V boats - rough water handling
 

Interested in feedback from guys who have ocean fished, and had to run seas - 3' -5' chop, and bigger swells.

Knowing these boats weren't really meant for offshore work, I have run in 3' - 4' white cap chop on the ocean and at about 4' was getting a few splashing over the bow a bit. I know it's a wet ride from spray, and I use the tabs just a touch to avoid excessive plowing into waves.

Who has some detailed experiences to share - plus ride comparison to other boats if you've had others in same size category.

Thanks

Fished several times with a buddy boat that was a 2003 Proline 20 or 21 Center Console. Everybody in my boat always walked off dry, everybody on the ProLine were soaked. My V20 took the rough water better, only dipped water once. We have run 8-10' seas once. We ran out 30 miles to the pipeline, about an hour and a half ride. Dropped anchor, and when i turned around to head back a wave rolled over the open cuddy and into the boat. I dont know what the hell happened to the water, flat calm seas had turned into six foot seas. Pulled anchor and headed in, it took us four hours to get in, and the swells finally got to a point where i thought they were ten foot tall.

I have fished in the above mentioned ProLine several times. Anytime we got in rough water, my back would hurt me for a week or so. Its a rough ride.

That's very interesting, thanks for the details.

I often catch rides in a 23' seapro, a 21' seapro, and an older 23' hydrasport (all center consoles). Id say it the 23s handle seas only a bit better than my V20, but the V is much drier than all three. I don't have trim tabs, and we push fairly slowly through anything 3-4 or bigger. I used to be gung-ho, but now that I'm a boat owner, I choose not to go if the forecast is 3-5 or worse.

Tabs made a big....make that huge difference with my V21. Just a little tab brings the sharp bow entry into the waves and cuts rather than the hull lifting and coming down flat.
I can now run 20 + mph through 2' + chop without pounding - at all.

I'm not one for pounding a boat so this is great now.
The watch out is not too much tab or it will dig too much, become a wet ride, and risk plowing the bow right in and through waves - especially running with the seas.

I had a 94' Mako prior to this boat. The ride was different, rode more " bow proud" preferring to rise up and over rather than tending to dig through waves. It would pound, even with tabs down, but was built like a tank. Overall a good rough water boat as I never took a wave over the bow.

Keep the stories coming.

All in all, I think the V20 runs very well in a lot of ugly conditions. The key is picking the right speed for the period of the waves. Sometimes faster is better.

If there is one sea condition that sucks in the V20 cuddy its a 3-4ft wind blown chop that is 2 feet shorter than the boat.
If you are going slow and don't pay attention and stay quartered, that big wide bow will dip in and shovel 30 gallons of water into the air, it will land on the bow and in a slight delay, ride up the windshield back into the air and drench the captain who's brother complains about not having an eisenglass enclosure....

I don't have tabs but typically have at least 20 gallons of extra gas in the bow when I head way out. I've been in 6-8 and building...not by plan. Mine is a center console. I've never taken one over the bow underway; ever. I rarely come home without a water-logged sack. Dry ride my boat is not.

When the seas get rough my primary concern is a following sea going through the inlet. I've had the boat surf down a wave face, that big flare dig in and spin me around like a top. I find taking a transverse course tacking through the inlet greatly reduces the chances of that occuring.

I used to run a 31' Fountain and never had that problem but it did beat me.

we must measure waves different, because a 10 ft wave would be all over my boat, a 10 ft swell is something else. mines no fun in 3-5.

That spin must have been intense.

Well my opinion on 5' plus seas on a 20 foot boat is that your gonna get wet. I fish my 24 albemarle in some pretty snotty weather and if it weren't for curtains you would be wet. I don't believe in a 20 or 24 foot "dry" boat. I remember our v20 when coming in from bluefin fishing being in 4 to 7 foot and being complety soaked, the entry on the other hand was soft and comfy,but with a quartering sea if you weren't hanging on she would just about throw ya overboard followed by about 10 gallons of water. This was also on a v20 with no tabs. I've been wet way to many times making that run in from offshore in all conditions . But once again the ride on a v20 is impecable,soft gentle entry yet wet. That's why my t-top with be surrounded with curtains. I have also fished on a 50 foot Paul Mann white marlin fishing in 10 to 12 foot slop and it was all you wanted, I shurely would hate to be on a v20 in those conditions. A lot of people do measure waves different.