On Tue, 23 Sep 2008 09:50:10 -0400, "Roger Long"
wrote:

The real efficiency for a boat running around doing research in a
shallow bay is being able plow through an oyster bar if there is a
navigational error and still being operational as opposed to needing to
be towed immediately to a shipyard where they would spend the better
part of a year's fuel bill. The additional shallow areas they can
operate in safely also greatly increase her scientific value.

Breaking this out for emphasis:

There are hundreds of square miles open to her that would be closed to
a prop version.

It seems you don't know the Chesapeake Bay well.

The Bay stretches 200 nm, covers 64,000 square miles, and has 12,000
miles of shoreline. Its average depth is 21'. More than 24% of it is
less than 6 feet deep. No, that is not a typo.

The jets extend your baby's working area by tens of thousands of square
miles of the most environmentally "interesting" areas.

And you don't "plow" through an oyster bar, you *hit* one and stop
very, very quickly. Your hazard is the junk suspended in the foot or
two of soft mud on the usual bottom. Though we draw 4', we often anchor
in 4.5' at high tide, sometimes see stretches of 3' as we gunkhole
(cautiously) through skinny water to get to a good anchorage, sometimes
see the knotmeter reading higher than the depth sounder -- and feel no
need to tack.

Yup, it's different than you're used to.

The Bay is unique, the world's largest estuary. We've explored it for
25 years and still haven't gotten to some of the places on our list.

Enjoy discovering the Bay on your sea trials.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-à-Deux -- Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD
Xan's pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI trips & tips: http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/