This might seem like a stupid question, but how easy is it to get stuck? Do you guys watch a depth finder and always keep an extra foot or two under the boat? Will the propeller chop through some sand? Let’s say I’m cruising at 10-12 knots and run aground. Can you usually back out of a sand bar? Related question, do you guys have much fear of hitting a floating log?
First, any boater that states he has not run aground is a poor fibber or not a real boater. With that stated, your answers; It is easy to slide up on a bar. Sometimes you can push off and sometimes you get stuck. This why in unfamiliar waters, we don't go bopping around at 10-12 kts. If you must operate out of deep & marked channels remember that dead slow is to fast. The faster you go on a bar, the worse it may get including running gear damage. One of my favorite weekend anchor spots involved crossing a wondering sand bar. Just off the ICW. Every week some part of this bar moved and was a new challenge every visit. We also drug our lil 17 outboard. Josie would hold Bertie somewhere and I'd go to the bar and find a line to cross or snake around. Entertainment was watching others race in, see us and keep on coming at speed. Klingons.. That log. Remember the dream of a golden B B targeted for your forehead. Hopefully you watch the road for for stuff not to run over, same on the water. But sometimes ship happens, you will find that B B in the river. Speed is included again in this scenario also. Remember it's Aqua Space out there. The last frontier. And to make it worse, there are people out there that should already be locked up or confined to a padded room, Romulans Get an unlimited towing assist package from Boat-US or SeaTow. Extra training and courses can help also.
My experience says it is fairly easy to run aground in the ICW, even within the channel. Growing shoals and all of that. With that being said there are a number of ways to greatly reduce the issue. First thing is to use apps like Aquamap and look over your next days run and locate all the trouble spots by looking at the nav hazard icons. Before the internet and chart plotters I would read cruising guides and locate and label the trouble spots on my paper charts and have a little note as to favor the green side or what have you. I used the yellow office sticky notes so as to not mark up my chart. 90% of the trouble spots are well known and persistent. I draw 5’ so I set my depth alarm to 7’. When my alarm goes off I come to alert and assess the situation and more than likely immediately slow down to idle if I am having trouble assessing the situation. Going slow greatly reduces the chances of damaging the running gear (provided sandy bottom) and greatly reduces the chances of needing a tow. I did need a tow when I slowly ran aground in lemon bay south of Venice. I new I was in trouble and chose a path and the wind promptly blew my further onto the shoal requiring a tow ($1000.00)(no damage). So that taught me when in doubt if possible choose the side that is upwind and maybe the wind will blow you out of trouble into deeper water. Overall the risk of running aground is very manageable with some preparation and GO SLOW if you think you are in trouble.
Fear of logs depends a lot on where you are. In my area, I will NOT run in the dark. Too many logs and just not worth it to me. On the other hand, I don’t know how you guys in FL deal with such shallow water. Heck I avoid the blue spots on my plotter which are 50’ deep. I’m almost never running in less than 100’ other than my Marina or anchoring for the night. Having 1’-2’ water under my keel would stress me out.
I run at night quite a bit but almost never on plane as hitting a loose piling or container will hopefully be less damaging… Usually whenever I have less than 3’ under the wheels I will slow down to near idle. Most boats squat at hull speed and the cushion of water between the hull and the bottom slows you down anyway. For instance on the 110 with 5 1/2 draft here in biscayne bay in areas with 9’ depths speed will drop from 10/11 kts to 8 1/2… in the Bahamas when leaving Bimini / Cat Cay across there is a shallow area a few miles long with only 6 1/2 depth at low tide. I always run that fully on plane knowing there is nothing to hit otherwise I’d be stuck at idle. we really just used to it down here
