What draft for the East Coast?

[Bru]

Ah Wim and Jim, when you head off into the wide blue yonder us inveterate mud pluggers will line the banks to wave you off with a tear in our eye ... and mutter quietly to each other "thank **** for that"

 

[Mandarin331]

Thanks to all for sharing your thoughts. Having been brought up sailing on the Backwaters I've spent my fair share of time on, in and covered by that mud and must say I rather like this part of the world even after this length of time. I've tried other areas and always ended up back here. Anyway its just not natural to sail where the depth is greater than the anchor chain and you can see the bottom.

Full Circles' pictures of the Leavings sums it all up and reminds me that if deeper draft means I can't sit in a shallow muddy creek at LW that's going to be a problem.

So we'll just hang in there, find a nice shoal draft version and sail like gentlemen (and gentlewomen).

 

[Koeketiene]

Ah Wim and Jim, when you head off into the wide blue yonder us inveterate mud pluggers will line the banks to wave you off with a tear in our eye ... and mutter quietly to each other "thank **** for that"

When the day comes, that sentiment will be mutual.

 

[FullCircle]

When the day comes, that sentiment will be mutual.

before that actually.....

 

[Mandarin331]

So we'll just hang in there, find a nice shoal draft version and sail like gentlemen (and gentlewomen).

So do all good intentions get washed away? Just took over our new (to us) 5`6" draft fin keeler. Brought up to Walton for us ( due to a chronic lack of time) from Chichester over a rather blustery last weekend by a very obliging professional delivery skipper and crew, enroute they encountered 40 knots up the stern and ran off the 170 miles in 27 hours, but she was handed over to us last night clean tidy and all well. Very happy with the skipper, crew and boat.

As in all things boaty its a compromise, and we're sure its the right one for us, time will tell if we notice extra draft too much.

 

[Hydrozoan]

I've always assumed that Archimedes was grounded in his bath when he said Eureka! Eureka! - would he have noticed the level rise in one large enough to float in? Just keep thinking about tides - and saying 'leeway' smugly to yourself (at 5' 7", it's what we have to do).

Good luck and enjoy the new boat! :encouragement:

 

[PeterWright]

I think that it all comes down to the type of sailing you want to do!

+2. We sail hese waters with 6 ft. draft and, while we can't emulate Cantata's Kentish shopping expeditions find we do not get great problems. If you wish to dry out, it's not really a question of draft - you need bilge keels, a lifting/swing keel or leeboards - legs sre just too much fiddle for me. I would not want to be restricted in when I come and go from my home port by draft, but it's not diffcult to find an all tide access berth fora 6 ft. draft boat on the East Coast. For destination ports when cruising, the draft restrictions just make one more consideration in your passage planning.

As an aid to passage plans, being lazy, I have a concept of half tide ports - these are ports where you may safely come and go at half tide or above. You don't need to worry springs or neaps as half tide is about the same above datum for either. We treat Southwold, the Deben, Titchmarsh, Brittlesea and Bradwell as half tiders. Even the South Coast has a few such as Rye and Littlehampton, although I've not taken this boat into either yet, but did visit with the previous one (5'5"). Apart from saving headaches with the tide tables, this gives you a 6 hour window for arrival, which lets you focus on catching the tidal streams right - a must in these waters.