On Tue, 03 Aug 2004 22:31:18 GMT, "just me"
wrote:

I have a 40' sailboat, 5'5" draft, 45' mast.
It will motor comfortably at 6 kts.
How long would you estimate to transit from the Gulf to the Atlantic?
Any hazards that I should be concerned about?
Thanks, jay

49' is the nominal limit for mast height. At present, I think 50 is
practical. 45' doesn't sound like much for a 40-footer. Might be
worth double-checking? Anchor light? VHF antenna?

Nominal depth right now is 6.28'. They advise subtracting 1.1' from
that to allow for waves in the lake. The lake is low enough now that
they normally leave the Mayaca locks open during business hours. I've
been through 3 times in the last 2 months. It wasn't on my boat, so I
can't vouch for the depth sounder calibration, but I believe that the
6' number is good. I didn't see any 2' waves, but I suppose you could
wait them out if they turned up.

Several channels are a bit fuzzy in terms of boundaries. The South
Fork on 11428_4 seemed bad that way. With crosswind or current you
have to stay alert. The same goes for the Approach Channel into the
Clewiston area on 11428_5. That will be the shallowest water you see
in the lake.

Eack lock has several extremely sturdy dolphins nearby that you can
tie up to for the night. Expect a quiet night. Clewiston or Moore
Haven are decent for overnights, if you need power. The Clewiston
lock was closed my last time through; make sure it's open again if you
plan to stop there. Running at night is a personal decision. Other
than the spots I've mentioned, the channel is easy enough, especially
with radar. Isaw a few partially submerged logs in the canal that I
would hate to run over though.

In the Ft Myers area, 11427_1 there are some areas where you don't
want to make any helm errors, but the channels are quite well marked.
With good visibility it's not hard. Watch for the range markers,
where they exist, they help a lot. Keep the chart open, there are
lots of side channels that intersect the main channel. Sometimes
you'll see 3 or 4 red daymarkers close together and you'll have to
figure out which is yours. Also, watch the channels carefully around
the bridges. On several of them they've changed the channel to
provide better angles between bridges. I seem to recall a couple of
them are not charted correctly. The correct channel is obvious,
though.

Not that many diesel pumps on the waterway, you might want to fuel up
in St. Lucie.
__________________________________________________ __________
Glen "Wiley" Wilson usenet1 SPAMNIX at worldwidewiley dot com
To reply, lose the capitals and do the obvious.

Take a look at cpRepeater, my NMEA data integrator, repeater, and
logger at http://www.worldwidewiley.com/