We went through there in July and saw nothing less than 8'. The biggest issue in that area all the way down the Pamlico is wind. North wind takes the water out of the Manteo area and sends it down towards the Neuse. South winds do the reverse. We live in Oriental and there is no lunar tide there...all wind driven. The shallowest part of the trip is the channel north of the Manteo channel. We draw 5' 5" and didn't have a problem at that time. Good luck, it's a nice trip.