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Old 08-09-10, 03:32 PM   #1
Abbeysdad
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Angry Wave hopping

My boat is a 17' Glastron Sx170 SF. It has Glastron's SSV (Super Stable 'V' Hull design).
I'm out on the water on Sunday and it's a bit windy creating waves. I see other boats of similar size on the water up on plane and moving through this water smoothly at a fair clip, but at anything other than a rather slow speed, I seemed to slap and/or jump these waves rather than cut through them. I tried different speeds and trim settings, but anything near plane produced the slapping wave jumping (whether I was wind at my back or into it).

Is my boat just that much lighter than these other boats I saw as to produce this wave hopping, or did I just not find some trim/speed combo to be on or near plane and push through the waves.
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Old 08-10-10, 11:58 AM   #2
bobbygib
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Not sure I can help much here. I kinda noticed a similar thing with my boat couple weeks ago on the Potomac. For those of you that fish that regularly, you know it can become a beast really quickly with a little wind.

Anyways, I was still learning my boat then but noticed a little of what you're describing happening to me on a day when the wind kicked up. I was hitting the waves pretty hard too and noticed several other boats didn't seem to be riding as rough as me. I did notice that if I really kept my foot in it I could get a smoother ride but I was afraid my bow would nose dive into one of those waves and...ruin my day. So I just slowed it down and sucked it up. A rough ride is better than being dead...call me crazy...;-)

I think many of those boats I saw that seemed to be riding smoother than me, were probably going faster than they should have for the conditions.

But maybe that's just me.
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Old 08-10-10, 12:40 PM   #3
Abbeysdad
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Well, I felt I had to slow down cause she was just jumping waves too much like porpoising and slamming down on the other side of the wave.
These other boats I saw just seemed to be moving right along on plane with no bow bobbing like I was. Just can't quite figure it out, other than my boat is maybe lighter and a bit wimpy in rough water.
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Old 08-10-10, 02:12 PM   #4
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One thing you may look at it how you're hitting the waves. If you're coming into them straight on, at a 90-degree angle, you'll get a rougher ride than if you quarter into them. If possible, hit them at maybe a 45-degree angle, not straight on. You'll get more roll side to side doing it this way, but you won't have as much roller coaster action.
Also trim the motor down some, dropping the bow, so that the V of your hull "cuts" into the wave...if your bow is up, the flatter part of your hull farther back gives the wave a much bigger surface to impact, which can shake the fillings in your teeth loose.
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Old 08-11-10, 10:31 AM   #5
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From my experience it depends on how big the waves are and if they are consistent in size and direction. I'm not nearly as good of a driver as a lot of the guys that are on the big water a lot but I have had to get through some pretty rough stuff. For the more mild waves you can sometimes get on plane and "get on top of them" which it sounds like those other boats you saw were doing. I think it just takes experience to figure out when it is time to just go slow and take your lumps rather than try to get on top. I tend to go slower since I don't have the greatest confidence in my ability. I believe it is always better to be on the safe side and arrive alive.

When it gets really bad everybody just has to grind it out and take each wave one at a time.
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Old 08-11-10, 11:34 AM   #6
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Thanks Bender and I hear you - I too will always slow down rather than do a stupid "Fearless Freddie" and regret it later. It just seemed that I was bobbing and slapping the waves hard even at modest speed while other boats out there just zipped right along on plane with no real bow bobbing.
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Old 08-11-10, 01:39 PM   #7
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When you look at other boats off in the distance planing through chop, it will ALWAYS look, to you, like a smoother ride than it actually is, for them.

In other words, because of the distance between you and the other boat, the movement of the other boat's bow will always seem subdued... when in reality, it is actually quite a hectic ride for the guy driving the other boat.

Now some bass boats have thin hulls... the fiberglass isn't very thick. These 'light' boats will slap the waves much harder than heavier, or thicker, hulls. A simple hand knocking with your first on the hull will tell you how thick the hull is. If banging on the hull produces a hollow, 'airry' sound... it's a thinner hull. If it feels more solid and has a much more deadened thud sound... it is thicker and will perform better in rough water (all other things equal of course).

Bobby mentioned the rough waters on the Potomac. The Potomac is one of my 'home waters' and I can attest to it's nastiness. On long rivers with current, the current will determine the size of trough, span and bite.

For instance, if I see the winds are N at 18mph... that's bad news on the Potomac because most of the river runs North-South. If the tide is incoming, then the troughs will be deep and the wave spans short. There will be a lot of bite (teeth) on the swells.

If the tide is outgoing, the waves span bigger, troughs are a bit shallower and they will roll more.

