Max draft for South Pacific cruise?

[pdenton]

NO matter where you go there are places one foot shallower than your draft.
BUT with a 12' draft there are many, many places along the Queensland coast you could not visit. AND if you go aground near high tide, you are may never be upright again. The inner passage is often murky.
If you got the bucks for a boat with a 12' draft why not trade it in for one with a center board.
I sailed 10 years in the Pacific with a 5' draft and had many a close scrape. GPS is only as good as the original soundings, some which were made before 1900, they dont tell that on a GPS.
the more I think about it I think its not a good idea.
You can do 99 things right, but you get only one thing wrong.
pdenton

[Jim Cate]

There will be plenty of places you can go with 10 foot draft (around 3 meters for the linguistically handicapped). There will be plenty of places you can NOT go, too! If you are willing to forego the latter, no worries, mate.

All cruising boats run aground now and then... it is one of the things that happen to folks who go to strange venues. With a ten foot draft, it will happen to you a bit further from the shore, and perhaps a bit more frequently. That can be a nuisance! We've cruised extensively in the areas that you mention with boats of 7'2" draft (2.2 m).
We've gone into a bunch of places that you couldn't get to, but with a few exceptions, there were alternative destinations that you could get to. Again, if you are willing to make such compromises you will be fine.

There is one caveat: a lot of marinas and fuel docks will be inaccessible to you, and that can be an issue. In many places you will be directed to commercial wharves for fueling, and that can be a hassle, involving fuel trucks etc.

Many boats with such draft also have very tall masts, and that can also be an issue in some places. Bridges and overhead wires are very unforgiving, and encountering such is far worse than a simple grounding!

Were I choosing a cruising boat for myself, I'd opt for a bit less draft, but obviously there are plenty of mega-yachts enjoying their voyaging in the Pacific.

Jim

[Nanamuk]

We draw 5'6" fully loaded and just barely made it into some of our favorite places - Manahi in the Tuamotus, the back side of Boro Bora, many places in Fiji, up the Keri Keri river in New Zealand to name a few. With 10 ft you will have some limitations but to me the biggest worry would be the restricted options when the **** hits the fan - can't get into the best hidy-holes and fewer options to be hauled out if need be. Not only is a grounding more likely it will also be more likely to cause sever structural damage. The copra boats which ply these waters were built to take a grounding and have extensive local knowledge - I would advise against saying that since they can carry 10 ft through an area safely so can I.

[canadian cat]

No, but I am looking at Santa Cruz 52 which draws 9' and a similar boat that is 10'. I want the performance and sailing characteristics that these boats have so I may just have to live with not going to some spots.

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

Do you have a boat now with 10ft. draft?

[canadian cat]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

There is one caveat: a lot of marinas and fuel docks will be inaccessible to you, and that can be an issue. In many places you will be directed to commercial wharves for fueling, and that can be a hassle, involving fuel trucks etc.

Many boats with such draft also have very tall masts, and that can also be an issue in some places. Bridges and overhead wires are very unforgiving, and encountering such is far worse than a simple grounding!

Jim

Those are very good points Jim. I had not thought about the fuel docks. The air draft definitely was not at the top of my mind for the South Pacific. Could you give me some examples of areas this would be an issue. Is this more NZ area?

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by canadian cat

No, but I am looking at Santa Cruz 52 which draws 9' and a similar boat that is 10'. I want the performance and sailing characteristics that these boats have so I may just have to live with not going to some spots.

Having lived in Santa Cruz, I can appreciate these boats for their performance. I'm wondering if you could find another boat with a swing keel?

