On Tue, 24 Feb 2009 21:56:20 -0500, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Tue, 24 Feb 2009 13:20:57 -0600, Vic Smith
wrote:

Wayne boats in the keys, and he could shed some light on it.
I'd bet that if was grounded he would get kedge off or get towed off
instead of tearing up the bed with his props.

If you run aground in the Keys you really do not want to call for help
if you can possibly avoid it. It will invite a lot of unwanted and
expensive attention.

Well, the guy who powered off got $240k worth of attention.
And he was there for 2 days trying to get off, so it's no secret the
park service would be looking at the damage,
Doesn't sound fiscally responsible. Maybe he's a mortgage broker.
But I was hoping you would shed some light on what you would do if you
were grounded.
For instance if you couldn't back off, and it was near high tide,
would you try to kedge off?
I'm totally inexperienced with these grass fields.

--Vic

On Tue, 24 Feb 2009 21:58:27 -0600, Vic Smith
wrote:

For instance if you couldn't back off, and it was near high tide,
would you try to kedge off?

It's difficult enough to kedge off a 5,000 lb boat, almost impossible
with 70,000 lbs. We try to avoid marginal water depths at high tide,
it being much more preferable to go exploring on half tide and rising.
If you are going slow and nudge the bottom it is usually easy to back
off. Otherwise the best strategy is to try and turn the boat towards
deep water and power it off. A dinghy with a large outboard can be
used as a mini tug boat to turn the boat in some cases. I know one
guy who is a full time cruiser on a boat with an 8 ft draft. He has
a 35 horse on his dinghy just for that purpose. It can be tempting to
try and power through a shallow spot but that can lead to big trouble
if it doesn't work out.

On Tue, 24 Feb 2009 23:27:40 -0500, Wayne.B
wrote:

We try to avoid marginal water depths at high tide,
it being much more preferable to go exploring on half tide and rising.

How do you "localize" tides when cruising?
I use local tide tables sometimes when fishing in Florida, and find
them reliable for that spot, but considerably off a few miles away.
Of course that's normally in estuary waters.
Is open water in the Keys consistent with one tide table?

--Vic

On Wed, 25 Feb 2009 17:24:10 -0600, Vic Smith
wrote:

Is open water in the Keys consistent with one tide table?

No, there are many different tide stations in the Keys. Most modern
chart plotters have that all built in but you could still do it the
old fashioned way with tide tables, station list, offsets, etc.

On Wed, 25 Feb 2009 20:02:45 -0500, wrote:

On Wed, 25 Feb 2009 17:24:10 -0600, Vic Smith
wrote:

How do you "localize" tides when cruising?

Read the mangroves and barnacles on poles to get current stage and
analyse flow to decide trend.
The tides are really strange back in the mangroves when wind and water
flowing in from upland will make a foot of difference and the
astronomical prediction is only a guideline.

That's what I do when fishing a canal back a couple miles from
Charlotte Harbor. The tide table for the harbor can be off at least
an hour from there.
I was thinking about open water in the Keys and Florida bay.
As Wayne said a rising/high tide can be useful to keep you off grass
beds/sandbars.
Didn't know that chart plotters had a local tide reading.
Probably want a forward looking sounder too, if there is such a thing.
And a go-slow attitude where appropriate.

--Vic

On Wed, 25 Feb 2009 22:09:59 -0600, Vic Smith
wrote:

Probably want a forward looking sounder too, if there is such a thing.

Forward looking sounders exist but mostly for big boats, and the
reviews are mixed even there.

And a go-slow attitude where appropriate.

That's the real answer. When you go agound at speed you can end up
high and dry.

For an inexpensive chartplotter with tide information, check out a
used Garmin 182 or 182C on EBAY. I have a 182 at the lower helm that
came with the boat and it's a decent unit. One of my neighbors bought
a 182C (color) and he likes it. For a small boat try to get one
with the built in antenna.

On Thu, 26 Feb 2009 08:30:16 -0500, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Wed, 25 Feb 2009 22:09:59 -0600, Vic Smith
wrote:

Probably want a forward looking sounder too, if there is such a thing.

Forward looking sounders exist but mostly for big boats, and the
reviews are mixed even there.

And a go-slow attitude where appropriate.

That's the real answer. When you go agound at speed you can end up
high and dry.

For an inexpensive chartplotter with tide information, check out a
used Garmin 182 or 182C on EBAY. I have a 182 at the lower helm that
came with the boat and it's a decent unit. One of my neighbors bought
a 182C (color) and he likes it. For a small boat try to get one
with the built in antenna.

Thanks for that advice.
Used units are pretty high on ebay, but new low-end models aren't too
bad retail on the net.
Used electronics scares me.
Probably get a new unit when I get my boat.

--Vic

On Thu, 26 Feb 2009 08:30:16 -0500, Wayne.B
wrote:

That's the real answer. When you go agound at speed you can end up
high and dry.

I ran a duckboat high and dry a thousand times. Transom a yard past
the water's edge. Wasn't about to muscle it up the beach, if the
engine cou;ld be made to do the work.

Casady

On Thu, 26 Feb 2009 14:12:20 GMT, (Richard
Casady) wrote:

On Thu, 26 Feb 2009 08:30:16 -0500, Wayne.B
wrote:

That's the real answer. When you go agound at speed you can end up
high and dry.

I ran a duckboat high and dry a thousand times. Transom a yard past
the water's edge. Wasn't about to muscle it up the beach, if the
engine cou;ld be made to do the work.


That's OK with a light weight boat that you can muscle around, not so
much with a heavier boat.