I have shallow water at my dock, 3.5 ft give or take depending on the wind. The depth of water drops a 100 yds out from the dock. How much trouble would i have getting in and out? Would a lift be even possible? I was told the 353 has 36" and 382 has 33" with the drives down. Does anyone dock in shallow water or have boatlift thats in shallow water?

You are probably going to have to dredge or come up with a solution to not come into that shallow water. You are not supposed to even run the engine with the drives up, much less put it in gear and make headway. The input shaft from the drive to the engine coupler is spinning at the engine's RPM as soon as you start the engine. If you have the drives trimmed to the moon, you will destroy the U-joints in no time. I've been on a boat with a U-joint that let go and it's not even close to being pretty. We thought the back of the boat blew off.

I was hoping i could idle out the 100 yds to deeper water.

Guess experiences vary, being from south florida where
you can be a mile out in a couple feet of water I have idled around
for hours with drives trimmed up and never had a ujoint blow off the back of my boat ,never had one break either.
I would say most of the docks in the Florida Keys match your description and
they have no problem idling in and out of their dock.
My cousins dock on the bay side of key largo is just as shallow as you are describing,
only thing to keep in mind is all the muck you will be stirring up so get some good sea strainers and keep them clean.

Would i be able to get on an off a lift or am i asking for to much?

That would depend on the type of lift

We keep our 382 on a lift in a canal. The canal is maintained at 5 ft. at zero tide. The lift is a four post cradle lift rated at 30,000 lbs. so the base beams are large. The tides are the worst during the winter months and the water can be just over a couple of feet around our dock. I have the area around the lift dredged every four or five years so I can launch even at the lowest tide. I frequently run the canal with the drives trimmed up, but not trailered and I have not had any problems. I do occasionally tear up a water impeller when I stir up the bottom and the water intake sucks in the debris. The boat is in Punta Goarda and the bottom is a crushed up shell like material. The advantage of this type of bottom is that it holds it shape even after you dredge it. The area that is dredged out is about 2 ft. lower than the canal bottom. Occasionally, I use my pressure washer and blast out below the lift cradle when it fills in or caves in.

Andy

doubtful a lift can get below the hull in 3.5 ft of water. Walk the entire passage way out to deep water. I'm 6 ft, based on that, if the water covers my waste band the whole way then I feel I could just squeeze through that water depth...any less and passage will be unlikely. (plus walking it lets you check for any obsticles)

I'm on the Neuse river near Oriental, Nc. The bottom is sand. I have walked it and didn't find any obsticles. Tide Tamer lifts told me that i could get a 35/38 ft fountain lightning off the lift as long as i had 3 ft of water. Is the draft that much different on the 353 or 382?

My Formula is right here in the back yard. Do you want me to make any measurements?