Cruising the Rim Canal of Lake Okeechobee

[Boatdreamer]

I was cruising the rim canal of Lake Okeechobee today on my way home from having a great time at the Ranger Tug rendezvous in southwest Florida and it didn’t end so well. As you approach Port Mayaca locks I hit something very hard in the channel between red markers 6 and 4B in 5 feet of water. I had Gratitude hauled out at Indiantown Marina to see how bad the damage was. She wasn’t taking on water but any RPM above 2350 I was getting a vibration that wasn’t there before. Good to report the bottom paint had some scratches on the port side and the prop was dinged up pretty good. It was a hard hit and she came through with minor damage. I’m going to take this opportunity to give the bottom a good coat of Petit Vivid and have the prop cleaned up and balanced. Ranger Tugs builds a super solid boat, thank you!

Tim and Donna
Gratitude

 

[Favunclerich]

Tim,

Sorry to hear of your problem, but glad to hear that the boat is OK. Hopefully the Army Corps of Engineers will locate and remove the hazard quickly.

I did the Rim Route on the way to the Rendezvous, except that I took a short-cut and went directly from Marker 3 just outside the lock to Marker 60 near Pahokee. There is a charted shipwreck on that route that is easy to avoid with a slight deviation, but otherwise plenty of water. This short-cut avoids the problem area that you encountered.

The Rim Route is much more interesting than the Route across the middle of the lake. Based on Gratitude's experience, I would suggest that others take a similar shortcut.

Rich aboard Roam

 

[Boatdreamer]

Thank you Rich. I thought about the shortcut but decided to stay in the rim because the lake was getting really choppy with the southeast wind but it was the wrong choice! Luckily it’s just minor scratches in the bottom paint and no damage to the hull. The propeller took a hit but it’s already at the shop and the cost will be less than $200 not too bad to get it refurbished. We’ve been cruising South Florida for six years so I feel lucky it hasn’t happened before with all the skinny water around our area. I’ll be at Indiantown marina painting the bottom on Monday, then back in the water Tuesday morning to finish the trip to our marina in Palm City. I had a great time seeing everyone again even with my minor detour. Next year we will be trailing her across the state, I’m done with Lake Okeechobee for awhile!

Tim and Donna
Gratitude