesapeak. One of those beautiful clear sunny days when the wind is out of the west. It seems you can sail on a reach forever.
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Great memories
 
Crusty Ol Salt

Crusty Ol Salt

.
Aug 19, 2021
505
Hunter 280 White House Cove Marina
Tally Ho said:
I can, but my marina is 15’ deep, and as I exit the marina, I am in 25-50 feet of Lake Michigan.

About the only time I even look at my depth gauge is when I sneak close to a beach to anchor for the night.


Greg
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Thats the way to do it.
 
shemandr

shemandr

.
Jan 1, 2006
7,514
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
Not to beat a dead horse but a depth meter gives info that is of historical interest. If it looks ahead, and possibly if it has an alarm, it may save you from a grounding. Otherwise a chart plotter is more likely to keep you off the shoals. Just use the right zoom level - right Vestus?
 
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Tally Ho

Tally Ho

.
Jan 7, 2011
5,502
Oday 322 East Chicago, IN
shemandr said:
Not to beat a dead horse but a depth meter gives info that is of historical interest. If it looks ahead, and possibly if it has an alarm, it may save you from a grounding. Otherwise a chart plotter is more likely to keep you off the shoals. Just use the right zoom level - right Vestus?
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I guess you could say “historical”, but I say “real time” when I am trying to get into about 15 feet of water off one of our sandy beaches. I am more trusting of the readout than my CP depth.

But I agree that when sailing, if the depth drops to keel depth, it is probably too late to take action.

I use it more to watch how fast the water is getting thin as I approach the beach…

Greg
 
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J

jaysweet

.
Jun 25, 2004
487
Hunter 306 Pasadena MD
arf145 said:
I will add one thing. If my boat had a draft of 3 1/2 feet I wouldn't worry much about water depth. While I think it is a good idea to have a depth finder, it is way less important on a boat like that than on, say, mine with its 5 1/2 feet :)
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I don't know about that. I sail in the upper Chesapeake with a Hunter 306 with a draft of maybe 3'10". When you go aground, you go aground! There are plenty of channels up here (like Bodkin Creek) where it gets really dicey even when the chart says 6 feet. That's one of the 2 places I've bit the mud. The other place was off of the peninsula on which Sparrows Point lies, in what was supposed to have been 7 feet of water.
grounding2.jpeg
If I didn't sail in 7' on the chart, I wouldn't sail much of anywhere. I'm happy to have the Gold Unlimited Boat US towing plan, even if I've used it only twice in 20 years. It can be $900 for a tow off of a soft grounding around here...

To someone with a bigger boat, a 30 footer may seem really small. But you can't exactly lift a 7000 lb. boat off a sandbar on your back. :D
 
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Kings Gambit

Kings Gambit

.
Jul 27, 2011
5,134
Bavaria 38E Alamitos Bay
As mentioned above, the best use of a depth finder beyond avoiding accidental groundings and establishing an LOP while piloting is to survey the bottom where you might wish to anchor. Yes, of course, one could refer to a chart for depths, but having real-time soundings is far better; much more efficient. Short trips or daysailing in a known area is one thing, perhaps; whereas actually going somewhere, e.g., cruising, is quite another. Basically, “Don’t leave home without one” is my “motto. ”With one you can always confirm your depth with a manual sounding line while anchoring, i.e., before securing for the night.
 
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dLj

dLj

.
Mar 23, 2017
4,330
Belliure 41 Back in the Chesapeake
Where the OP is sailing with the boat that he has, an electronic depth sounder is really only a nice to have. He has lots of water and excellent channel markers. For Anchoring a lead line is more than sufficient and can be made for pennies.

How wrapped around electronics we western sailors have become...

dj
 
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shemandr

shemandr

.
Jan 1, 2006
7,514
Slickcraft 26 Sailfish
I carried a lead line for years. Its best use was for sounding the Mystic Seaport anchorage. But we would dink around doing soundings in other areas to get an idea of what was possible even if we were already anchored. A better spot was only minutes away. I regard it as an instrument.
 
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Crusty Ol Salt

Crusty Ol Salt

.
Aug 19, 2021
505
Hunter 280 White House Cove Marina
Kings Gambit said:
As mentioned above, the best use of a depth finder beyond avoiding accidental groundings and establishing an LOP while piloting is to survey the bottom where you might wish to anchor. Yes, of course, one could refer to a chart for depths, but having real-time soundings is far better; much more efficient. Short trips or daysailing in a known area is one thing, perhaps; whereas actually going somewhere, e.g., cruising, is quite another. Basically, “Don’t leave home without one” is my “motto.” But you can always confirm your depth with a manual sounding line to while anchoring, i.e., before securing for the night.
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All short trips and day sailing in my future. The planned is to be moored by sunset.
 
Crusty Ol Salt

Crusty Ol Salt

.
Aug 19, 2021
505
Hunter 280 White House Cove Marina
dLj said:
Where the OP is sailing with the boat that he has, an electronic depth sounder is really only a nice to have. He has lots of water and excellent channel markers. For Anchoring a lead line is more than sufficient and can be made for pennies.

How wrapped around electronics we western sailors have become...

dj
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Correct you are about my home marina, channel and where I am day sailing. The channel is heavily traveled and like you mentioned well marked.

On the other hand i have a good friend that can only leave and return on high tide.
 
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