How shallow can you go?

[swatski]

Not a competition (@Evil Sports already won, just check out his avatar), just wondering.

We have had some boating friends for dinner last night, all skiers with ski/wake boats, and the issue of draft came up a lot. So, as we were out today, I kept thinking how much I like my Yammie.

We boat primarily on a small river that is not locked/dammed -- so it can go up and down in a hurry. When the water is low and my marina guys get lazy, the access channel does not get dredged. It looks something like that (see below). Good thing is, the bottom is all mud/silt, very smooth.
(the pic was taken earlier today, there is less that a foot of water there in the channel...):


Over the years, I have learned how to deal with it, but find the new 240 amazingly capable -- if the local jet Jon boaters can get in and out, so can I.

Basically, the trick is to approach the channel at a steady (but significant) speed -- one wants to push enough water into the channel to create almost like a water "cushion" and then just power glide on top of it.

EDIT: I don't actually do this for fun, or very often, but when I do - that's what it looks like.

I don't need to say that, but slowing down of stopping is not ideal when going through. I like the new horn as it is loud and I can blow it before I enter.

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[BigN8]

I don't think so.

 

[Gym]

I see you're churning up mud @swatski. A percentage of whatever comes out the back of your jets is used to cool your motors. You run the risk of plugging up your cooling passages especially where they run through the exhaust manifold. You should keep a close eye on the intake sceens on the side of your pumps to make sure they are not gething jammed up. That will be the first indication of cooling troubles.

 

[Scottintexas]

oh yeah! I bet those other boaters are freaking out when they see you come through,

definitely when you get to the marina keep the engines running to clean your cooling lines out,

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

That is too large of a boat to run in 12 inches of muddy water it will mess up the pump and the cooling system as previously stated.

 

[Speedling]

....yeah but it's cool.
Don't make it a habit to show off in that fashion!

 

[swatski]

All good points!

But of course I don't just park the boat and leave it like that after passing through the mud. Once on the other side, I have plenty of space to blow it.

The things I fear are rocks and gravel. I also never beach the boat.
I know... sounds like an oxymoron, but hey, that's what I do.

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[haknslash]

Looks like you were boating in the Willy Wonka Chocolate River!

 

[swatski]

Looks like you were boating in the Willy Wonka Chocolate River!

The river is actually very nice, but getting in and out of the marina can be a huge PIA, as you can see. (During low water conditions)

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[Noko]

I think someone here posted a video underwater of how far down the pumps suck up stuff. I think it was about a foot. And its just not the stuff you could be sucking up going through your cooling system, its all the crap going through your pumps dulling the impellers. I usually shut my engines off when I beach the boat when the water is about 2 feet deep. I push my boat out after beaching until I'm about waist deep for the same reason, not to get stuff sucked up.

 

[zipper]

I thought we had low water problems up here, thats low. I try to not motor thru anything less than knee deep, not on plane. Can still see muddy wash trailing behind. When we bought our boat thru a private sale, all four cooling water outlets on starboard were plugged with crap. had to disconnect lines and run a long zip tie thru and blow in them to get them clear. If you are comfortable do it. At least you are still boating.

 

[Speedling]

I think someone here posted a video underwater of how far down the pumps suck up stuff. I think it was about a foot. And its just not the stuff you could be sucking up going through your cooling system, its all the crap going through your pumps dulling the impellers. I usually shut my engines off when I beach the boat when the water is about 2 feet deep. I push my boat out after beaching until I'm about waist deep for the same reason, not to get stuff sucked up.

I believe it was @JetBoatPilot and i believe it was about 3 feet.
This is at a standstill however. On plane gets you higher and probably suck more of what is in front of you than what is below you.

 

[McMark]

Can you just pole it through that section?

 

[MrMoose]

@swatski, I bet that if @chris24 sees your post, he'll load up the boat and tow it over just for the challenge. ... at least there are no mangroves to snag the bimini top.

 

[swatski]

@swatski, I bet that if @chris24 sees your post, he'll load up the boat and tow it over just for the challenge. ... at least there are no mangroves to snag the bimini top.

I think he would, LMAO. I don't think I could keep up though.
Man, that mangrove run was something else.

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[Evil Sports]

I just do 30 mph till I stop

 

[swatski]

I think someone here posted a video underwater of how far down the pumps suck up stuff. I think it was about a foot. And its just not the stuff you could be sucking up going through your cooling system, its all the crap going through your pumps dulling the impellers. I usually shut my engines off when I beach the boat when the water is about 2 feet deep. I push my boat out after beaching until I'm about waist deep for the same reason, not to get stuff sucked up.

Those are all very good points of course, and I'm NOT advocating running shallow if you can avoid it. But I do it, reluctantly, when I feel that I need to. And it amazes me what these Yamaha boats can do.

Time will tell, I plan on keeping her for a very long while. I will keep the forum posted, for sure.

I've gone through a lot of mud/silt around here over the years, occasionally hit gravel. Gravel will kill you. Silt and mud just cleans up your pumps.

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[robert843]

During the Exumas trip there was many times we were running at speed in inches if water. I think we even rolled over a few sand bars at 30 mph and kept going. None of this is recommended but can be done. Heck even @Andy S decided to test his boats shallow water limits on that trip lol.

 

[Andy S]

During the Exumas trip there was many times we were running at speed in inches if water. I think we even rolled over a few sand bars at 30 mph and kept going. None of this is recommended but can be done. Heck even @Andy S decided to test his boats shallow water limits on that trip lol.

I did and failed due to I hang a lot lower than the Yamaha's.

 

[MrMoose]

I did and failed due to I hang a lot lower than the Yamaha's.

Couldn't resist...