Navigating through boat wake

BRIELLY · #1 06-14-2009, 08:20 AM

Here's a situation Ive run into a few times with my V. I have no problem taking on other boats wakes staight on or from the side but the other day I wound up behind a 40 footer who was going slow and kicking up a solid 3 foot wake. Not wanting to stay behind him I turned but then had to make my way through his wake. So basically my boat was going in the same direction as the wake. Quite franlky it was a bit scary as it felt like we were going to get swamped and even cap size as I tried to go through it. Most of my boating life was spent on a sailboat so I really never had to deal with this situation before. Any advise would be appreciated.

willy · #2 06-14-2009, 09:46 AM

Brielly I too have had to maneuver around and thru big boat wakes many times in Raritan bay and the ocean, very busy here with large vessels and tankers fast ferry's etc.
How you take the wake is dependent on the angle it is moving to the hull, though the wake can rock your V pretty violently it should be no where close to swamping your boat. Even if you did nothing, just stood still and let it run by you it wont swamp the boat. Sometimes when going in the same direction as the large boat and wanting to get around it I will simply move to the side under power keeping a generally forward angle and just ride over, sometimes it rocks pretty good but not bad enough to be a problem. If it is a big wake and I am moving I just turn the bow to take the wake pretty close to straight on and ride over it like any wave. The more of an angle off straight on you take it the more of a pivot your hull will do on two different axis, another words you will rock up and down bow to stern and side to side also. the straighter you take it on the less you will shift side to side.
I will recommend something to you that made a huge difference for me many years ago on handling the feel of your boat thru these things, go surfing.
Yes go surfing with your boat, here where I fish we have what is called the Sandy Hook Rips. it is where the ocean meets the bay on the tip of the hook, goes from forty feet or more to six to 20 feet depending on tide and when the tide is against the wind it has standing 3-6 foot waves and swells stacked up one after another for a couple of hundred yards.
It is one of the best places on the east coast for big bass and doormat fluke but a lot of guys dont like fishing it as it is dangerous.
I would go there with my V and play, you will learn how to surf on top of a swell or wave for a long distance staying dry as a bone or learn how to ride out the drop in between them, when to power up when to turn into and when not to turn into a wave. How to ride them at an angle etc.
You see the only way you are going to swamp a V20 is if you get caught in a huge wave, on the bottom of the trough between them and it comes over your gunnels and fills your cockpit.
Once I got caught about ten miles out in violent wind/storm and I was riding it in at the speed that kept me just running up and down the waves, but had that rogue wave come and catch me where I stuffed the bow of the boat and took a lot of water over the bow, stopped my forward movement and set me sideways for the next wave and if I had not kept my wits about me the next one would have really hit me like happend to MJ.
All I did was power her up hard and climbed out of the trough and I literally surfed most of the way back in using the waves to carry me high and powering up when needed to catch the next one.
Go surfing, find someplace where you have some waves to play in under controlled situation and gain some confidence in your V. These boats are some of the most sea worthy there are and will not get swamped without something extrordianry happening way beyond a large boat wake.

Monkey Butler · #3 06-14-2009, 12:35 PM

I've had the same thing happen too. It is scary but most of the times if is lack of experience more than a fault of the boat.

That said, here is a movie clip that I saved from a couple of years ago, mostly as a lesson to myself. We were out in Buzzards Bay and coming out of a no wake zone I started to pass another boat as I have done many times before. You can just see the wake ahead of me in some parts of the movie. It wan't an exceptionally large wake but at around 6 seconds I cross the first wake no problem (despite the Admiral saying "Oh-oh"), at around 25 seconds I cross a second wave no problem but you can hear the RPM's come up as I start running down the back side, and at 35 seconds I cross a third wave and you can hear a slap as we land. Then on the last wave at 40 seconds the prop catches a little air and breaks free a bit and the RPM's go up noticably, I chicken out and cut the throttle which causes the baot to roll in the trough and scare the crew. If I had kept the power on the boat would have punched through okay. Lack of skill and confidence on my part. Here is the clip (10megs):

Chicken Out

Like Willy said test and practice under controlled conditions to become familiar with how your boat behaves and learn its capabilities and limitations. Crossing wakes is very much like running in a following see so if you learn how to handle wakes well you will be learning a valuable skill that may come in handy under more severe conditions. Later that day we practiced in some standing waves at the entrance to the Cape Cod canal.

