Wake shock.......

[brianjkirk]

Hey guys....I recently purchased a 19' 1970 Formula Thunderbird Apache and I have really enjoyed it and it's size....we have been slowly restoring it with new floor & carpet, new electronics, downriggers, new seats, etc....all seemed well but this annoying problem is getting to us..Here in Saint Paul, MN, we take it to the Mississippi alot and no matter what speed we go, the large wakes cause tremendous shock to our entire boat, nothing super severe but it could maybe break a window. I was wondering if trim tabs would help because we have experimented with different sppeds to no avail. We bought this from a guy who used it in the Gulf so I know it is a sturdy S.O.B. but I wouldn't be able to have any pleasure driving this in the ocean...what do you guys reccomend? THANKS!

 

[QC]

Re: Wake shock.......

Yes trim tabs can help, and although I will get some carp for it, especially helm adjustable as you can change the attitude in endless combinations if used along with power trim . . . Speaking of trim, do you have power trim? Also, you should experiment with coming almost completely off of plane for some wakes, and also change angles. Often 45 degrees is best instead of 90 . . . Especially if the wake is so big that there is any danger of "poking" the bow into the next one

BTW, welcome to iboats!!

 

[luckyinkentucky]

Re: Wake shock.......

Are you talking about taking the wake head on or from the side?

I take my 20 ft. Skeeter on the Ohio a couple of times a week, and I have that problem when I am 'jumping' someones wake head on. Also, are you sure you aren't hitting stump fields or sand bars? I've hit some pretty nasty wakes from barges, and I've never had it rattle my boat like when I hit a small piece of drift wood out of nowhere. The best thing to do is run a depth finder to make sure you aren't hitting a sand bar. I know on the Ohio you can't see them until you get right up on them.

Also, if you are 'rattling the wood' whenever you hit a wake head on it's because you are too light in the front end. The boat is slapping back down on the water from however high you were off of the water. That's why if I hit the wake head on I usually throttle it all the way open ,and this helps me to glide over them instead of smacking my boat around.

I don't think trim tabs are the answer, but that's just from my experience.

 

[ziggy]

Re: Wake shock.......

the large wakes cause tremendous shock to our entire boat, nothing super severe but it could maybe break a window.

well don't feel lonely brian. mine does the same thing. i swear my dash moves a foot when it happens too. really rattles the fillings out of yer teeth. anyways. i was thinkin of tabs too. smart or controlable. but my transom has nothing screwed to it other than my drive and i'd like to keep it that way. so.........practice does make perfect. i just got my boat last fall so how it handles is kinda new to me. and wave shock is one of it's undesireable features......so far after a year of operation i can now keep it from hammerin me like that. it's how ya approch the offending wave. slow, bow up. sometimes stright in. sometimes 45*. sometimes. i've even found that 10* works best. yep. that's almost sideways. that for me is when i'm out in regular wind wipped waves. for the rouge large boat wave. slow. bow up and 45* and i can keep it from hammerin........i guess my point is. slow. if the waves a big one. i just want to go thru it, bow high, have it wash by me. i don't want to loose contact with the water, so speed is critical. in large wind wipped waves. goeing into them. my boat just plane ol needs to go slower. sub planeing speed. any other condition i can plane but still need to watch the approch and speed..... i also use my trim a lot. sometimes i go bow down to pierce thru a wave, sometimes trim up to skip over it....keep practiceing. ya may find ya can beat the problem by how ya handle the boat.......look at the bottom of yer boat too when it's on the trailer. i can see why mine beats me to death. real deep v w/flair at the ft. but it flatens out fast starting about at my helm. seems if i can keep from hitting a wave in that 1/3 to 1/2 fwd part of the boat. i get much less shock. i want to perice it or trim up and more speed and have only my back 1/3 of my boat in the water to skip over it........good luck......

 

[JB]

Re: Wake shock.......

Would you drive your car/truck down a potholed dirt track in the woods at 50mph? Sounds like it.

If you jump wakes or take them at 90* on plane you are gonna get your kidneys knocked up between your shoulderblades. Serious internal injury can happen when you do that. I dang near bled to death when such foolishness ruptured an ulcer 75 miles from the nearest Doc.

