Capt. Bill wrote: "Following the channel is very easy IMO, as it is clearly marked. If you have an autopilot it's almost a no brainer. And there are a few anchorages. Plus you can tie up to the dolphin pilings located near the locks for the night if you wish. Indiantown has a couple of good restaurants and good marina." While I agree with a lot of what Capt. Bill said in those short sentences, I would like to add to it. But first, I'd like to say that we find the Okeechobee Waterway very interesting. The lake crossing is just another open water crossing, but the sights and sounds along the route are very cool, and to us, well worth it. West-to-east, the route starts at the Caloosahatche River "delta." At the gulf end at San Carlos Bay, which is wide, but there are many shallows and shoal areas, so the marked channels do need to be honored. It's not difficult at all. At and after Ft. Myers, the river follows a narrow channel that you must honor. At Alva, past the western-most CoE WP Franklin Lock, the character of the river changes slowly from narrow river to man-made canal. It's like that all the way to Clewiston. Then there is a 5-mile long channel from Clewiston out to the open-water lake crossing to Port Mayaca. Port Mayaca to St. Lucie is cut man-made canal. The St. Lucie River from the CoE St. Lucie lock to Stuart is narrow and shallow. The Roland Martin marina at Clewiston is located in a very shallow pool behind a CoE lock that is almost always open on both ends. If you stop there, be very mindful of lake water depths and very careful in the Clewiston Harbor if you draw more than 3 to 3-1/2 ft. The Clewiston Harbor carries less depth than the published lake crossing, Route 1. We tried to get in once with our 4 ft draft, but grounded in the mud before we could get to their dock. The girl at the marina told us they had 5' of water at the docks. Not! NG. The channel from Clewiston Harbor to the open lake can be deceiving. The markers near Clewiston are fairly close together, but they get progressively farther and farther apart out in the lake. However, the Clewiston Channel itself remains very narrow. Winds in the region will generally try to blow boats sideways out of the channel, so YOU MUST BE ABLE TO BACK-SIGHT MARKERS YOU HAVE ALREADY PASSED AS WELL AS SEE THE MARKERS IN FRONT OF YOU to be sure you actually stay WITHIN the channel. Two key questions are: how good is the astern visibility you'll have on your boat, and how good is your eyesight? I'm not kidding here; both factors can/will affect you in this area! There are two areas in the Clewiston channel known to be very shallow, but the real problem when lake waters are down is the channel edges. There is no margin; the markers mark the channel edges. The channel is man-made, and the dredged cut penetrates a shallow and thin limestone layer. That is rock, and it will damage a prop if you manage to get over to it. See Claiborne Young's web site <www.cruisersnet.net> for details; also check ActiveCaptain.com. In my opinion, I do not recommend autopilot use in the Clewiston channel or the upper St. Lucie River. In Clewiston, even in light winds, it's just too likely that you'll wind up drifting sideways. The upper St. Lucie is very significantly shoal; follow outside curves. If the lake sounding levels for Route 1 are down, also be aware that prolonged winds will drive water to the lee shore; so, south winds will pile lake water up on the north, leaving water levels in the south noticeably less than published. North winds will pile up water to the south, which causes water levels at Port Mayaca to be, likewise, less than published. Port Mayaca is soft mud, but not so, as mentioned, Clewiston. Depending on specific wind conditions, the day you cross and in the preceding 24 hrs, published depths can mislead you into thinking there's more water than there actually is at the other end. All this is just to make you aware, not nervous. Conditions like this are common in SE Florida. Just be careful! Plan to cross on calm days if possible. For deeper draft boats, Moore Haven town dock is better than Roland Martin for draft and docking convenience, although there ain't much at Moore Haven, and what there is is a 3/4 mile walk. Indiantown Marina is nice, and very busy when the Canadian enclave boats are splashing in fall and hauling in spring; call ahead for reservations. Sanctuary draws 4'2", and we have crossed in calm conditions uneventfully and successfully when the daily lake datum was 4' 5". Did I mention: conditions were "calm." We have also crossed in 25 knot winds (a different crossing); 2' - 3' short period seas were not particularly "fun." Incidentally, the water in Lake "O" is not water at all; it's a nice, dark chocolate mix; and, Palm Beach County drinks it. Hope this helps. Jim Peg and Jim Healy aboard Sanctuary Currently at Charlotte Harbor, Punta Gorda, FL Monk 36 Hull #132 MMSI #367042570 AGLCA #3767 MTOA #3436