Draft constraints in Med...

[Thames 4 Blood]

Does anyone have any experience of draft issues in the Med? In Gibralter in the summer we touched bottom in the marina ( admittedly the tide was 2cm below LAT ) ( and dont ask me how this can be... it seems very contradictory to me... ) in a Beneteau 473 which I am fairly sure has a 6'10" draft.
I am looking at a Hanse 445 which has a 7'4" draft... I absolutely love everything about this yacht EXCEPT the deep draft...

Looking to spend at least 18 months and possibly a lot longer cruising the Med and the Adriatic end to end.

Any thoughts? Thanks!

[Thames 4 Blood]

And yes, they do produce a shallow draft version which would be perfect BUT there are none on the market and we wish to be living onboard by mid April...

[goboatingnow]

No in general draft is not an issue, Some marina do suffer from originally being designed for smaller craft etc. So in general dont dock alongside a 15 footer in a 50 footer!!.

But enlarge as the french would say, no problems.

Dave

[boatman61]

Where were you docked Marina Bay..? if so some of the berths closer to the shore are shallowish... likely due for dredging... anyway.. your not in the Med till east of Europa Point..
In the main very few marinas in the Med have draught problems.. unless up a river/estuary...
I know there's some -3m marina's in Greece..

[Thames 4 Blood]

Yes, we were in Marina Bay, right infront of "Charlies" bar... Very nice spot too!
Thanks for the advice... We hope one day to cross the Atlantic but thats way down the line and not a consideration for now.

[greyhound37]

Draft: For sailing performace more is better. My 37 has a 5'9" shoal keel and I am waiting for the new 7'6" keel to arrive. I would prefer to give up shallow water and have better deep water results. The foils make the boat. IMHO

[Thames 4 Blood]

Thanks. I agree. You surely have to come to terms with the word "Compromise" when buying a boat!!! :-)

[alcheringa]

Thames 4 Blood we crewed on a 72 footer around the med for a few months last season with 3.5 metre draft with the keel down. When lifted it was still just over 2 metres but mostly we didn't need to bring it up in marinas anyway. You shouldn't have a problem at all. We're now cruising our own boat and have wintered in Queensway Quay at Gib. It has far better protection from wind and swell than Ocean Village/Marina Bay.