Help!!! Lake Okeechobee and ST Lucie canal w 5 1/2 draft.

It’s no problem with your drafter the current lake level. Just don’t get out of the channel on the clewiston side. I’ve taken a 75’ hatteras my with your draft through there once.

No room for error on that dawg leg north of Clewiston. You need 5.5" to float or operate? Keep weight forward.

Remember when operating in shallow water, your bow is pushed up and your stern is sucked down. Plan on needing over 6'.

http://w3.saj.usace.army.mil/h2o/currentLL.shtml

Today you would have 2' under your boat in the shallow spots.
Not much room for error on that dawg leg.
Make sure your e charts are updated.

As long as the water is above 14', you should be able to manage. Still there are areas to watch, as others have pointed out. I'm comfortable with your draft at 14', with 5' drafts at 13', and when it drops below that in depth one must exercise extreme care with anything over 4'. Generally if it's 12-12.5', I'll choose to go around the Keys.

Oh, if you want to see some skinny water, wait till you get close to the eastern ICW.
Are you in a real hurry? Not able to enjoy a trip up Hawks channel (with the current and no locks) ?

We don't choose to use any ICW for most of our cruising. ICW's to us are means to reach specific ports or towns but distances are best covered outside.

I was not talking about using the ditch. We hate the ditch also. From the Ocean blvd bridge towards the StLucie inlet, it is shallow to the ditch (ICW).
This would be the eastern end of the Okeechobee water way at the ICW, just passing past Stuart. 3 years ago, we were rubbing bottom all over the place west bound.
I know there is a dredge at the inlet now. Don't think he is doing anything west of the ICW that could use some help.
We tried to follow a big S F heading to Sailfish of Stuart. He was laughing at us on the radio and warned, he was kicking up sand already. 6 people were standing on his bow.

Crossroads where the ICW meets the Okeechobee waterway in Stuart / manatee Pocket is a traverse at High tide with a 5-1/2 ft draft.

So that's what's it's called. So, the OP needs to for sure watch for that and plan the tides.
I remember, when we got past the Roosevelt bridge, we anchored to the W S W from the big marina docks. Next morning continued west.
When we got close to Indian Town, some Snail Bote was doing what I did as a kid, All bodies you could find was on the boom, hard to beam making that last few feet under the rail bridge.
The marina's tender was under the boom tip also,,,, he made it by inches.
Last I heard, he was aground before the dawg leg. We were already in Moore Haven and the lock was closed for the night.

At least four different shoals at the crossroads of the two channels. Very little room for error and regular shifting.

I’ve never had an issue at the crossroads and have been through there many times. I always follow the current and water color and go through.

We've never had an issue there either but have seen others who have. We've typically had a draft of 5', no more than 5'3".

I’ve taken as much as 7’ through.

There is a Major Algae Outbreak in the Caloosahatchee River/Canal, Lake Okeechobee and the St Lucie Canal/River. In the Tampa Bay Times this week there was an article that said they where going to restrict the amount of water being released from the lake into the Canals/Rivers. Do not know if that would have any effect on the operation of the Locks? Keep an eye on your Temp, Water Flow, Sea Strainers. May want to think taking the Long Way around.

That green slime usually does not mess with cooling systems. It's the trash that may gather with that slime.
Our sister ship just came thru (east bound) with no problems. Nothing like our passage 3 years ago.

Going through the lake really isn’t that big of a deal!!!!!