Bridge repairs, single leaf and a sailboat

[LauderBoy]

I was planning on doing the okeechobee waterway this weekend, but the Alva and Labelle bridges are being worked on and are down to single leaf operation.

Can a sailboat still go through a drawbridge with just a single leaf up?

[Boasun]

You can but it depends on the depth of the water on the cleared side and the angle of that single leaf section of the bridge....

[LauderBoy]

Yeah, was hoping for the "no problems mate!" answer you never get in most boating situations

I do have another question though, from the below notice does this mean it's only in single leaf mode Monday through Friday? If so, I'll be hitting that area on the weekend so it won't even matter.

1. The bridge shall open a single-leaf on signal from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Monday through Friday except Federal holidays. A double-leaf will be available with a three-hour notice to the bridge tender.

2. The vertical clearance of the down span will be reduced by five feet.

3. The bridge will be closed to navigation from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

4. From 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. the draws shall open if at least three hours notice is given.

5. At all other times this bridge will open on signal.

6. At times there may be a work barge under the down span.

[sailingdog]

It also depends on how wide the opening span is. If your boat is 10' wide, and they have a barge under the closed section, and the remaining section is only 20' wide, it might be a bit dicey... if the remaining section is 60' wide, then you shouldn't have much of an issue, provided you've got the air clearance.

[LauderBoy]

Posting an update in case anyone google's Okeechobee Waterway and needs this info. The bridges where down to 1 leaf even on the weekend. But all the bridges of this type on the waterway swing completely vertical on opening. They're also very wide and have excellent depth.

They were very easy to pass through even with 1 leaf down.

In fact the entire waterway was easy to handle, even for someone with less than a month's boating experience.