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What's your definition of shallow water?


jeepurz

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I'm a long time TMC viewer/participant but an admitted poser in that I don't have an inboard yet much less a Malibu. I'm working on my wife to replace our deckboat with a 'bu but I'm curious about water depth based on the local lake we frequent. There are several gravel bars that we navigate around when cruising the lake, even with our outboard. But there is a communal sand/gravel bar that many boaters frequent as a gathering spot that averages 1.8-3.0 ft deep according to my current depth finder. It's easy with an OB, but what is your definition of shallow with an inboard? I'm not talking about powering through at speed, put idling over and anchoring for frisbee, games, floating, etc....

Thoughts?

2 ft of water on your depth gauge is deep enough (barely) to idle in and out of gear. But, make sure you know the bottom - you will kick up material, so even if it is sandy and there are a few rocks, you can kick up a rock and ding, nibral prop has a little dent in one of the blades. Plus, stirring up crap (sand, organics) will get sucked into your cooling system, so you want to minimize how much you are doing that before you get back into open water. With that said, I idle into shore/sandbars all of the time in those conditions, but also make sure I know the bottom and jump out, sometimes way above my waist if it is a new area(worth the $500 prop) to walk the boat into the proper depth for box anchor/sand spike action. When I leave, I make sure I am in a good 5-6' deep as accelerating will sink the arse end of the boat a bit lower. So, with that said, get your better half out in a test drive, even in a used 'Bu, doesn't have to be new, let her pilot the boat and that will be the end of it. The next conversation will be "how much can we get for the pontoon?" (I am using a little creative license here - is a deckboat the same as a pontoon? I don't know the nuances of BBQ boating!! :) )

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That's nothing. I hunt ducks in tidal areas, lets just say some of the blinds get sketchy at low tide. I have put on a show more than once when the hunting was too good to leave. The prop and skeg on my outboard that used to be black is now a perfectly polished silver!

Edited by Pnwrider
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ahopkins22LSV
That's nothing. I hunt ducks in tidal areas, lets just say some of the blinds get sketchy at low tide. I have out on a show more than once when the hunting was too good to leave. The prop and skeg on my outboard that used to be black is now a perfectly polished silver!

Agreed, for an outboard. A little different in a 46'.

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That's nothing. I hunt ducks in tidal areas, lets just say some of the blinds get sketchy at low tide. I have put on a show more than once when the hunting was too good to leave. The prop and skeg on my outboard that used to be black is now a perfectly polished silver!

Not to derail the topic but what kind of ducks do y'all usually get (Mallards, pintail, divers)?

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Heck, I barefoot in anything over 4 feet deep if I am familiar with the area. The boat needs 2 feet. The downward thrust of an inboard will kick up the muck long before the prop ever touches.

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Heck, I barefoot in anything over 4 feet deep if I am familiar with the area. The boat needs 2 feet. The downward thrust of an inboard will kick up the muck long before the prop ever touches.

Assuming the bottom is only muck. What if it's rock or even sand? My wife folded one of our props over when she hit the sand while the boat was in gear. :Doh:

If I'm towing or surfing, anything less than 30' I don't like but the lake I ride 90% of the time is 40'-130' deep.

Wow, I wish more people felt this way. Our entire lake, all 700 acres of it, is only 27' deep.

It's nice because it freezes faster & warms up faster. Last year we saw 60 degree water in May while other lakes in the area didn't see those temps till July.

Edited by Bill_AirJunky
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My home lake is only about 8 or 9' deep from the depth finder. The other lake that is close to home is only 3 or 4' deep. They are both soft bottom lakes with nothing to hit except for the odd deadhead.

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ahopkins22LSV

If I'm towing or surfing, anything less than 30' I don't like but the lake I ride 90% of the time is 40'-130' deep.

Assuming the bottom is only muck. What if it's rock or even sand?

Wow, I wish more people felt this way. Our entire lake, all 700 acres of it, is only 27' deep.

It's nice because it freezes faster & warms up faster. Last year we saw 60 degree water in May while other lakes in the area didn't see those temps till July.

I'd like that too!! Max depth on our lake is only 32' and it is very nice for the reasons you mention.

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I'm not going to ski in anything under 4' or so. Idling around two feet or so is okay.