It is not the boats fault, The boat was built that way. It is poor helmsmanship.

Slow down and take the waves/wakes at 45* or less.

 

[tommays]

Re: Wake shock.......

Here on the east coast it is allmost allways windy and if its at 15 and above i most likely will not even go out as the chop just takes the fun out of it on my 19' Boat



I have to also deal with many BIG boats (35 to 100 Ft) and it is rare i do not have to slow down every 5 to 10 minutes to cross there wakes safely




Tommays

 

[thurps]

Re: Wake shock.......

If you have a trihull it's going to pound on wakes and chop. That said, Thunderbirds are built like tanks.

 

[studlymandingo]

Re: Wake shock.......

Would you drive your car/truck down a potholed dirt track in the woods at 50mph?

yes, sounds like fun.​

 

[drewmitch44]

Re: Wake shock.......

Try standing up. That sounds too simple but it works for me. Sitting down at times its hard to hold on, but if i stand up and bend my knees a little i can just let my legs work like shock absorbers. Dont know if this will help. My boat gets the same shock but i dont feel it like this. Just have to make sure that everything is secure. Might be a idea to try.

 

[drewmitch44]

Re: Wake shock.......

I have a road near me called "ironmine" RD. I think the state does not fix it cause of the name. Its impossible to drive down that at 50 mph

 

[Mark42]

Re: Wake shock.......

JB is right. If your getting a pounding and the whole boat shakes while your behind the helm you are not operating the boat properly.

Slow down, look for the waves and wake. Its the Skippers job to know how to thread the boat through the waves the best he can. Running full speed in a direct line to your destination is generally not the best route for you or your boat.

Like others said, cross the waves at an angle. The bigger the wave, the more at a 45* angle it can be. I have even run some huge rollers at only 15* for a long ride up and a gentle ride down rather than 90* which would have put water over the bow and windshield. But each wave must be evaluated individually because 15* on one wave makes a nice ride, but 15* on a different wave means water over the gunnel and your swamped.

Also, unless you have a lot of experience in that boat, don't take it out on the ocean.

Have you taken a boating course?

 

[Mark42]

Re: Wake shock.......

Here on the east coast it is allmost allways windy and if its at 15 and above i most likely will not even go out as the chop just takes the fun out of it on my 19' Boat

I have to also deal with many BIG boats (35 to 100 Ft) and it is rare i do not have to slow down every 5 to 10 minutes to cross there wakes safely

Tommays

Tom, man some of those big yachts make incredible wake. Monster 4 to 6 foot rollers that I try to outrun. Actually ended up drag racing a yacht to the channel bouy from the Sag Harbor marina. The people on deck were waving at us and hollering. I was on the horn and waving back. The race was on. That 100ft boat was doing 30mph before I finally bumped the throttle and I ran up to 35mph and squeezed in front of it to hang a sharp left around the bouys by the ferry. He had to drop speed to make the turn. I think he also had to hail the ferry operators and get permission for passage between them because he came to a dead stop. But the sucker was running fast right out of the no wake zone. Amazing what some of these yachts can do.

Other yachts make practically no wake at all. Go figure.

 

[External Combustion]

Re: Wake shock.......

If one can not read the water on a moving river and determine where the obstuctions are beneath the surface of the water then they need to slow down and watch and learn. The water always gives clues as to where the bars, snags and rocks are.


Too many think because they can push a boat across the surface of simple waters than they are competent to be in any water. It would be the same if a teenager with their fist learners permit thought that they could safely run a big rig.

Learn the waters where you operate. If you pound due to obstuctions, whether bars, logs or sunken junk then you are incompetent for your location. Suck it up. Learn and don't *****.

 

[brianjkirk]

Re: Wake shock.......

Hey guys thanks for all the feeback! Now i am not that new to boats, We go at them at about a 45 or less going about anywhere from 5-12 mph. I know the river like the back of my hand so i know its not bars or rocks. Even when we take it easy the trough that is created with these waves is like 6 feet wide by 3 feet deep....big barges and boats. I am not worried abotu injury, i was just wondering if there was afix to the rattle or banging.....support issues etc....I really appreciate it guys!

-BJ