Making the trip across Florida using the Okeechobee Waterway

[04cobra23]

Making the journey Saturday early morning across Florida. Any tips, suggestions, etc please pass them on

 

[Reelsly]

No personal experience but, I've always heard it can get really shallow and the locks breakdown quite a bit. Good luck and have fun. It's a trip I've always wanted to do.

 

[FootballFan]

Check the lake level - if it is full - you have no problems with depth. First time I loved it. Second time was interesting. Now - I know it is an inside option, but not in a hurry to do it again.

With your boat - there are a few bridges you deal with - but not too many.

Are you going east to west? or west to east?

The shallowest water I think is on the east side, near where the waterway crosses the ICW. That spot is bad. In a 340DA - you will be ok.

Enjoy it - fun trip if its the first time.

Everybody in south fl should do it once at least....

Get some gloves (disposable latex). East side its all good, after you get in the lock they lower a line to you, its dry. On the west side the lines are hanging in the slime - you will want gloves.

Mark

 

[k9medic]

We crossed over and back in late July/ early August. The trip was uneventful overall. No issues with the locks and the folks running the locks made it easy for us first timers. They had new ropes hanging and kept them out of the water until we got there. My 10 year old son and I managed the boat while my wife and youngest son watched. We also stopped for fuel at Calusa Jacks and at American Yachts which both had the best fuel prices. We overnighted at the LaBelle city docks. Free dockage and free electricity and water!

The biggest issue we had was coming into the St. Lucie lock. A storm had picked up as we crossed the lake and we had good 2-3' waves on stern. I called the lock and told them I was having a hard time maintaining steerage coming into the lock. He opened both sides and told me to proceed through at what ever speed I needed finishing with "you can't hurt this concrete, but it can hurt you." I came through at 8 kts. which was quite interesting.

 

[04cobra23]

East to West. Great idea about the gloves. Should I be worried with the depth?

Check the lake level - if it is full - you have no problems with depth. First time I loved it. Second time was interesting. Now - I know it is an inside option, but not in a hurry to do it again.

With your boat - there are a few bridges you deal with - but not too many.

Are you going east to west? or west to east?

The shallowest water I think is on the east side, near where the waterway crosses the ICW. That spot is bad. In a 340DA - you will be ok.

Enjoy it - fun trip if its the first time.

Everybody in south fl should do it once at least....

Get some gloves (disposable latex). East side its all good, after you get in the lock they lower a line to you, its dry. On the west side the lines are hanging in the slime - you will want gloves.

Mark

 

[04cobra23]

Today's Lake Okeechobee Stage = 14.49 (Feet-NGVD29)
Today's Route 1 Navigational Depth ≈ 8.43 Feet Today's Route 2 Navigational Depth ≈ 6.63 Feet Bridge Clearance = 49.46 Feet S-308 Tailwater Elevation = 14.04 (Feet-NGVD29)

Lake Okeechobee and Navigation Report

 

[Boater420]

Made the trip last December. Water level was fine. Followed the lower rim of Lake Okeechobee instead of going across the lake. Nice scenic trip. Lots to see along the way. Get a go pro and mount it to your windshield to record the journey.

The only thing I can add to the list is to make sure you know the height of your boat. Asking to have a bridge raised for no reason carries a heavy fine. Some of the bridges look low but in reality you can fit under them with a few inches to spare by lowering an antennae or tilting an anchor light mast.

The bridge tenders get nasty when you disturb their dinner for no reason : )

 

[fwebster]

As we get towards the end of the year, expect to have to deal with some slow traffic as northerners move south for the winter. Get comfortable with passing etiquette and using the VHF. Know what "one whistle side" and "2 whistle side" mean. Expect the unexpected when dealing with sail boats and boats with anything but FL #'s on the bow. Know the passing rules of the road because many of the sail boats you encounter will have radio antennae all over them but they don't turn the radios on in order to save electricity.

 

[04cobra23]

I know majority of the bridges here in South Fl have 4' more dead center clearance from what the sign is reading upon entry. I am assuming it all depends on the bridge so radioing center clearance would be ok? My boat with anchor light needs roughly 11.5 with a couple inches room.

