Stay on plane in shallow water??

[brad614]

There is a ramp I use because it is close to my house. However, the "channel" is very shallow - at low tide it is next to impossible to get through without getting grounded, or at best churning up a lot of mud. After I spun my prop there an old-timer told me the only way to get through there was to take it on plane the whole way. Am I missing something? It seems to me that this would be even more dangerous...? Does staying up on plane make you draw less draft?? I am afraid that if I hit bottom at higher speed it would be disasterous!

 

[rodbolt]

Re: Stay on plane in shallow water??

without trim tabs your probably going to destroy something just trying to plane in shallow water.
have you tried a simple shoving pole or looking at the tide charts?
all that mud your churning is also being sucked up the cooling system.

 

[Fireman431]

Re: Stay on plane in shallow water??

A boat draws approx 1/2 the water on plane, but that is a very dangerous way to plan on getting through some skinny water.

I would recommend watching the tides and do it safely.

 

[brad614]

Re: Stay on plane in shallow water??

Thanks for the feedback! I do have trim tabs, but I am kind of new to them. How will they help me?

 

[Fireman431]

Re: Stay on plane in shallow water??

Thanks for the feedback! I do have trim tabs, but I am kind of new to them. How will they help me?

They are there to level the boat side-to-side and bow-to-stern. They will help you get on plane faster as well as plane at slower speeds.

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Stay on plane in shallow water??

High speeds + shallow waters = $ for drive and fiberglass techs

Learn to read the waters and the trusty depth sounder

YD.

 

[Beefer]

Re: Stay on plane in shallow water??

What ramp is it? Is it a Pinellas Ramp, or a private neighborhood ramp? All the ramps in the Palm Harbor area I know of have decent depths to them.

 

[brad614]

Re: Stay on plane in shallow water??

Southerland Bayou, off of Alt 19 south of Alderman.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Stay on plane in shallow water??

to answer the question directly, you draw less water on a plane. In some circumstances you need that advantage, even though there can be risks. In a flat-bottom outboard over a mud bottom, the risks aren't that great. Some boats hold a plane at a slower (safer) speed than others.
Sometimes you have to approach a shallow spot on a plane, cut power, and let the stern wake lift you over.Another technique you won't find in the owner's manual but well known by watermen.
I wouldn't try any of this in a 25' inboard. It's also why I'd sometimes ratehr have two small boats than one big one!
The topic demonstates why outboards are better suited for shallow water boating.

 

[FunInDuhSun]

Re: Stay on plane in shallow water??

I tried this once. Did the same route the previous day and thought I could make it again if I stayed up on plane. I KNEW the tide was a little lower but figured it would be OK.
I drove the boat so far up the mudflat that I had to sit for 5 hours until the tide came in. It was a deep V hull and we couldn't rock it side-to-side. After awhile 3 guys came around and picked clams around the boat with wading boots......I felt like such a dumbass.
No damage to the boat but I took a major hit to my confidence. Lesson learned!

 

[JimS123]

Re: Stay on plane in shallow water??

We often go into a calm bay to fish, swim and just relax. My family has been going there for over 60 years. There is a shallow bar half way in. Too shallow to idle thru, but usually deep enough to go in on plane. I said "usually".

I (and many others) go in at 1000 rpm with the outdrive 3/4 up, every day and all the time, regardless of the conditions. Lots of guys snicker at that. The gofasts always go in full throttle. The rest of us pi$$ and moan about that because the wake they throw sometimes spills our beer.

One Saturday it was a north wind and the water dropped about 6". Little Lord Fontleroy came in with his Scarab at 40 mph and promptly took out both of his outdrives. That Sunday another Goober did the same thing.

It was all for the best. Word got around and now our favorite spot is largely deserted on weekends.

 

[QC]

Re: Stay on plane in shallow water??

Thanks for the feedback! I do have trim tabs, but I am kind of new to them. How will they help me?

I use tabs for skinnywater sometimes. What I do is use full tab down run at around 18 mph and use full trim up. This way if I hit something it is more of a bullet and skeg hit than the prop. Al the other advise here is good. If you're gonna try it, this seems to be the best method for what is a risky operation.

 

[mpsyamaha]

Re: Stay on plane in shallow water??

buzzing the shallows with a IO is not worth it in my opinion. repairs are costly and unless you know the water like the back of your hand you will probably hit bottom eventually.

ive had a couple smaller flats skiffs before that were a lot of fun to skim the shallows with. it is a weird feeling to be running 30mph in water knee deep or less. not a feeling i would want in a big inboard cruiser!

 

[Beefer]

Re: Stay on plane in shallow water??

Southerland Bayou, off of Alt 19 south of Alderman.

I know the ramp, but I haven't used it, or the access to it, but I have seen I/O's in the 25' range use it without trouble. I would ask around and see if there is a cut, I'm sure there is. You can also run around at high tide and look for the deeper areas on your DF, and use them.

I believe if you keep to the east of the island, and south of the bayou, you should be in deeper waters, at least that's according to the charts. Google Maps shows a boat running along the south side of the bayou coming back in.

In response to your original question, I'd be coming in at idle speed if I wasn't sure.

 

[PBJT]

Re: Stay on plane in shallow water??

Kind of on topic but something you need to relize is triming up does not give you that much more clearance untill you go into trailer mode and you certainly will not be on plane then. Check out how high your trim actually lifts or clearance you gain by triming up.

Pete

 

[Solittle]

Re: Stay on plane in shallow water??

If you need or want to run through shallow water on plane make sure that you have much deeper water at both ends of the shallow stretch. Your stern will dig down quite a bit deeper than normal getting up on plane and also when comming off plane.