# Appropriate ‘min draft’/keel for Clear Lake, Galveston TX



## nimailni (Dec 15, 2011)

I am trying to figure out the properties of my future sailboat for Clear Lake and Galveston Bay, and it seems to me that the draft is the most important.

I was looking at the marine map, and noticed a lot of places with water depth of 1’, 2’. It was very disappointing to see those low water levels everywhere. 

My aunt has a beach house at Tiki Island, only 1’ of water! I was hoping I am going to be able to visit her, but I think 1’ of water makes it inaccessible for sailboats. I was swimming in front of her house, and I never saw water as low as 1’, but marine chart says 1’.

Very confusing. Should then the 22-25’ boat with min draft of <2’ be the most appropriate? I know that I would be missing a lot in terms of performance, but the convenience of being able to move around seems more important. Or I might be wrong? 

Is there anybody with any experience of sailing in shoal waters like Clear Lake? Are you regretting getting the boat with the long draft, or not getting one?

Thanks


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## tommays (Sep 9, 2008)

The chart depths are taken at low tide so depending on the tide in the area it can change a lot

For example up here there is over a 6' change 

If you Google "Clear Lake TX water depth" a lot of local info and clubs come up


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## nimailni (Dec 15, 2011)

I googled before posting, but I found a lot of noise; hence my post.


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## ronspiker (Jun 27, 2001)

Clear Lake is shallow, especially in the winter when the wind blows most of the water out. I know people that can't get their boats out of the marina following the channel when the wind is blowing. Look at something with a center board that you can drop. Once you get out to Galveston Bay its not as bad, still some shoals and places to watch for though. Even so I wouldn't expect to do much sailing on Clear Lake, first off too many power boats and jet skis plus as you have seen its shallow. If you want to sail there look at something like a sunfish or hobie cat.


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## nimailni (Dec 15, 2011)

Thanks so much ronspiker!
Does that mean that I should stop looking at Clear Lake altogether?
Some marinas are 2-4 miles inside the lake, so it would take me an hour to get out.

Actually, my plan is to start with Sunfish first, I just wanted to narrow my future boat choices so I wouldn't drool about wrong boats...


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

Galveston Bay is just shallow all over except the ship channel. I raced on a 37' boat this summer that was at the Watergate Marina in Clear Lake. It drew just under 6' - and it would definitely stir up the muck at low tide coming in and out of the marina - but it powered through fine. The skipper of that boat said 6' was the max he'd recommend for the area.

I think you'll be just fine in a Sunfish.


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## Boasun (Feb 10, 2007)

I think you'll be just fine in a Sunfish.[/QUOTE said:


> Or a Hobie Cat.....


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## PBzeer (Nov 11, 2002)

I went in and out from Marina del Sol (about halfway up the lake) to Galveston Bay with 4 1/2' draft. As long as you stay in the marked channels (except when the wind blows all the water out) it's not a problem. I had plenty of areas to sail on once I was out in the Bay.


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## nimailni (Dec 15, 2011)

My goal is to get a sailboat with a cabin. Sunfish will be fine for training purposes, but I would like to buy 22-25' boat by summer. 

I am asking questions now, so I could filter out sailboats for sale.


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## smackdaddy (Aug 13, 2008)

nimailni said:


> My goal is to get a sailboat with a cabin. Sunfish will be fine for training purposes, but I would like to buy 22-25' boat by summer.
> 
> I am asking questions now, so I could filter out sailboats for sale.


The best thing to do is to go look at the boats that are already in the area - or, better yet, buy one of them.


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## JedNeck (Sep 22, 2011)

My Cal21 with swing keel only drafts 9" of water, keel up.
Here on the little lake I live on there is a thin area between the upper and lower lake. About a foot at the end of the summer. Swing keel boat is the only option. 
And I only have about 3-5' of water at the end of my dock depending on season. The swing keel allows me to put the boat anywhere on the dock all year.


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## CorvetteGuy (Jun 4, 2011)

Check McGregor line of boats they have a cabin and can be beached they only draw about 18" to 2 '


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## baileyrace (Jan 27, 2007)

We race J24s with a four foot draft every Wednesday from April through September, all over Clear Lake. As long as you stay off the south shore that is fine. Galveston Bay is plenty deep. I do believe that it does get shallow in West Bay where Tiki Island is located, but that is a 4 or five hour sail from Clear Lake. I believe you could visit your aunt, but you will sail for 3 or 4 hours and then have to motor to stay in the channels under the causeway to Tiki. You would need more knowlege than I have to actually do it.

Here is a chart for Galveston Bay for Clear Lake and south. You can also sail several miles Northward and 25 or so miles east and northeast.
http://xpda.com/nauticalcharts/11326_6 GALVESTON BAY SIDE C.png


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## nimailni (Dec 15, 2011)

Thanks for advice baileyrace, and the map is very nice.
I am still not sure about the draft though. I noticed that J24 has a draft of 4', so I guess you are limited to where you could go.

It is possible that the draft is not that important, that people just motor out of shallow areas and than just cruise. I am not sure if that is the case


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## baileyrace (Jan 27, 2007)

No, you do not motor through mud to get out of shallow areas. We rarely even put the outboard on unless the wind dies or if there is so much traffic in the channel that we feel it is rude to go tacking back and forth. It confuses the power boaters. 

On Galveston Bay, most people sail out of Kemah, or several marinas around Clear Lake. There is a deep channel between Clear Lake and Galveston Bay. All the marinas have deep channels servicing them also. (It is true that some of theses marinas get too shallow to leave when there is a strong north wind. There are probably only 3-5 days/year this happens. I sail out of Seabrook Shipyard and it has never happened to us.)

Galveston Bay is around 600 square miles of water, most of which is 9 to 13 feet deep or so. It is really divided into 4 bays----Galveston Bay, Trinity Bay, East Bay, and West Bay. 90% of all sailing is in Galveston bay which is about 12 miles long and 6 miles wide. Trinity Bay is much larger and just as deep, but you need to cross the Houston ship channel in one of three channels if your draft is over 5 feet or so or if the north wind has pushed the water out of the bay. Only the ship channel and spoil banks separate Galveston from Trinity Bay.

Clear Lake is deep enough that 60-80 sailboats race in the lake every Wednesday evening when we have enough day light.

Tiki Island is in West Bay. West bay is very shallow, so you would have to stay in narrow, marked channels to get there. You would need to motor these channels. It is around 30 miles from Clear Lake to Tiki Island, so you would rarely visit your aunt by boat. I do see a few sailboats behind houses on Tiki, but I am not sure where they do their sailing.


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## nimailni (Dec 15, 2011)

I went to check the area. 

I was kayaking around since I don’t have a sailboat yet and I noticed that Clear Lake is very crowded with narrow channels which sailboats use. 
Only small sailboats (~15’) stay in Clear Lake, and all other boats seem to head out and sail in the bay. 

So I guess the answer to my original question (which draft is the most appropriate for Clear Lake) would be that any size draft would do, since the sailing would be mostly in a deeper bay, and not in the shallower Clear Lake anyway.


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