Janet O'Leary wrote:
Any of you Captains done the journey across Florida from Ft Myers to Stuart,
Fla

The Okeechobee Waterway? I think that is the name..

What size sailboats can make the trip? Is the mast a problem?

Any limit?

What about water depth?



Never did it but those who were about to said the height limit was 45
feet and depth 4 feet. There are many references published on this route.

"slide" wrote in message
...
Janet O'Leary wrote:
Any of you Captains done the journey across Florida from Ft Myers to
Stuart, Fla

The Okeechobee Waterway? I think that is the name..

What size sailboats can make the trip? Is the mast a problem?

Any limit?

What about water depth?



Never did it but those who were about to said the height limit was 45 feet
and depth 4 feet. There are many references published on this route.

With a clearance height of only 45', and a depth of only 4' .. that
eliminates many
sailboats, for sure.

In fact, I was just looking at a boat on the net, nice older boat. .. the
draft is 5' 10" I think.

==

So,, if the boat can't go through .. ?? then it is down and around?

How does that trip go? Where is the cut through point?

"Janet O'Leary" wrote in message
...

With a clearance height of only 45', and a depth of only 4' .. that
eliminates many
sailboats, for sure.

In fact, I was just looking at a boat on the net, nice older boat. .. the
draft is 5' 10" I think.

==

So,, if the boat can't go through .. ?? then it is down and around?

How does that trip go? Where is the cut through point?


If you're just buying a boat and have little to no passage-making
experience, you'd be well-served by looking for a boat that's already in the
area where you want it to be. If you have your heart set on one particular
boat and nothing else will do, you might want to look into having it trucked
to its new home port -- with older boats, though, this is rarely cost
effective. But the heart wants what the heart wants.

Regarding "cut through points" in the Florida Keys -- not advisable without
good local knowledge, up-to-date charts and good sailing experience in all
weather. Water there gets really thin, really fast, and weather can kick up
just as quickly. It's a good way to run aground and end up with a "totalled"
vessel. The safest route is to stay away from shore and in deep water, going
around the keys rather than through them. This advice has been disregarded
in the past with predictable outcome.

On Thu, 18 Dec 2008 09:42:29 -0600, "KLC Lewis"
wrote:

Regarding "cut through points" in the Florida Keys -- not advisable without
good local knowledge, up-to-date charts and good sailing experience in all
weather. Water there gets really thin, really fast, and weather can kick up
just as quickly. It's a good way to run aground and end up with a "totalled"
vessel. The safest route is to stay away from shore and in deep water, going
around the keys rather than through them. This advice has been disregarded
in the past with predictable outcome.

All true but the cut-through east of Marathon (Moser Channel) is easy
to negotiate with 6 ft of draft and 65 ft mast height - if you know
what you are doing, have decent charts, etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moser_Channel

"KLC Lewis" wrote in message
et...

"Janet O'Leary" wrote in message
...

With a clearance height of only 45', and a depth of only 4' .. that
eliminates many
sailboats, for sure.

In fact, I was just looking at a boat on the net, nice older boat. .. the
draft is 5' 10" I think.

==

So,, if the boat can't go through .. ?? then it is down and around?

How does that trip go? Where is the cut through point?


If you're just buying a boat and have little to no passage-making
experience, you'd be well-served by looking for a boat that's already in
the area where you want it to be. If you have your heart set on one
particular boat and nothing else will do, you might want to look into
having it trucked to its new home port -- with older boats, though, this
is rarely cost effective. But the heart wants what the heart wants.

Regarding "cut through points" in the Florida Keys -- not advisable
without good local knowledge, up-to-date charts and good sailing
experience in all weather. Water there gets really thin, really fast, and
weather can kick up just as quickly. It's a good way to run aground and
end up with a "totalled" vessel. The safest route is to stay away from
shore and in deep water, going around the keys rather than through them.
This advice has been disregarded in the past with predictable outcome.

If she's sexy enough, I might be talked into helping her sail her boat
through the Keys to the east coast of Florida. But, if she's jlrogers in
drag, forget about it!

Wilbur Hubbard

Janet O'Leary wrote:


With a clearance height of only 45', and a depth of only 4' .. that
eliminates many
sailboats, for sure.

In fact, I was just looking at a boat on the net, nice older boat. .. the
draft is 5' 10" I think.

==

So,, if the boat can't go through .. ?? then it is down and around?

How does that trip go? Where is the cut through point?



First, check local and up to date published data. Then subtract some
from both the height and the depth. Frex, last time I wished to passage
Dismal Swamp the clearance was published at 6' but local knowledge said
that there were many sunken logs and the real clearance depth was less
than 5'.

There was one bridge on the ICW which 'rang' my antenna even though I
waited for low tide. This clearly (to me) proved correct local knowledge
that the bridge was below the nominal 65' published minimum clearance.

Yes, it means go around if you wish to get to the Gulf. There are cuts
in the Keys but likewise you need local knowledge. Maybe even more so
because going aground in they keys on that old limestone can be much
more damaging than the mud further north.

"Janet O'Leary" wrote in news:a0u2l.2578
:

Where is the cut through point?


Ask Skip and Lydia about cutting through the Keys.

I believe you'll be told to put it out of your mind and go around Key West
in the deep water.

Go to http://maps.google.com/

Tell it to find Marathon Florida.

Once it does, click on SATELLITE view in the upper right corner so you can
see the bottom from the mainland to Cuba. The satellite pictures are
stunning, not to mention horrifying, of the shifting bars and hazards
around the Florida Keys in such clear water.

Very treacherous waters, indeed.

When you zoom in close, the pictures become even more revealing. You can
actually see the sandbars MOVING when the satellite snapped the photo!
This has got to be the WORST place to sail on the planet.

