LOL Yup... it can be real nasty. Another trick is waiting for a tanker or freighter to come along, then follow at a safe distance in their wake as they make their way up the Hudson. They smooth down the chop into swells, and once you're into the river you're home free.

Crappiest conditions I ever came home in with the V was 2' to 3' (mostly 2') tight chop crossing Buzzards Bay.

In my opinion the best riding hull I have ever been on under 25' However I have never been on a 23 Seacraft/Potter, 233 Formula or 20-25 Bertram/Hilner.

The V 20 is a much better riding hull then the 23 Wellcraft we have now.

Those pictures of Hatteras look scary as hell.

I dont have tabs but if I trim the motor all the way (or most of the way) down it seems to bring the nose down enough to take out the pounding in a head sea.

Makes it a little harder to steer but works for me.

So far I have managed to keep myself out of any real snotty stuff with the V20...3-4' at the most.

If you do install tabs, you won't be sorry. I used to rely on the engine trim, but the tabs make a really big difference with this hull. Will also allow you to trim the engine back up for better steering, and fuel efficiency while the tabs press the bow down. When it's really rough, can use both.

My worst day out on my V would have to be the day my wife and I launched in Cape May and ran across to Lewes De. Everything was great on the way there. Seas were calm,sunny,warm etc. We drove around in Lewes ate lunch. Then I noticed it got windy and it started to rain. So we headed back to the inlet. It was nasty. An honest 4-5' steep chop. I asked my wife,who gets sea sick, if she wanted me to get her a ferry ride. She declined. So away we went. The thrashing began immediatly. We were heading right into it at first. Once we cleared the harbor breakwater it got a little more spread out but now it was coming from almost all directions. My wife was sitting at the aft seat with white knuckles holding a line I tied to a cleat for something for her to hold onto. A few waves came over the bow. I believe a few waves were 6-7' and still pretty steep. I remember looking at the depth finder reading over 100' depths thinking wow that's a lot deaper than I can touch. We took the beating all the way back to the west side of the Cape May canal. when we got inside I looked back at my wife. She was soaking wet,miserable,exhausted. She said to me"Don't expect me to go out on the boat with you for a while". Enough said.

Heck no I wasn't out in that slop...thank goodness! :beer: I just thought it was a cool pic of Hatteras. A lot of times on the shoal sides of the inlet look similar to that pic and if you don't pay attention you can be over there in it before you know it. Always go slow, pay attention, wear a life vest, etc. etc. etc. And maybe a little of this:
:pray2:

That's some BIG water across there..........BIG, and especially dangerous if the rips weren't given a wide berth..... Some tragic events have taken place between those two points- Cape May and Delaware. If it's " light and variable" all day........or at the worst 5-10 knots I'd do that trip, assuming calm the day before too !

It was without a doubt the worst conditions I had ever been in with my V. I don't mind so much being out in that stuff when I'm by myself. But having my wife out there made it whole different level of nervousness. Being that far from land and the depths of the water. If something bad happened it would be a long swim and I would probably never be able to recover my boat if it went down.

And the truth of the matter is that tragically, there might have been an entirely different ending to that journey. Glad you both made it back in one piece. Has your wife gone back out with you yet?

Ok the worst day on the daydreamer started out as the best day. It was our honeymoon. We started out in santee going thru the locks,then on to charelston.we were staying at ashley marina. We had some friends with us in there boats. We went down the icw and took a ride to bulls island.started to get dark out on the horizon about 2:30. I told everyone if we left now!!i think we can out run the pending storm.we were trying to get get to patriots point to eat. Everything was well letting a buddy of mine drive so i could sit back and enjoy. All of a sudden after just passing a red marker (in the middle of a slight turn) the boat went full hard right at wot!!!! I looked at him and said what the*#@^****. He replyed we got no steering!!now it is pitch black 3 & 4s lightning, coast guard all over the vhf warning everyone to find shelter!!now two boats coming in the inlet at bulls island, one limping in on one motor.another boat hits him from behind. Now both are taking on water.got the wifes in rain gear and lift jackets. My buddy goes back to the stern and grabes the motor and i am yelling left ,now stright, right while i ran the throttle!!we were able to make it to isle of palms marina. We docked there way down in the back(with no steering)now my wife does not drink but when she got safely on the dock she took a couple of good gulps of crown!!!we went back a few days later with the trailer and picked up the boat. Happy honeymoon honey!!!!!!