Delta Force
Banned
No, as a threat, the Merrimac could deter a lot of traffic. The civilian populace didn't know about her stability and draft issues.
Stay away from Norfolk, which was still Confederate occupied at this time. But the currents in the Chesapeake are very nasty. The Merrimac would risk running aground. If that happened, even temporarily, a Union wooden warship could close in with a spar torpedo, and if they're lucky, blow the whole stern end of the ship off.
Virginia wasn't very maneuverable, and it also had the issue of having a rather deep draught relative to the depth of the Chesapeake Bay. During the Battle of Hampton Roads, the United States Navy ships stayed close to Fort Monroe and/or withdrew to shallower waters that Virginia couldn't enter.
Also, I think Virginia ended up having its ram stuck in the side of the first ship it rammed and it was feared both ships would sink, but then the ram broke off and Virginia was able to escape. If Virginia had tried to ram another ship it might have been severely damaged or even sunk because of the missing ram and damage to the bow from the first attack.
I think one of the issues with the planking was the use of unseasoned green wood. That's an error many navies were prone to in the age of sail when fleets had to be improvised in a hurry. The entire design does strike me as a bit unsound, but naval construction is not exactly my primary area of interest, so I have to defer to the opinions of others more knowledgeable about the subject.
I've heard the use of green wood mentioned as a potential reason for the poor relative performance of French ships compared to British ones during the Napoleonic Wars. I think the French used a different construction method too.