Okeechobee USAC vs actual depth

[meridian]

Has anyone checked actual depth vs the USAC stated depth? I’d like to cross soon but I’m within 6” of posted depth on route-1

 

[Larry M]

For what it’s worth, we did the rim route two years ago with 7’ reported by the USAC. We bumped several times with the same draft you have.

 

[O C Diver]

Went across the Lake in April. Advertised depth was less than 6'. I saw more than 7' the whole way. Imo, they probably have more than a foot of buffer between actual and advertised. The area of concern appears to be coming off the West side of the Lake til you get to Clewiston. The canal from Clewiston to Moore Haven has one or twe corners where you need to be in the middle of the canal or on the outside third of the curve. There is plenty of water, just not on the inside of the curve.

YMMV

Ted

 

[HenryD]

This past weekend, a Looper boat from Destin, FL, came into a Jacksonville, FL marina. He had two bent props he was unloading to get repaired. He had crossed Lake O in the last week in a Mainship 430 with a 4.5' draft. He hit bottom at the dog leg turn out in the lake. He thought he may have drifted wide of the deepest water.

 

[BandB]

I would never cross if the stated depth was less than 1' more than my draft. 6" is not enough for me.

OC Diver points out that he crossed and got consistently more. It's possible if you stay absolutely in the deepest possible depths. However, you can do that 99% of the trip and then just hit once and have severe damage. The stated depths are based on the channel but not on you hitting only the deepest parts of the channel. Even with those depths, there is still shoaling that hits the edges of the channel and causes less depth.

I remember one of our first trips through. We were showing 8' where they claimed 6'6". We used the sonar and saw how we would have had a foot less if we'd only been a few feet over. All the channel isn't created equal.

 

[FootballFan]

The area on the west side of the lake where the channel makes turns is problematic if you vary outside of the channel. I have never had a problem but have been told do not let the boat "wander" in this stretch and heard of groundings.


This can be challenging if you leave Clewiston in the early morning continuing east. You have the sun over the lake directly in front of you. It's worth having someone helping watch the markers and location.


The other area (if you have a deeper draft) is in the St. Lucie river just east of the bridge before you get to Sunset Marina. In our previous boat we would run the lake in 1 day. With our current boat (deeper draft), we time our crossing to go through this area at high tide. Almost always a 2 day trip now due to timing.