Being in the shipping channel emphasizes this all very much. I try to avoid main shipping channels on the Potomac like the plague in rough conditions, because the current is stronger which can make it all worse.

Sometimes moving your boat 100 yds to one side or the other can make the difference between staying on plane effectively and not.

Don't worry about spearing waves too much. You'll get wet plenty, but just try not to fill the boat.

Make sure your componentry is bolted down good though.
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Old 08-11-10, 02:40 PM   #8
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I'm with Kevin on this one-it may look like the other guy is having a smoother ride, but his insides are getting rearranged just like yours are. The best way I have found is to just grit your teeth and go the fastest safe speed. Running rough water is not fun any way you look at it. Quartering can help, but not much.
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Old 08-11-10, 03:17 PM   #9
Abbeysdad
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Thanks guys...I'll just have to do what I did and back off - just thought maybe there was some secret I might be missing....besides "we need a bigger boat" (great scene from Jaws). ... Oh but speaking of a bigger boat, I drift fished towards the north with the wind at my back for several miles. On the way back (into the wind) it was tough going...That is until a much bigger boat (cruiser) went by at a fair speed. So keeping a safe distance, I tucked in behind him on plane and let him cut the waves. Worked pretty well.
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Old 08-11-10, 07:18 PM   #10
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Im the owner of a 21' Ranger and ive ridden in shorter boats. I can tell you from experience that a shorter boat is a rougher ride. Also, I can tell you that a 21' Champion will perform better than my Ranger because of hull design. Some boats will just beat you more than others just make sure youre wearing a jock strap if you decide to brave the waves at high speeds.
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Old 08-11-10, 07:59 PM   #11
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Different boats react accordingly,a 19 1/2 ft ranger 373 v would not run decent for me on ky lake,yet a 210 glassport and a 22 ft jaguar,all in the same weight category did along with a much lighter 1000lb allison 2002.
The lighter allison will go airborne easier also lands soft the harder heavier boats jar the living )(*& out of one.
The smaller allison has to go slower then its ok,the bigger boats here ran on top at 52 mph and on top they look smooth ,and fairly are,slower than 52 they beat you here most of the time.
Ky lake waves spaced close together as 3 different wind directions creating waves across shallow flats that resemble breakers up close around points and cove entrances.
On most waters 1-1 1/2 creates a white cap not here,as you cannot view the entire wave normally as the next one is three ft away,only when one or more directions of wind dies momentary does one see the entire height of one and boats disappear from view.
What you in the boat see are or is quite different than what an observer sees,as for running up to the driver what he or she knows what their boat will do,and what they can do.If going up and down is safer then thats what one should do.
Heres both views.

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Old 08-12-10, 08:47 AM   #12
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Man...both these pics look like they would require ...a jock strap...and maybe a cup too!

Great advice Kevin. Though I'm not nearly as experienced as most, I have been there enough to know the Shipping channel in the Potomac is great on calm days but.. add a little wind...makes me think the whole time I'm fishing on the Maryland side. "I gotta cross that beast to get home"
When the wife is with me she absolutely freaks when it's windy!

But...a bad day of fishing still beats a good day at work...I'm just sayin'...
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Old 08-12-10, 10:09 AM   #13
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The first picture above is like the water I was in...or maybe mine was even just a tad worse. As I was crossing the lake, the side to side roll was excessive so it didn't take much to figure I needed to cross (slowly) at about a 45 degree angle to reduce the side-to-side roll, with the wind at my back. The other side of the lake was one of my preferred fishing spots and offered a slight cove cover, so the wind was much less. The only good thing I can say is that the drift fishing in that wind allowed me to slowly 'sail' north for miles, just using the TM to stay out a ways from shore. At one point, to steer around a point, I had the TM on CON full speed and used the big motor as rudder.

Oh yea, and as far as shorter being more negatively affected, well my 17' fits in there. Hard to believe a couple of feet makes a big difference, but I guess it depends...it would seem that so many variables come into play...length, beam width, draft, hull design, weight, weight balance, speed, direction relative to wind and waves...and ...

Also I've come to realize in general that if the wind is 10mph or more, I'd prefer to be off the water - it's all part of the learning curve they call seat time.
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Old 08-12-10, 10:17 AM   #14
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Dude...I'm with you. More than 10 MPH winds on the Potomac, I'm just gonna fish close to the marina.

Some hardcores may call us wussies...

Live to fish another day...
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Old 08-13-10, 06:46 PM   #15
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I was out on the Potomac today because the weather guessers said it would be slightly cloudy with a 5mph wind for part of the afternoon. It was pouring rain when I left this morning and the wind was 10-15mph. The fishing was good though.
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