How much keel is OK for the Bay?

[midlifesailor]

I'm starting to toy with the idea of a "next boat" and several of the boats that look promising otherwise have drafts of 6' or slightly more. I currently sail out of Broad Creek in Deltaville where I'm pretty certain a 6' draft would have you on the bottom pretty regularly. We've touched bottom a couple of time with our current sub-5 foot draft so 6' would likely necessitate a change of venue, but I don't want to rule out what might be a great boat if the deep draft wouldn't be a problem otherwise.

How much draft do most folks on the bay have and do you find your draft keeps you from going places you'd like?

[TSteele65]

Depends on what you want to do, really. I like gunkholing, so anything more than 5' just won't cut it.

[T37Chef]

"Much of the bay is quite shallow. At the point where the Susquehanna River flows into the bay, the average depth is 30', although this soon diminishes to an average of 10' from the city of Havre de Grace for about 35 miles, to just north of Annapolis. A person 6 feet 7 inches (2 m) tall could traverse some 700,000 acres (2 800 km²) of the bay without being entirely submerged. On average, the depth of the bay is less than 30 feet or 9 meters."

Link to quote...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesapeake_Bay

4'-5' for the upper/middle bay would seem typical of cruising sailboats if you enjoy gunk holing and some wonderful anchorages.

[SailorMitch]

For real gunkholing, I agree with the 5 feet max figure. Over that and you really cut down the places you can go. Of course, I am a brave soul with a wing keel (draws 4'2") and Dawg will chime in that the next time I go aground I shall surely die!!!! (Have gone aground multiple times down through the years and have never needed assistance to get off the bottom. Wings are great for the bay.)

[midlifesailor]

Originally Posted by SailorMitch

For real gunkholing, I agree with the 5 feet max figure. Over that and you really cut down the places you can go. Of course, I am a brave soul with a wing keel (draws 4'2") and Dawg will chime in that the next time I go aground I shall surely die!!!! (Have gone aground multiple times down through the years and have never needed assistance to get off the bottom. Wings are great for the bay.)

I have to say my short experience confirms your long term observations regarding winged keels on the bay.

Our O'day 322 with it's "patented" "Hydrokeel" also draws 4'2" and even though our inexpert navigating has let us find the bottom a few times, we've always been able to back off fairly easily. I really feel that the wide flat bottom of the wing keeps you from digging in and getting stuck. I suppose if you sailed onto a shoal where the wingtip might dig in it might be more of a problem than a fin, but where I sail, the water is plenty deep once you get out of the creeks into the River/Bay, so we are generally motoring when there is a chance of grounding.

Looking at the pictures, I would love to buy Sailingfools CS36, but its the deep draft version and I think I'd have to have a tug to get me from my slip to the bay. Ah well, back to Yachtworld looking at boats with a draft of 5' or less.

[SailinJay]

A wise old salt once said that there are only two kinds of sailors--those that have run aground and those that will run aground.

In five years with my wing-keeled, 4.5-foot draft Catalina 350, out of Back Creek in Annapolis, I have only run aground once, in the first season of owning the boat. It took me about 20 minutes to get free, but I did get free. I have bumped the bottom a couple of times entering Rock Hall harbor. If you pay attention to the charts and the depth gauge, you should be OK.

I was considering a fin keel for this boat (5.5-foot draft) when I was in the process of buying it. My dealer indicated that I might have a hard time selling a fin keel boat in the Chesapeake Bay region.

[maxmunger]

I have sailed and raced the Ches Bay for some 30+ years with my 5' 6" C30. I have nudged up most all creeks north of the Potomac without going aground or getting stuck.
The determining factor is "where" do you keep the boat 90% of the time. Your mooring depth will be the limiting factor on depth of keel.

[svsirius]

It also depends what size boat you are looking at. In a larger boat you may want to look at centerboard boats or accept deeper draft. You need the draft for upwind work. Remember keel depth does contribute to windward ability and on the bay it always seems to be from the wrong direction

[camaraderie]

Midlife...I sailed out of Broad Creek/Stingray for over 20 years. I also hear that the shoaling in the exit channel needs attention again. While I entered and exited with up to 6 ft. of draft in the past...I would shoot for 5 ft. as a goal but not reject a boat with up to 5.5 feet of draft.
Once you are out of the channel, eve a 6 ft. draft is not unduly restrictive on most of the Bay. The ideal boat IMHO for pure bay sailing AND performance would be a centerboarder, lightweight construction, and with a tall sloop masthead rig. Something like Jeff H likes! (G)

[Trekka]

I sailed for 20 yrs with a 3ft draft and now have a 5'7" draft. I would not want a draft any deeper, and wish I was under 5ft altogether.