small runabouts and big wakes

[jmarty10]

I'm curious to find out how boaters with 17-19 foot runabouts handle wakes. Yesterday on an extremely crowded river my 18' larson i/o was tossed around pretty good. The smack of that bow coming back down makes your jaw rattle! I try to keep my boat on plane and hit the waves at an angle, but when you pass a 25-30 footer you're either going to stop and take on some water over the bow or try to get through it and bounce.

BTW - how much force can a fiberglass hull take on when hitting a wake at 20-25 mph. I have a VEC type fiberglass hull and as I understand it there pretty tough. Ive checked the bottom of the hull for cracks and spider webbing and I dont see anything unusual.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: small runabouts and big wakes

The hull will absorb quite a pounding if it is in good shape (stringer's and transom).

Those big wakes are a PITA and you just have to develop a style to cross them safely. Even when you think you have it down pat..... you still manage to make a mistake and take water over the bow.

 

[jmarty10]

Re: small runabouts and big wakes

Thanks - I try to boat during the week when no one is out but yesterday was dads day so.......

My boat is only two years old, so everything is tip top as far as condition and rotting. But man, when you hit it feels like the boat will crack in half. Hate that!

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: small runabouts and big wakes

your boat won't crack except in the most extreme circumstances. Those circumstances are how we used to jump wakes when we were young teens! Even then, no proven crack-in-half events, other than the legends.

Practice practice practice. If your family freaks out when you are learning, leave them ashore. There are tricks peculiar to your boat. I find slowing down to avoid the "crack" but timing a small burst of power to raise the bow before you climb the next one, then slow down once your bow has cleared.

Also hit them at an angle, not 90 degrees.

have a good working bilge pump, a hand pump, AND a bailer on board.

 

[This_lil_fishy]

Re: small runabouts and big wakes

It also depends on your hull design. I am not familiar with your boat, but mine has an odd V hull that flattens out and back down towards the edges about a foot on either side front to back. This makes for a very fast boat that planes easy, and a very stable boat when anchored or moving around. However, if there is any wave at all, at planing speed you'll need to see a chiropractor within a few short minutes. My boat requires slow speed bow high to negotiate anything over a foot (wave or wake)...a slight chop gives me some serious speed though...but I think my boat is a little bigger and heavier then yours (see below).

Ian

 

[convergent]

Re: small runabouts and big wakes

One word of caution on this... I've actually seen passengers ejected from runabout boats when meeting a boat with a wake and not doing it correctly. They hit the wake with not enough angle and it tipped to the side and out they went. This actually happened once when the boat they were meeting I was in... and it was only a 21' boat, so not that big of a wake... just didn't handle it well.

The guy I bought our boat from when we went out to test it kept putting himself in a wake where the boat was running parallel with the wakes and it freaked me out. He was literally driving right along the ridge straight. I find the boat gets very squirrelly if you hit a wake like that. I would rather hit it at 90 degrees than in the line of the wake. But best is somewhere in between.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: small runabouts and big wakes

Something to think about, fiberglass will outlast the bones in your body... Once you start having cracked vertebrae, you might want to check the hull.

 

[Stachi]

Re: small runabouts and big wakes

All I can say is, after boating for 9 yrs on the Delaware River , near Philadelphia...is that I kept a sharp eye out for the tugboats running up or down the river with no load on....they do not get paid for the trip to the load or ship they are meeting...they haul *** ! and throw a four foot wake. Luckily there are plenty of bridges along this river in this area , so I could hide behind a piling ,until the wake passed. My previous boat was a 1973 Winner Marrauder 16' closed bow, w/85 'Rude on her tail.... Those wakes were a scary thing on that boat....

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: small runabouts and big wakes

growing up, we used to live for passing tug boats and yachts!

 

[Stachi]

Re: small runabouts and big wakes

growing up, we used to live for passing tug boats and yachts!

In daddy's boat ?...lol....thats when you were invincable...lol..

 

[26aftcab454]

Re: small runabouts and big wakes

growing up, we used to live for passing tug boats and yachts!

YES INDEED!
Where doi you think the words " WHOOHOO" came from???

 

[Boatist]

Re: small runabouts and big wakes

It is a mater of practice.

First if possible move away to the side of the river but maintain deep enough water that you do not run aground.

Then slow down to just planning speed or if really big come off plane with the bow a little high like 8 mph.

Stay away from the wake as long as you can as it will slowly flatten out.

Last turn into the wake for a 30 to 45 degree angle.

Each boat is a little different so with time you will find the best for your boat.

 

[Philster]

Re: small runabouts and big wakes

If you are taking water over the bow, you need some guidance. There is no need for that.

Proper use of trim/throttle/speed/angle should be able to avoid that barring a freak issue. If you don't know how to handle, you are admitting to a safety issue.

Put the bow cover on if she's bow rider and/or seek an experienced captain who can show you how to keep the water out.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: small runabouts and big wakes

<<<In daddy's boat ?...lol....thats when you were invincable...lol.. >>>

13' whaler. It was more invincible than I was! But i stopped when he moved up to the 16' tin starcraft--that one felt like it might crack!

 

[Subliminal]

Re: small runabouts and big wakes

I was out on the Delaware this weekend and it was PACKED!

I had a great time jumping wakes. My brother in law kept telling me I was going to crack the hull...I just kept pointing to the 'lifetime hull warranty' sticker on the window and throttling through them.

 

[180Fisherman]

Re: small runabouts and big wakes

Sometimes a boat is too small for the body of water it is used in. Mine certainly is. It's really no big deal if it's just me out there or me with a couple of buddies but all too often heading home late in the day I have both kids crying and the wife yelling at me to slow down.

 

[dingbat]

Re: small runabouts and big wakes

With my best Clint Eastwood impression, a man has to know his limitations.

 

[25thmustang]

Re: small runabouts and big wakes

"You're gonna need a bigger boat"

My Jaws movie quote, although adjusted slightly.

 

[asm_]

Re: small runabouts and big wakes

If you are taking water over the bow, you need some guidance. There is no need for that.

In my home lake, not taking water over the bow is almost impossible when the wing is gusting at 20MPH every afternoon.

Since the best boat ramp is located up wind, trip back to the ramp after the wind has pickup usually mean taking water over the bow. This is because regardless how a boat enters the wake, if any splash is made higher then the gunwale, 20MHP wind will always carry the water into the bow area.

Now, if any one knows a better way to deal with this, do tell.

 

[Philster]

Re: small runabouts and big wakes

Thanks for taking the quote out of context.

A closed bow will not take on water with hatches closed. A bow rider will, so use a cover (as I mentioned). The issue we are addressing is taking on water over the bow. That's a serious issue with ways to address it (thus the person inquiring about it).

If you take on water via the bow, you do need guidance, which could be as simple as: Close the hatch or cover the bow.

Again, in the context of what we are addressing, my post stands. Put the bow cover on if she's bow rider and/or seek an experienced captain who can show you how to keep the water out.

Sometimes it's navigation skills, sometimes it's managing the equipment. If you can't do one of them, seek guidance.

I boat in the Atlantic Ocean. I see your little lake waves and raise you a few feet and several levels of terror.