38-200 Bridge clearance

[Drakkar]

Can a 38-200 go under a 54 feet bridge? (Last bridge on the Florida ICW)

 

[Loren Beach]

It will help to tell us what transducers are mounted on top of the spar. Usually there's a Windex ($), a VHF antenna ($$) and a wind instrument sensor ($$$$). Allow another 3' or so for those, after measuring from the top of the mast to the waterline.
My intuition is that the "air draft" on that model might be around 62+ feet, but an owner will likely check in with real info.
(By comparison, my Tall Rig Olson 34 only needs about 55' of clearance.)

 

[Drakkar]

It only have the wind transducer and 2 ft antenna. I just bought it, all the bridges are 65 feet except one in Miami.

 

[bgary]

The "I" dimension (height of the jib) on a 38-200 is 50 feet.
Add a foot for the distance between the top of the jib and the top of the mast.
Add the height of the bow above the water (I'm going to guess~5 feet)
....and you're at ~56 feet from water to top of mast. NOT counting anything that extends above the mast

So... I'm going to go with "no", I don't think you're going to make it under a 54-foot bridge.

Easy enough to come up with your own *good* numbers, though. connect the end of a 100' tape measure to your main halyard, raise it to the top of the mast, and then read the tape at the waterline next to the boat. That'll give you a good baseline number, and then add something to reflect the height of things that extend above the masthead. My antenna extends a little over 3 feet above the top of my mast, but I added 6 feet to my air-draft number just to give myself a little bit of breathing room. I'd rather be pleasantly surprised than unpleasantly surprised...

$.02
Bruce

 

[ConchyDug]

The "I" dimension on the E38 is about 50' so no way it air drafts 65' that's J46 or J130 territory. I'd say a 54' bridge will be very close though like clinking antenna close. The forestay is 52' and the "J" is 16' so Pythagoras says 49.48' then like Gary said add 4-5' for the hull. Just hang a water bag or a couple crew off the boom and swing it out to heel it over. Kind of a normal practice in Florida when I've been racing there.

 

[Bolo]

Going on what I can find on line ( https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/ericson-38/ ) then estimating bow to waterline and top of jib to mast connection to tip of antenna measurements, I’d say a 60 foot air draft would be a good estimate but not verified. So, a 54 bridge clearance is too low, IMO.

 

[southofvictor]

Our air draft is 59’ with VHF antenna, but I‘ve never cut it too close against a bridge. The Port Townsend Ship Canal bridge claims to be 58’ at MHW so I should clear at low tide without any problem but I still go around.

 

[Navman]

I calculate 62' as needed height on my E38. That's with a 3' antenna. 65' and I am really comfortable. Also don't forget the wake factor!

_/) ~~

 

[s/v First Light]

Can a 38-200 go under a 54 feet bridge? (Last bridge on the Florida ICW)

 

[Drakkar]

Thank you all for the replies.

 

[s/v First Light]

Can a 38-200 go under a 54 feet bridge? (Last bridge on the Florida ICW)

Consider creating necessary clearance to the bridge by briefly pulling the boat into about a 15 degree heel with a heavy water filled sail bag or maybe the boat’s tender attached to the mainsail’s halyard.

 

[sdwnav]

Here is a photo with a very rough measurement from the sheaves to the deck on my 380. Adding distance to the waterline and distance from the sheaves to the top of the mast and antennas I would not try to fit under a 54 ft bridge.

 

[gabriel]

according to the manual, your air draft is 55’ sans the antennae.

 

[Loren Beach]

Interesting. The E-38-200 I have helped to deliver needs closer to 64 feet of clearance, per the owner. I could imagine that a typical base-loaded VHF antenna would add 3 or 4 feet to the clearance needed, FWIW. And wind sensors cost hundred's of $ to replace, as well.
Best to send up the end of a cloth tape (with a spare line for retrieval if the tape breaks.

 

[supersailor]

The clearance on my 34-2 is 54'. The clearance at the Port Townsend Cut is cringeworthy. I wouldn't take a 38 under it.