What’s the minimum depth you would sail in?

[svfinlandia]

Originally Posted by Letterkenny

There’s a part of the San Diego bay here they gets shallow but is a very nice place to sail. There’s not a lot of boats (partly due to the depth) and gets good wind as it’s not blocked by Point Loma. I’ve sailed there quite a bit without issue but know of a couple shallow spots. The depth charts put the shallowest point as 9’ (with the exceptions of a couple small 5’ and 7’ areas) at low tide which on the current boat means a bit over 3’ under the keel. One additional comfort is that it’s a muddy bottom so if you do ground the boat, it shouldn’t be too much of a consequence. Depth finder never has had it below 12’ in actual practice but curious know what is the minimum depth that other sailors are willing to travel?

I have a full keel with a 6 foot draft. I have my depth sounder set to alarm at 7 feet, but have been known to continue on to a 6 foot depth if I am aware of the composition of the bottom. I have been known to cut a slot through the mud in shallow areas. I have run aground frequently enough that I have gotten over my fear of doing it. I have a 75 hp Perkins engine and a large prop which generally gets me back off of a soft mud bottom with no problem.

Al, S/V Finlandia

[poopship]

You must be referring to the South Bay. One cool thing about it is there are always less people and better wind. But its definitely shallow. That being said, most of it seems to be sailable, and Ive gotten a bit more bold sailing through there. There are deepwater docks and a channel on the west side of it, so those boats have to get there somehow. Id not go near the shoals on the west side south of Coronado bridge, as I think it gets like 4-5 feet deep there. I tend to watch my plotter and charts very carefully when sailing the South Bay, but I enjoy it as it is certainly less crowded. My father said that if theres a few inches below then you're good but I like to see 10+ feet of water depth. Ive definitely seen it as low as 7'5 in the areas I go and I draw 6'2 .. I was uncomfortable at that depth.

[fred4936]

+1 on what has been stated. We have 4' draft, wing keel, and spade rudder. Not a cozy setup for shallow water. But where we sail, the water is 6' deep in many spots, often less. Over 9' is not common. Everyone runs aground here. The bottom is soft mud, and we have been sailing here for many years, so we know it pretty well. On very low tides, and the first sail or two of the season (things change over the winter), we sometimes bump the bottom. When we sail new ares, I will be very nervous in water this shallow!

[Cabo Jim]

I sailed in the Bahamas for 10 years and if I didn't run aground a least twice a week, well I just wasn't trying hard enough.
On the other hand, I don't like sailing deep passages because I'm afraid of heights.

[Letterkenny]

100% agree that “it depends” but nice to hear various stories. San Diego bay is well mapped and knowing that it’s a muddy bottom has me a bit less concerned. Mainly, wanted to check to see if I’m the odd one out for wanting to sail in that area but seems like a fine/safe area to use.

[Martkimwat]

I sail a lot in the Solent and Chichester Harbour in my Parker 27, there are a lot of shallow areas that dry a t low tide and as long as I know I'm on a rising tide will often sail over them until my rudder touches ( I raise my keel till it is just a bit shallower than my rudder, which is 1.4M (my keel fully down is 1.6M). My keel is a daggerboard but my rudder is hinged so it will just kick back and reduce (I have a four part purchase for my rudder downhaul on a double block at the extreme aft end of my tiller which is hinged about six inches forward of that, so if I touch, my tiller initially kicks up and if I continue into shallower water, the fall of the downhaul is clipped into a dinghy type break out block, so will release to allow the rudder to kick up completely. So, in answer to your question, I will go as shallow as I can, so long as the bottom is soft and I'm on a rising tide. When I see 2M or less then I raise the keel a foot.(0.3M)

PS my boat draws 16" with everything up and I have a small auxiliary rudder on the side of my rudder stock that I can drop if I really get in to shallow water. It draws 18" ( I need a couple of inches of keel for steerange way). We have an annual sail up to Trimbles Quay in Beaulieu River where we have an overnight stay, permission of Lord Montague and a BBQ on the riverbank behind the Pub, in fact it is this coming weekend. The river depth is a maximum 3 feet or less at high water and virtually dries out to nothing at low water, just the 6~8 inches of the river that flows out through the viaduct that marks the limit of navigation (usually just kayakers and canoeists) Your depth sounder is useless so you follow the withies, though they are often non-existant so you use you're best guess and figure that the deepest water is on the outside of the bends though that is not always the case. You can actually sail it all the way although the wind is really fluky and not always (mostly not!) in the right direction so we tend to motor the last mile. It is wonderful and peaceful and an idyllic spot.