Funny off topic story. For years I ski'd behind a flat bottom jet boat. I'm driving my buddy one time, look back at about 35 mph and notice we are dredging a lot of mud. My buddy crashes, and I turn around and see he is in ankle deep water. hahahhaahha, still laughing about that years later.

Steve B.

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I start to get concerned when I see anything under 20' of the depth finder. Granted, it's all dependent on the body of water you are on. The two main lakes I frequent are relatively new, and there are still standing submerged trees in the coves that haven't rotted off, and huuuuuge sandstone boulders near shoreline. Then there is Lake Powell. The submerged rock formations are insane, and you will never know exactly what you will come across. Last year I was cruising down the main channel in 300' of water and then all of a sudden, I was in 8' of water for about 80 yards, then back to 300'. No hazard buoys or anything.

One thing to consider when you are in shallow water is to remember that depth finder is usually located closer to the stern of the boat than it is to the bow. If you are coming into a shallow area moving forward, the depth finder takes readings directly under the transducer. Depending on the slope and terrain of the lake bed, you could be seeing a reading of 3' near the back of the boat, when there is only 6" of water at the bow.

Edited by TheHardWay
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Idle or real slow around 4ft. 5-10 I'm still nervous and really cautious. Haven't hit anything yet, and being new to texas lakes this year I'm going to be REAL nervous around all the stumps.

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Some of you will remember this video. My brother at Shasta about 5 or 6 yrs ago. Water is like 100' deep.... but there was a 98' tall tree there too. Middle of the lake in the Pit arm. My wife & I went back over by Jetski & the tree top was like 2' under water, probably 20' or 30' around. Apparently the Corp never logged that part of the lake before they flooded it. :Doh:

Edited by Bill_AirJunky
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Some of you will remember this video. My brother at Shasta about 5 or 6 yrs ago. Water is like 100' deep.... but there was a 98' tall tree there too. Middle of the lake in the Pit arm. My wife & I went back over by Jetski & the tree top was like 2' under water, probably 20' or 30' around. Apparently the Corp never logged that part of the lake before they flooded it. :Doh:

I forgot about that video! I hate those trees on the Pit arm. I hit good size fish last spring and went down about the same. Those unexpected smack downs hurt worse then anything.

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I forgot about that video! I hate those trees on the Pit arm. I hit good size fish last spring and went down about the same. Those unexpected smack downs hurt worse then anything.

Amen.

We had another incident on the Columbia River right where the Snake dumps into it near TriCities, WA. I'm driving the boat, Curley is riding. I see a red nav marker & start looking for the green one, but am having a tough time finding it. The closer to the red marker we get, the more I'm wondering WTH to do here. I ask my buddy Kevin, "red right returning, does that mean I'm supposed to stay on the right side of red or keep it on my right?"

Kevin is like, WHAT?????

So I try again, "there is a red nav marker coming up, I know I'm supposed to do something here but can't remember what".

About that time, Curley goes down in a flash. This is a 300 lb guy.... he doesn't do ANYTHING in a flash. But he comes right back up & waves, so we come back around to him, thinking he's OK. But as we approach him in the boat..... HE STANDS UP! He's in like 3' of water! I chop the throttle & look over the side, and sure enough, we're about 3' over a rock bar.... in the middle of the river! Luckily the boat never hit. Curley's foil needed a little tuning. And Curley needed a couple of 222s & a bottle of Jack to get himself tuned back up too.

  • Like 2
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Amen.

We had another incident on the Columbia River right where the Snake dumps into it near TriCities, WA. I'm driving the boat, Curley is riding. I see a red nav marker & start looking for the green one, but am having a tough time finding it. The closer to the red marker we get, the more I'm wondering WTH to do here. I ask my buddy Kevin, "red right returning, does that mean I'm supposed to stay on the right side of red or keep it on my right?"

Kevin is like, WHAT?????

So I try again, "there is a red nav marker coming up, I know I'm supposed to do something here but can't remember what".

About that time, Curley goes down in a flash. This is a 300 lb guy.... he doesn't do ANYTHING in a flash. But he comes right back up & waves, so we come back around to him, thinking he's OK. But as we approach him in the boat..... HE STANDS UP! He's in like 3' of water! I chop the throttle & look over the side, and sure enough, we're about 3' over a rock bar.... in the middle of the river! Luckily the boat never hit. Curley's foil needed a little tuning. And Curley needed a couple of 222s & a bottle of Jack to get himself tuned back up too.

Did you ever come to a consensus? :lol:

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