Re: OK newbie question....about draft
My hull draft is 18-19" with the drive up, about 36" with it full down. It's important for me to know as we anchor off the beach at Kismet (Fire Island) often and wade in to spend the day there. Normal tide swing is about a foot. If I go to Democrat Point (just inside the Fire Island Inlet), the swing is more extreme- 2+ feet between mean low and high tides.
At low tide I can back in to about 2' of water at the stern.
I always need to check the local tide tables before we set out for any specific destination.