V boats - rough water handling

[tartuffe]

Originally Posted by bgreene

Seriously speaking............... in worst case scenario......... pitch poling the boat, but let's say getting spun AND rolled over / swamped / boat upside down.
1. You're either thrown clear of the boat and in the water.
2. You wind up under the boat - hopefully with air pocket to breathe before dive under to come up to the surface.

Talking safety gear......... in example # 2......got to wonder if the life jacket would keep a person from being able to dive back under and come up to the surface. I don't know...... might have to remove the jacket, push it under and up, then swim up and try to put it back on. All that in rough seas.

Option # 1 while wearing life jacket would be the best outcome.

I now keep my type 1 lifejacket ( the offshore serious model) on the passenger seat in case I need to put it on. It's equiped with a sports whissle, and waterproof light.
I don't like wearing a preserver on calm days, summer heat but at least it's very close by.

I've spent alot of time thinking about that scenario during my current rebuild. Particularly in foam placement. My 81 had foam below deck. My line of thinking is that if the boat swamped, buoyancy low would cause the boat to turtle and roll. Now with the boat upside down the weight of the motor along with the lack of foam in the bilge area would cause the boat to sit not flat but at an angle. My primary concern is what would that angle be and would it be too steep to sit on top of the boat awaiting rescue.

With that in mind I wonder what I could do to make the boat less prone to that particular scenario.

Currently I keep a ditch bag equipped with a handheld waterproof GPS and a handheld waterproof VHF with 6 mile range, flares, and a strobe. The bag also acts as a flotation device.

[Kracker Jack]

We fished our v20 as a kid with my dad in places were 20 foot boats really don't belong. We had her out fitted with twin 20 gallon acid jugs mounted to the sides of the console full of gas, along with 2 30 gallon external tanks. We would burn off the external or portable tanks first then burn the main 50 gallon tank to get home. That was back in the day when a SeaRanger LoranC and a Sea King paper bottom was top of the line!!!!!! We were also very good friends with a lot of the mates and captains with the main fleet out of Rudee Inlet,so we were always in very close distance to a charter boat. My dads major fear was always fire!!!! No smoking was allowed!!! The fleet used to call us the floating bomb. But we fished the hell out of that boat almost every weekend.

[bgreene]

Originally Posted by Kracker Jack

We fished our v20 as a kid with my dad in places were 20 foot boats really don't belong. We had her out fitted with twin 20 gallon acid jugs mounted to the sides of the console full of gas, along with 2 30 gallon external tanks. We would burn off the external or portable tanks first then burn the main 50 gallon tank to get home. That was back in the day when a SeaRanger LoranC and a Sea King paper bottom was top of the line!!!!!! We were also very good friends with a lot of the mates and captains with the main fleet out of Rudee Inlet,so we were always in very close distance to a charter boat. My dads major fear was always fire!!!! No smoking was allowed!!! The fleet used to call us the floating bomb. But we fished the hell out of that boat almost every weekend.

Any rough sea condition stories to share ?

[phatdaddy]

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.

[peiserma]

Originally Posted by phatdaddy

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.

This phenomenon appears to have been first investigated in 1861:

http://www.boatingmag.com/skills/sea...ng-wave-height

http://www.answers.com/topic/wave-height-2

P.S. I'm not trying to call anyone out on their estimates, just presenting some information as food for thought.

[bgreene]

Originally Posted by peiserma

This phenomenon appears to have been first investigated in 1861:

http://www.boatingmag.com/skills/sea...ng-wave-height

http://www.answers.com/topic/wave-height-2

P.S. I'm not trying to call anyone out on their estimates, just presenting some information as food for thought.

There's a video readily available showing aircraft carrier hitting a reported 90' wave.
It's a rough day, and the ship hits a set of two - take a look.

Anyway, most of us probably do over estimate wave height, but rough is rough. If you're looking up at the wave tops from the boat - it's rough alright.

Any more stories with details ?

[SkunkBoat]

I took these in the Med...These were 30' ish

That's a 450ft frigate bobbing up and down. I'm on a 550ft destroyer trying to come along side that oiler to take on fuel....we didn't get any. Kept popping the hose and spraying the deck with JP3.

[Kracker Jack]

Originally Posted by peiserma

This phenomenon appears to have been first investigated in 1861:

http://www.boatingmag.com/skills/sea...ng-wave-height

http://www.answers.com/topic/wave-height-2

P.S. I'm not trying to call anyone out on their estimates, just presenting some information as food for thought.

You ever fed a white marlin up hill in 10 to 12 foot ? I have! lol!!! No $hit!! i sat in on a charter my brother was mating on and they insisted on fishing that day and the captain let them have there way. One of the guys broke his ankle going to the bathroom on the way in and the rest of them stayed mostly sick all day ( they were from Ohio). We went 1 for 2 on the white ones that day and caught one yellow fin. we broke the inlet that morning it was a ****ty 8 foot and steadily got bigger the further we got off shore. we were on a 50 foot custom carolina boat. roughest ive ever been in. Really didnt need a wave chart that day instead we had 65 total years experience combined to judge the wave height.

[peiserma]

Originally Posted by Kracker Jack

You ever fed a white marlin up hill in 10 to 12 foot ? I have! lol!!! No $hit!!

Like I said, I wasn't trying to call anyone out on their estimates of wave height; I was just presenting some information that i thought might be pertinent to the discussion. What you do with the info is up to you. I think the majority of people on this site are very experienced and can estimate waves just fine.

FWIW, I got my introduction to boating at the Vermilion Yacht Club (on Lake Erie) and my first day "at sea" was was in a little 10' or 12' Gull (that's a fairly small sailboat) with 6ft waves (at least that was the height according to the instructor. Lake Erie is fairly shallow so the waves kicked up kicker than they expected else they would have delayed the first outing). The boom smacked me in the head on a bad jibe at the crest of a wave and gave me a mild concussion. I was maybe 10 or 12 years old at the time (can't remember exactly. weird!). So I do know a little about about rough seas, and I remember that those waves sure looked bigger than 6ft! I would have sworn they were taller than the boat was long. It was an experience I have never forgotten but still think about fondly for some odd reason.

Didn't mean to ruffle anyone's feathers.Carry on.