Hammerhead · #4 06-14-2009, 03:29 PM

Ditto on the surfin' the '20. It's a blast and will teach ya quick how the boat reacts. Far as passing big boats creating huge wake?,..I sometimes take my V airborne over the wave and plop on clean water and go my merry way. The hull can take it easily.

Passengers might scream a little tho'.

BRIELLY · #5 06-14-2009, 04:37 PM

Thanks for the replies. Sounds like I should have kept on the throttle and angled straight out of it. If I didn't have my 3 and 5 year old on board I probably would have done just that as it seemed to be the most logical way out. Unfortunately they would have gone flying. I wasn't too worried that the boat would capsize or get swamped but it definitely was an uneasy feeling. Willy, sounds like you are playin with the big boys up there! Funny cause the last time I surfed Sandy Hook was on a surfboard. Next time i'm out with just my friends I'll do some wake surfing.

willy · #6 06-14-2009, 08:38 PM

It like the first times you do anything, skiing, biking, horizontal mambo, and something else is moving under you, just got to get the feel

cterrebonne · #7 06-14-2009, 11:08 PM

where i go test run boats, in the intracoastal waterway, you can usually find a big tug boat throwing some nice size waves at different spaces. I have stuffed a 19 foot cape horn cc in some big stuff before and i have stuffed a 16 ft bass boat into a tall wave before (that one broke the windshield) but everytime as long as you keep on throttle and steer the boat level you will be ok. one thing that might help you out is when going with the wave dont put the tabs down and give the boat some trim. Do the opposite when going against the waves.

reelapeelin · #8 06-15-2009, 06:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BRIELLY

Thanks for the replies. Sounds like I should have kept on the throttle and angled straight out of it. If I didn't have my 3 and 5 year old on board I probably would have done just that as it seemed to be the most logical way out. Unfortunately they would have gone flying. I wasn't too worried that the boat would capsize or get swamped but it definitely was an uneasy feeling. Willy, sounds like you are playin with the big boys up there! Funny cause the last time I surfed Sandy Hook was on a surfboard. Next time i'm out with just my friends I'll do some wake surfing.

I surfed a 28' Uniflite back from an offshore Charleston trip one day...from the upper bridge it was a little disconcerting at first, but w/some throttle adjustment, worked great...the point is, stay just on top/front of the wave w/the throttle, until you are ready to proceed, then as Willy says, 90* to the next wave, throttle up just enough to overtake it...but as MB stated, keep the power up, bow up and plow into the next...

Blue_Runner · #9 06-15-2009, 07:18 AM

I've had em come over the bow a half dozen times but it was usually when on a slow troll and when the driver is not paying attention in somewhat rough seas. I wouldn't necessarily call it stuffing the bow but just thinking about the bite and allowing the nose to get pointed right into one coming out of the trough.

I find that if you keep the bow high by trimming up a bit and run a slow and steady speed (10-12 mph) it would take a really large pair of waves w/ a short period in order to stuff it. Slow trolling or planed off is a different story but I'm talking about when it gets rough and you can't plane off without throwing someone overboard. The boat can take a beating!

reelapeelin · #10 06-15-2009, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BRIELLY

If I didn't have my 3 and 5 year old on board I probably would have done just that as it seemed to be the most logical way out. Unfortunately they would have gone flying

Please tell me ya didn't have yer kids up on the front ahead of the windshield for this??...