"Larry" wrote in message
...
"Janet O'Leary" wrote in news:a0u2l.2578
:

Where is the cut through point?


Ask Skip and Lydia about cutting through the Keys.

I believe you'll be told to put it out of your mind and go around Key West
in the deep water.

Go to http://maps.google.com/

Tell it to find Marathon Florida.

Once it does, click on SATELLITE view in the upper right corner so you can
see the bottom from the mainland to Cuba. The satellite pictures are
stunning, not to mention horrifying, of the shifting bars and hazards
around the Florida Keys in such clear water.

Very treacherous waters, indeed.

When you zoom in close, the pictures become even more revealing. You can
actually see the sandbars MOVING when the satellite snapped the photo!
This has got to be the WORST place to sail on the planet.


Sorry, Larry, but your ignorance, reliance on book learning and jumping to
false conclusions are showing again. You try to sound like a expert on
everything and it's pretty darned obvious from many of your idiotic
statements that you lack real knowledge in many areas.

The Florida Keys are my home sailing grounds. There is very little shifting
of sandbars. I don't know what drugs you are on but you certainly can't see
them shifting in satellite photos. As a matter of fact sand is in relatively
short supply in the Keys. There is more rock and mud than sand.

On the Florida Bay side it's mostly all mud. There resides the Intracoastal
Waterway and the Yacht Channel up to the Gulf of Mexico. Five or six feet
depth all the way. In and along Hawk Channel on the ocean side it's mostly
coral rock with only a few sandy beaches. The rest of it is bare, water worn
coral rock. Hawk Channel is a very safe place to sail. The barrier reef
knocks out the seas from the Straits. The Island chain provides a barrier to
the north. There are a few areas with charted coral heads and patch reefs
that need to be given a wide berth but it's no problem to do so either
visually or using GPS.

Anybody who can't sail safely through the Keys on either side of the island
chain is incompetent or inept or stupid and poor Skippy was all three when
he came through here running aground at every opportunity and making an ass
out of himself, not to mention giving sailors a bad name. I have been
sailing the Keys for over 25 years and have YET to run aground. There's no
excuse for it.

Wilbur Hubbard

The Florida Keys are my home sailing grounds. There is very little
shifting of sandbars. I don't know what drugs you are on but you certainly
can't see them shifting in satellite photos. As a matter of fact sand is
in relatively short supply in the Keys. There is more rock and mud than
sand.

On the Florida Bay side it's mostly all mud. There resides the
Intracoastal Waterway and the Yacht Channel up to the Gulf of Mexico. Five
or six feet depth all the way. In and along Hawk Channel on the ocean
side it's mostly coral rock with only a few sandy beaches. The rest of it
is bare, water worn coral rock. Hawk Channel is a very safe place to sail.
The barrier reef knocks out the seas from the Straits. The Island chain
provides a barrier to the north. There are a few areas with charted coral
heads and patch reefs that need to be given a wide berth but it's no
problem to do so either visually or using GPS.

Anybody who can't sail safely through the Keys on either side of the
island chain is incompetent or inept or stupid and poor Skippy was all
three when he came through here running aground at every opportunity and
making an ass out of himself, not to mention giving sailors a bad name. I
have been sailing the Keys for over 25 years and have YET to run aground.
There's no excuse for it.

Wilbur Hubbard

Hubbard ,, this boat has a draft of 5'10" .. pretty deep, she was not
designed to
be a cruising boat, but is a cruising boat .. go figure.

Anyhow,, since you are the expert.. ...

The boat would be coming from Tampa. Heading toward Ft Lauderdale..
So, if she can't get through the canal [ not enough depth ] or the mast is
too high ..

Then she must be sailed all the way to Key West? And then around, and up?
Is that correct? How far is that?

Are there harbors along the way?

Is it better to go outside, then down to Key West?

Don't have any charts as yet.

On Fri, 19 Dec 2008 00:15:24 GMT, "Janet O'Leary"
wrote:

The boat would be coming from Tampa. Heading toward Ft Lauderdale..
So, if she can't get through the canal [ not enough depth ] or the mast is
too high ..

Then she must be sailed all the way to Key West? And then around, and up?
Is that correct? How far is that?

Are there harbors along the way?

Is it better to go outside, then down to Key West?

Don't have any charts as yet.

By way of qualification, I live in the Ft Myers area, approximately
halfway between Tampa and the Keys. Your limiting factor for the
Okeechobee Waterway will be mast height, roughly 49 ft unless you heel
the boat. Your other choice is to go through the Keys - either at
Marathon which should be doable, or all the way around Key West.
Going around Key West adds about 100 miles vs Marathon/Moser Channel.
The Okeechobee Waterway saves about 250 miles and is protected water
the entire distance. The outside run from Tampa can be rough in a
winter nor'wester, pick your days and route carefully. Coming south
from Tampa there are overnight options at Venice, Boca Grande, Sanibel
Island, Ft Myers Beach, Naples and Marco Island. If the tide is
right you can get in behind the islands near Everglades City or anchor
at Little Shark River in the Everglades. If the wind is out of the
east, and it frequently is in the winter, you can anchor north of
Middle Cape Sable for the night.

Charts are available on the web he

http://demo.geogarage.com/noaa/

In addition to charts you will want to pick up a "Southern Waterway
Guide" - it has lots of good information:

http://www.waterwayguide.com/edition...=southern_2009


You really need to have some experienced help for the trip. While
not extremely difficult, it is not a complete cake walk either,
especially in the winter time. It would be money well spent to hire
a licensed delivery captain for your first big adventure. They will
have the knowledge and experience to stay out of trouble, and the
ability to deal with problems if they do arise. Just my 2 cents
worth.