Bridge Clearance

[DannyD]

Hi gang, I'm new to the to the site. I'm looking to purchase a C-Dory 25 Cruiser or TomCat. Before I make a decision and start looking in earnest I'm trying to find out the bridge clearances for both boats. Were on the intercoastal in Cape Coral, Florida. The bridges to access the gulf are 9' and 11'.3" Thanks in advance.

Dan D

[journey on]

All I can do is to tell you we went under the Locke cutoff bridge from the Sacramento River. The clearance markers said 8 1/2 ft and we made it with room to spare. High radar arch, with radar on top. Lowered the vhf antenna. Fresh water, the boat will be slightly higher in salt water.

Boris

[ssobol]

[Schuster]

Hi Danny D,
I just went out and measured my CD-25 to give you an idea of what you are looking at. Right now I'm right at 9' with VHF antenna down as far as it will go. It's only about 4-5" higher than the Radar dome which sits on a radar arch that is about 9" high. So there are a lot of variables as to how your equipment is configured.
I'm going to make an assumption that the bridges you mentioned are measured at highest high tide however that may not be the case. So, that having been said, depending on what your tide swings are, I may not have a problem clearing those bridges on something less than a high tide. Here in the NorthWest we can get a 16 foot tide swing. That gets more pronounced the further North you go.
good luck on your boat hunt.
Dave
(SeaWitch)

[colbysmith]

With nothing protruding above the roof on a 25, you'll easily clear 8'. I think you can safely pass under anything higher than 7' on the water. However, if you have antennas, radars, arches, etc, your height may vary.

[Molly Brown]

The Molly Brown is a TC24 with radar. Minimum height for us is 8", antennas down, and remember to lower the anchor light!

James

[flboy77]

we're in sarasota and before we bought our Tomcat I had the same issue. Our bridge is lower than what you've stated and we have zero problems getting under it. I did remove the radar arch and our VHF antenna and anchor light folds down.

I could measure the boat for you but I bet the roof height is probably under 7ft. The roof of our tomcat is lower than the t-top on my brothers bay boat.

The one issue you may have is most of the Tomcat owners have installed rooftop A/C units on them which adds quite a bit of extra height. We installed a marine a/c unit in ours to keep the height as low as possible.

[gulfcoast john]

Welcome, DannyO!

Our TC255 measures 6 ft 9 inches from the average scum line, which can vary over 3 inches depending on loading. (Good guess, flyboy77). Example: Twin 75 gal tanks hold 150 gal of gas, which alone weighs 900 pounds on a 26 foot trailer boat.

Our prior Coleman 13.5 BTU rooftop AC added 13.5 inches, the new 15k BTU adds 15 inches, and our Garmin 24HDX radar adds 11.5 inches on a 16 inch Seaview mount. An anchor light bar on the mount pivots to the side to stay under the federal 13.5 foot trailer height. Many ‘low profile’ AC’s are shorter. A Honda 2000 will run those under 13.5K if that’s important to you.

Other than your 9 foot bridge and Boris’s bridge, the most significant bridge air draft issue that we have encountered is the 8 foot air draft on the Lachine Canal, which cuts through Montreal with five easy locks. The only other way around the non-navigable rapids around Montreal is the massive Seaway Locks for oceangoing ships, which can cost a day or more and hundreds of dollars. I noticed you listed Niagara Falls, ON as your home port. We removed the radar dome and the Lachine Canal was a highlight of our Triangle Loop adventure. We even convinced the AGLCA to add this to the “Air Draft” section of their FAQ’s:

https://greatloop.org/page/FAQs

You can search this site for my arguments re why the TC255 is a near perfect non-overwide trailer boat for a cruising couple vs the CD25 (which is also a fine boat, but when the price differential is prorated over your years of ownership it isn’t that significant). Here’s a well-equipped example with 2018 engines for less than half the cost of a new one, and you won’t have to wait six months for the hull and a trailer to be built.

http://www.c-brats.com/viewtopic.php?t=30671

Credit to Bob Austin in a PM for this find. Yesterday while working on the boat, two different guys stopped by who wanted to see the boat, buy a TC255 and ‘do the Great Loop’. I gave them both that link, so it may already be sold.

Enjoy your search. Hope this is helpful,

John

[gulfcoast john]

Hopefully Colby will go out and actually measure his scum line to top roof height for you if the UV index isn’t 9/10 like it was here today. This time of year sunburn in 20 minutes is his greatest concern.

You should believe him when he says, “Buy a Mercury outboard if you want to go fast. Buy a Yamaha if you want to get home.”

Cheers!

John

[colbysmith]

44 degrees today. Wisconsin has given up on spring... No scum line on my boat. I keep it clean! But if you want exact, 6'9" is what I typed out on the card I keep near the helm. That's assuming I remember to put my antennas and mast light down. And I'll just miss the top of the radome. Colby

[hardee]

[DannyD]

Thanks for the replies and info guys, got a good general idea now.

Dan D