[Jimmyhenry]

We cruise NZ from Tauranga to Cape Reinga. There are two overhead cables I am aware of. Bay of islands between Moturoa Island south and the mainland,Kent Passage. (You can pass on the north side of Moturoa so not a problem )
The other is the eastern end of Bon Accord Harbour, Kawau Island (27m). But this is not an area many yachts ever go to so not a problem either.
I think the draft is more an issue. Personally (having sailed well over 30,000 nm in the South Pacific, I would forego some performance for better accessibility to shallower areas.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by canadian cat

Those are very good points Jim. I had not thought about the fuel docks. The air draft definitely was not at the top of my mind for the South Pacific. Could you give me some examples of areas this would be an issue. Is this more NZ area?

It has been too long since we cruised NZ to remember accurately, but there are places on the east coast of Oz where there are wires at around 20 meters (there's a thread about one currently playing here on CF). There is a wire in port Vila, Vanuatu that is IIRC at 24 meters. There are likely a bunch of others that have escaped my view or my memory. Just something to factor in!

Jim

[UNCIVILIZED]

Originally Posted by canadian cat

No, but I am looking at Santa Cruz 52 which draws 9' and a similar boat that is 10'. I want the performance and sailing characteristics that these boats have so I may just have to live with not going to some spots.

There's the option of nipping off some of the keel, & adding a well shaped bulb. You won't lose much performance, but can reduce her draft by a lot. And you'll still out sail 99% of the boats out there.

I've seen several boat that have done the above, & wouldn't hesitate to do it on anything but a pure racing boat. And even then, most racing boats any more have bulbed fins anyway. With the fins approximating the shapes of dinghy daggerboards so as to optimize their lift. So, aside from $, you've little to loose.
Just be prepared for the boat' motion to be a bit different. As you'll feel the foil flexing at times, ditto on the bulb continuning on in a straight line, as the boat moves from side to side. Since, depending on the configuration, the bulb may outweigh the hull (& rig combined).

[savoir]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

Yes, we're waiting for the rest of the world to come to their senses.

Exactly !


As the wise old cannibal once said " You can't get a head without de feet ".

[sailorcherry]

Check out one of the longest running and extensive blogs (18 year circi) http://wingssail.blogspot.com/search...esults=100&m=1

They draw 7.5'-8'. They spent years in this area. You can search regions by index. However, I would suggest anyone looking to cruise the Pacific and beyond (SoPac, Oz, SE Asia to Africa) to read the whole blog.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by canadian cat

No, but I am looking at Santa Cruz 52 which draws 9' and a similar boat that is 10'. I want the performance and sailing characteristics that these boats have so I may just have to live with not going to some spots.

Your real problem will be your wife.
Has she seen the interior of a Santa Cruz 52?
The one I saw had No privacy. No cabins, no partitions, shower in the cockpit. Was a joke. Fast no doubt, but no guests unless they don't mind the lack of privacy.

Performance on long Pacific legs doesn't matter as much as you think. What matters is not having to explain to your wife and friends they are going to shower in the cockpit in front of other people on their boats

[robert sailor]

I think the SC 50 is the spartan model and the SC 52 is the cruising model with cruising interior. I love those boats, Bill Lee was ahead of his time and while those are light go fast boats they are very strong. We cruised the SP and NP for a number of years and we drew 8 feet, pretty much went where ever we wanted. Sure there are a few places your not going to get into but no one gets to see it all anyways. I wouldn't hesitate for a minute to take a SC 52 to the SP.

[Livia]

There was almost no where we went with our 6.5' draft between Mexico and Australia that you couldn't go with 10'. Obviously, YMMV and if we go cruising again, we will choose a shallower draft because we like to sneak ourselves up against shore.

On the other hand, think of how well you could go upwind against the trades with that draft!

[Jimmyhenry]

Originally Posted by Livia

There was almost no where we went with our 6.5' draft between Mexico and Australia that you couldn't go with 10'. Obviously, YMMV and if we go cruising again, we will choose a shallower draft because we like to sneak ourselves up against shore.

On the other hand, think of how well you could go upwind against the trades with that draft!

The fabulous Aitutaki will be inaccessible. I recall the entry is max 2netres at dead low.