A few questions for you experienced Cape Coral residents

[rikoshaprl]

Originally Posted by st468

Yes, I hear you... My boat has a painted/clearcoated aluminum welded hull. My current strategy has been to keep the boat tied at the dock for a week or two at a time maximum (only while down there). Flush the 2006 Mercury outboard after each use. I set up blocks in the yard and lift it out, thoroughly rinse it, and keep it covered on the blocks while not down there.

The boat is coming home to MN in late April/early May (for fishing season opener) and the plan is for it to not be back to Florida again. Hoping that funds allow, by fall we would like to get a decent late model 23-25' walkaround w/cuddy for down there. 200+ hp saltwater series outboard(s). I've seen a few decent deals on early/mid 2000s Cobia WA boats down there with Yamaha outboards. Yamaha makes a great motor, likely much better than Mercury. Though I don't know much about Cobia boats. There are not any up here in MN. They seem to be a good blend of quality and price. Am I right, or are Cobia boats not so good?

Previous owner states that he used to lift a 24' nearly 5000lb boat with the current davits so I think we could swing one of those Cobias. Probably replace the cables and stuff to be on the safe side though.

Just be real careful with draft. The water gets shallow in the winter and the draft, plus whatever your lift requires, may not allow you to use your boat. I have a neighbor who can't put his boat down at low tide. It is only a 22 ft boat but with a deep V.

[st468]

Originally Posted by rikoshaprl

Just be real careful with draft. The water gets shallow in the winter and the draft, plus whatever your lift requires, may not allow you to use your boat. I have a neighbor who can't put his boat down at low tide. It is only a 22 ft boat but with a deep V.

Thanks for the tip. I'm not too worried though, it seems the canal has pretty good depth based on my exploration during early/mid February. We are on the San Carlos canal just a few blocks north of Cape Coral Pkwy. Several of the neighbors have larger/deeper boats than the ones we are considering. Seems like the canal varies between 9 and 12 feet deep in the middle and 4 to 6 feet at our dock with the swing of the tides. We were surprised however to see manatees swimming by the dock. It looks like they swim much further up the canal too. Pretty cool!

[rikoshaprl]

Chart 11426

Chart 11427

Some charts for the areas to see the water depths. Lots of shallow areas.

[st468]

Originally Posted by rikoshaprl

Chart 11426

Chart 11427

Some charts for the areas to see the water depths. Lots of shallow areas.

Excellent charts, thanks a lot for posting! So much easier to read and study than on my sonar/gps/fishfinder/chartplotter screen on my boat...

[Samiamnh]

I second that...thanks for posting.Always good to know where the trouble spots are.

[rikoshaprl]

I would like to find a chart with the depths of the canals. There is one out there, I just can't find it. It seems like it would be fun to go up some of the canals to check out homes. Plus there are a couple of restaurants off canals on Cape Coral.

[fiege1224]

The town is hoping to put on there web site phase 1 se and 2sw canals dredging plans. I think they said it will include dredging times and depths of each canal. That should be interesting. I know when I go sight seeing down the canals with my wife I take my little whaler that draws 12 inches of water to be safe. The depths change so much down these canals its unreal.