I sailed in the annual Round the Island race around the Isle of Wight the weekend before last, I skimmed over Ryde Sands to gain an advantage over deeper drafted vessels as it kept me higher up on the wind and out of the main current which was running against us, bore off only when I saw 2M of water and shoaling, not because running aground would have been a problem in itself but it would have slowed me down. Unfortunately a large Beneteau thought he could do it as well and the last I saw was the Bembridge ILB attending with all lights flashing as I went past. One of my sailing club team members did it as well in a wooden 28 foot classic that draws 2M and is NOT a lift keeler! (He went on to win the Trafalgar Cup and came second on corrected time overall for the Roman Bowl ~ he is usually in the the top three)

[TrentePieds]

The simple answer is: "My draft plus a foot plus an allowance for sea state" :-)

Nothing complicated about that! The tricky bit for a novice such as might ask such a question is to recognize what the sea state is, and therefore how great the allowance has to he. But Letterkenny has sailed long enuff that shouldn't be a problem for him :-)

Cheers

TP

[Scubaseas]

3 feet of clearance with 4 foot waves makes life interesting.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by TrentePieds

The simple answer is: "My draft plus a foot plus an allowance for sea state" :-)

For me, it's the transitions that have proved uncomfortable. When I've moved from deeper water sailing, to areas which are far less so, I find it takes a bit of time to get comfortable again.

[Phyrcooler]

You’re talking about east bay sailing. You are correct that it’s reputed to be mostly mud bottom. Regardless, you wouldn’t want to run aground, especially on a falling tide. Normal tidal swings in SD bay are 6-6.5 feet, but swings more based on time of the month and weather. Today’s low tide was -3.1’. A couple days ago, it was -3.7. There’s a lot of 11’s & 12’s on the chart - so most places you’re at 7’-9’ at low tide. I don’t like anything less than 3’ under my keel if I can.

Most often when I’ve heard folks grounded, they are just east of the channel going into Glorietta Bay - NE of the little peninsula where the Navy’s small boat group is. It’s shallow in there folks! Don’t cut the corner by the Green Buoy!

A good tide App is your best bet. Decide your comfort level and always make a tide check part of your pre-sail checklist.

[TrentePieds]

For the most part, you have to LOOK for shallow water here. As you'll know, often you can be a boat length from shore and have 300 feet under the keel.

TP

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by Phyrcooler

You’re talking about east bay sailing. You are correct that it’s reputed to be mostly mud bottom.

The problem with the mud is tacking takes so long and it destroys your VMG to windward

Pete

[Group9]

Originally Posted by Stewie12

If you sail in the Bahamas you will soon get used to knowing the dept of water by its colour. To do this you need good light. I have spent all day crossing the Turks and Caicos bank in about 11 feet of water whilst drawing 6.6 and also looking for coral heads. There is very little tidal difference there and you get used it.

My most serous butt clinching in the Bahamas was taking the inside route (by Musha Cay) down the Exumas, in a sailboat drawing five feet of water and seeing the depth gauge read 5' at high tide (what there was of it)!

My wife kept asking how much water we had. I kept saying, you don't want to know!

And, we didn't even see David Copperfield.

[sailingabe41ds]

Great timing from the folks in San Diego. I am in Ventura where after you leave the harbor 75ft is considered shallow waters. I am going to San Diego in a few weeks and my boat has a 7ft draft. I see 10-11 ft everywhere in the South side and I am thinking..."is it safe to be there...should I stay in the 35ft lane as I inch my way to Loews Marina?" I guess I will be sailing in shallow waters soon. I anchor a lot in the Channel Islands and I do not think I have ever anchored in less than 15ft....mostly in 25-35ft.
Abe

[Shanachie]

Sailing in the Keys and western Florida, I have often taken routes with just under 5 feet of water with my Catalina 320, which draws 4 feet, 3 inches.


It takes steady nerves and things go wrong occasionally, but if you gotta get someplace ...


I have taken 600-mile trips with many of the depth readings under 20 feet and large stretches in single digits.



People periodically bring their deep-keeled boats from the Northeast here and don't really believe it when locals say you should have less than 5 feet of draft.



A year or so later, you often see those boats for sale at really good prices ... if you live somewhere with deeper water.