You may want to read this prior to your departure up north. It may already
be something you are aware of, but I am posting it just in case you have not
read about the shoaling and low water situation:
=========================================
http://www.theboatingnews.com/0404ICW.html

Over the past six months or so, the Waterway has been shoaling, as it often
does, along its passage behind Lockwood's Folly Inlet, and across the mouth
of Lockwood's Folly River in southeastern North Carolina. Depths in the
Waterway channel at MLW have dropped to a mere 3 feet. This portion of the
ICW has now been CLOSED to commercial Waterway traffic except at high water,
and, even then, apparently the tow captains have to get special permission
to proceed.
With the new and seemingly total lack of funding for dredging the Atlantic
ICW, the Army Corps of Engineers is scrambling to try and find the necessary
moneys in some other part of their budget to dredge this channel. There is
NO guarantee that they will succeed.

Can you imagine the chaos this situation will cause this spring, if not
remedied by dredging, as the annual snowbird migration begins moving
north???!!!!

================================================== ======

"JimH" wrote in message
...
You may want to read this prior to your departure. It may already be
something you are aware of, but I am posting it just in case you have not
read about the shoaling and low water situation:
=========================================
http://www.theboatingnews.com/0404ICW.html

Over the past six months or so, the Waterway has been shoaling, as it
often does, along its passage behind Lockwood's Folly Inlet, and across
the mouth of Lockwood's Folly River in southeastern North Carolina. Depths
in the Waterway channel at MLW have dropped to a mere 3 feet. This portion
of the ICW has now been CLOSED to commercial Waterway traffic except at
high water, and, even then, apparently the tow captains have to get
special permission to proceed.
With the new and seemingly total lack of funding for dredging the Atlantic
ICW, the Army Corps of Engineers is scrambling to try and find the
necessary moneys in some other part of their budget to dredge this
channel. There is NO guarantee that they will succeed.

Can you imagine the chaos this situation will cause this spring, if not
remedied by dredging, as the annual snowbird migration begins moving
north???!!!!

================================================== ======

"JimH" wrote in message
...
You may want to read this prior to your departure up north. It may
already
be something you are aware of, but I am posting it just in case you have
not
read about the shoaling and low water situation:
=========================================
http://www.theboatingnews.com/0404ICW.html



Thanks for the tip, but I did not bring the boat down this year. Hopefully
next year if things work out.

What is needed is a few passes with a big old honkin' work tug to clear the
channel in the low spots.

Eisboch

"Eisboch" wrote in message
...

"JimH" wrote in message
...
You may want to read this prior to your departure up north. It may
already
be something you are aware of, but I am posting it just in case you have
not
read about the shoaling and low water situation:
=========================================
http://www.theboatingnews.com/0404ICW.html



Thanks for the tip, but I did not bring the boat down this year. Hopefully
next year if things work out.

What is needed is a few passes with a big old honkin' work tug to clear
the
channel in the low spots.

Eisboch



Have you traveled it before and was it as bad?

"JimH" wrote in message
...


Thanks for the tip, but I did not bring the boat down this year.
Hopefully
next year if things work out.

What is needed is a few passes with a big old honkin' work tug to clear
the
channel in the low spots.

Eisboch



Have you traveled it before and was it as bad?



I have, but apparently sections of the ICW have become even more shallow
since, due to lack of funding for dredging. I remember one section in South
Carolina that we ran aground in less than 3 feet of water right in the
middle of the channel. There was a small inlet from the ocean into the ICW
nearby and the channel had shoaled up. Fortunately, it was soft and I was
able to walk the boat off using the thrusters. There were a couple of other
places that I know we hit bottom, but again, it was soft and we were going
fast enough to plow our way through. Next trip will be mostly off-shore,
other than the Cape Hatteras area.

Eisboch