 

[FootballFan]

You can download a PDFs that has bridge height. There are a couple of swing bridges you will have to have open, but the rest should be fine.

If you hit the west side going down the river after lunch on a Saturday expect a lot of traffic. Don't count on being on plane much after the last lock. Scenic - but can be a slow segment.

Are you crossing in one day?

 

[04cobra23]

You can download a PDFs that has bridge height. There are a couple of swing bridges you will have to have open, but the rest should be fine.

If you hit the west side going down the river after lunch on a Saturday expect a lot of traffic. Don't count on being on plane much after the last lock. Scenic - but can be a slow segment.

Are you crossing in one day?

I would like to. I plan on leaving my dock in Delray around 7am. After the Franklin lock?

 

[FootballFan]

I have crossed in a day, but it was a long day. I can look up some times for you, but I think you would want to be at the first lock by 7 or so.

 

[FootballFan]

Got back to my computer and looked up a trip.

Was staying at Sunset Marina at Stuart. That is 30 minutes inside after crossing the ICW, just past the bridge that opens in Stuart.

Left the Marina before the sun was up around 6:45 AM. Pulled into City Marina in Fort Meyers at 5:00PM. Was a pretty long day.

Was NOT in fuel conservation mode. Ran on plane as much as I could. The lock right on the east side of the lake was open on both ends, didn't have to wait on it.

If your running all day - pay attention to the lock closing times in the afternoon. I think they moved the closing times to earlier - maybe 5 or so.

Google has all the times, schedules, bridge info, etc.

We have stopped at Roland Martins and spent the night there. After the lake crossing - right when you go back into the channel there is Clewiston. Not sure what its like right now - but bug spray may be a good thing.

Hope that helps,

Mark

 

[04cobra23]

Thank you. I'm trying to leave my dock by 615am and run the outside to st Lucie inlet. Supposed to be 2-3's hopefully closer to the 2's. My dad is making the trip with me and has done it once before. I've printed some info on the locks, bridges, phone numbers, etc.

 

[k9medic]

Thank you. I'm trying to leave my dock by 615am and run the outside to st Lucie inlet. Supposed to be 2-3's hopefully closer to the 2's. My dad is making the trip with me and has done it once before. I've printed some info on the locks, bridges, phone numbers, etc.

When I crossed from East to west we ran from the inlet to Cape Haze in one very long day. It took me a good solid 45 minutes to run from the inlet to the St. Lucie lock. This was at a mix between 17kts down to 7kts and idle speed.

We ran into a lot of "scullers" on the stretch between Veterans Bridge and American Custom Yacht. These guys row at around 6-7kts and refuse to get out of the way.

 

[04cobra23]

Hello all! Good news is the boat is safe at the slip. Bad news is the boat ran like crap and it took hours longer to reach the destination. She ran good up until after crossing the lake. Just felt weird and starboard has some hesitation. We rested that night and left early, ran good. Reached the gulf and the starboard motor was smoking a lot more than usual and didn't want to run above 3100rpm.A couple times the motor dropped rpms by itself while cruising. I am hoping a bad plug. I also heard a weird kind of grinding metal against metal noise on and off when running around 3k. When I would hear it I would slow down it would go away and then she would run ok. I am disappointed to say the least but we arrived. Slowly and burned a lot of fuel..... Any suggestion on mechanics in Sarasota?!

 

[cstinehour]

Hello all! Good news is the boat is safe at the slip. Bad news is the boat ran like crap and it took hours longer to reach the destination. She ran good up until after crossing the lake. Just felt weird and starboard has some hesitation. We rested that night and left early, ran good. Reached the gulf and the starboard motor was smoking a lot more than usual and didn't want to run above 3100rpm.A couple times the motor dropped rpms by itself while cruising. I am hoping a bad plug. I also heard a weird kind of grinding metal against metal noise on and off when running around 3k. When I would hear it I would slow down it would go away and then she would run ok. I am disappointed to say the least but we arrived. Slowly and burned a lot of fuel..... Any suggestion on mechanics in Sarasota?!

Did you ever figure out what your issue was?