mast height

[Ken Juul]

Trying to decide if I can get into the Yacht Club in Key West.  They have some electrical wires across the channel that have an advertised clearance of 50'.  Standard rig, have a vhf whip antenna mounted on top.  Has anybody ever really measured it?  Can I sneak under?  Have about a 1.5' tide I can use if necessary.  The place in question is Garrison Bight Channel for those that have gone before.  Dockmaster say...s boats with 50' masts have no problem....but the YC cannot be held responsible.... you know the legal drill.

[lazybone]

Trying to decide if I can get into the Yacht Club in Key West.  They have some electrical wires across the channel that have an advertised clearance of 50'.  Standard rig, have a vhf whip antenna mounted on top.  Has anybody ever really measured it?  Can I sneak under?  Have about a 1.5' tide I can use if necessary.  The place in question is Garrison Bight Channel for those that have gone before.  Dockmaster say...s boats with 50' masts have no problem....but the YC cannot be held responsible.... you know the legal drill.

So what happens to you and the boat if you give it a go and your wrong?

[Clay Greene]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CInYj5P4evA

[Clay Greene]

Not: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AZ21k4mfSQ

[Dave Spencer]

Ken,
I too have a standard rig and recently measured the exact length of my keel stepped mast.  My extrusion is 49 ft 7 inches long.  (which is what is marked on the inside of my mast as shown in the attached picture) Plus a couple of inches for the halyard sheave casting plus say 24" for the VHF antenna.  I don't know how far the keel step is below the waterline but either way, you will end up perilously close to 50ft or more above the waterline.  As you said, you will have a tide margin and any margin built into the clearance from chart datum but I think Lazybone summed up the risk well.

Good luck with your trip.  I'm following your blog and I note with envy that you are in 80F weather now.  We had the coldest night of the year in Southern Ontario last night with our home in one of the warmest parts of the province hitting -20C (-4F).  We have beautiful brilliant sunshine on the snow now but our friends in the Maritimes and NE United States are getting hammered with cold and snow today.

[BOB FLEEGE]

Ken,  To shed a little light on mast heights.  I am the official mast measurer it seems here in the Pensacola area.  I have measured many Cat 34's here.  My standard rig measures 48.1 to the water.  My boat is heavy...weighed in at 22000 lbs on the travel lift...I cruise Key West, Bahamas and Mexico....1992 Cat 34 1202.  Every Cat 34 I have measured is different some more or less depending how loaded but none that can't make a 50 ft bridge...but I would measure first. etc.  I take my measurement with a tape measure to the masthead on a halyard to the edge of the deck and then down to the water.  I easily pass under all the 50 ft bridges in this area no problem at 0 or plus 1 or so on the bridge boards....only rarely touching my VHF antenna. Call me for more info if you need it 850-291-8528.  When I stay in Key West I stay at A & B Marina ....usually for a month in the winter...rate is $2000 for the month but with the access to food, Duval St, and shopping, The Green Parrot (nightly music) and daily walks it's the best I think.  Haven't done Stock Island because it is too far from the action. 
Another good source of info here on mast heights for Mrk II's John Sheehan at 850-525-5059.  Enjoy Key West.  Bob Fleege

[Ron Hill]

Ken : I (standard rig) made it under the 50' clearance bridge just north of Miami on the ICW, but used low tide.
With a wire clearance you usually try to get close to the poles rather than go in the center to avoid wire sag.
Good luck as I usually figure 51 ft clearance.   

[patrice]

Hi Ken,

Don't know if you went or not, but personally I would NOT try it.
If clearance is not enough, I would be afraid of electrical arc between lines and mast.  It happened to peoples.

If it was a bridge, ok, if antenna hit, no big problem.

[Ken Juul]

been doing a bit more research.  The lines in question have a large catenary.  50' at the center of the channel, at least 60 on the edges of the channel.

[Kevin Henderson]

Ken,

I've been "Google Earthing" around the KWYC a bit.   

There appears to be an approx. 45 foot sailboat in one of the outer slips.  From Google street view it also looks to have a mast height taller than our 34's.  Looking around at the entire basin near the Yacht club shows a couple of other sailboats close to our size.  However, it also appears that the entire area is predominetly Power Boats. 

If you want to be absolutely certain..  you can always anchor and loiter just outside.  Then watch for a sailboat with a mast height equal to or taller and see what happens.  Better to learn from someone elses mistake.  Especially with what appears to be High Voltage Power lines.   

https://maps.google.com/maps?oe=UTF-8&q=2315+North+Roosevelt+Blvd.+Key+West,+FL+33040&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x88d1b6b54e756a2d:0xd8f4fdbf5c871d04,2315+N+Roosevelt+Blvd,+Key+West,+FL+33040&gl=us&ei=PVvMUuyxD8zZoASMwIGwBg&ved=0CCsQ8gEwAA

[tonywright]

Ken, everything I have read on this subject indicates that you should have at least 10ft clearance between the highest point of your mast and the lowest point of a power line.  If it were me, I wouldn't risk it! A buddy had a close escape after touching a power line with his dinghy mast. The results scared him enough to be very wary in future.

Tony

[waterdog]

The sag in the line will change based upon the load.  The more the load, the warmer the conductor gets, the more it sags.   So clearance is not necessarily a constant.   

If you don't know the voltage,  ten feet of clearance is a really good idea.   High voltage is happy to do leaping lightning bolts to anything close enough...   

[lazybone]

A power boater in our old PA marina who was hauled out and only a few yards away, dropped one off his fishing outriggers on a 400+ ac overhead line.
It killed him and blew one of his eye balls clear out of his head.