Faster up river?

[BuzzStPoint]

Took the boat out this weekend. It was windy (7-10 mph gusts to 20) and the waves there choppy on the river.. I don't know how fast the current is, but it moves.

I also don't know my speed or RPM.

But it seemed like we were going at a real good speed. Faster then normal.
When we were going back to the dock, (Down river) it seemed slower.. To check, we spun around and went up river.. Seemed faster..

Do you go faster when you are nose to the wind and against the current?
Or is this an illusion because of the wind and cracking into the waves?

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Faster up river?

So lets say you have a 4 mph current, and a 15 mph wind blowing against the current.

Going upstream, you are fighting 4 mph of current, but have a 15 mph wind advantage. The question is, will 15 mph of wind at full throttle affect your top speed by more than 4 mph? Some boats it may, others may not. (the faster your boat is, the more the wind matters and the less the current does.)

At least for my boat, I'll notice the 15 mph wind killing top speed more than current, as measured with a GPS. If you aren't measuring speed with a gps, current doesn't exist as far as speed is concerned. The river I boat has a 2.5-3 mph current, but my top speeds in no wind conditions do not vary by 5-6 mph, as what you would expect based on current only. (means the wind resistance is impacting it more)

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Faster up river?

If you had a speedometer it would show you are going faster up stream but you really are not. On a lake with no current a pitot speedometer will show actual speed (minus any error in the speedometer system). Going downstream, on a river, because the river current is moving with you, you will be going faster than up stream, but the speedo will show slower because you are not moving THROUGH the water as fast. Going upstream the water is moving against forward motion so the boat is moving slower but because the water is moving in the opposite direction of the pitot, the speedo will show faster than you are going. So to add numbers to this -- if the boat is traveling at 30 MPH on flat water, no current, A GPS would show 30 MPH. Going upstream with a current of 3 MPH, the boat speedo would show roughly 33 mph but the boat would only be doing 30 mph by GPS. Going downstream when the gps showed 30 mph the boat speedo would likely show about 27.

 

[BuzzStPoint]

Re: Faster up river?

I under stand...

I have no speedo, GPS or tach. So I can't measure..
When we were goin up river, it's against the current and the wind. Downriver it was with the current, and with the wind...

This was gauging just by feel and looking at the banks. Must be an illusion. It was weird.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: Faster up river?

Dead smooth water is usually the slowest because of its suction or drag on the hull.

Depending upon how the chop is it CAN help to get more air under the boat in one direction, thus a slightly higher speed. So no, you may not be going crazy, you are just very attuned to your hull and its performance.

 

[Philster]

Re: Faster up river?

The answer is...

Going up river, you are going slower over land.

Down river, you are going faster over land.

Speed over water should be the same, but there is an illusionary effect when going up river. It's does feel faster if the point of reference is the water, but will feel slower if point of reference is the land.

 

[45Auto]

Re: Faster up river?

Do you go faster when you are nose to the wind and against the current?
Or is this an illusion because of the wind and cracking into the waves?

When you're going into the wind it will feel like you're going faster. For instance, going 30 MPH into a 15 MPH wind means that the air is blowing into your face at 45 MPH.

Going 30 MPH with a 15 MPH wind behind you means that the air is blowing from behind your head at 15 MPH.

 

[jrs_diesel]

Re: Faster up river?

There's a similar effect when out sailing. If you go downwind you feel slower, but if you go upwind, it feels faster. Even though your speed over ground remains the same, it just feels different.

 

[HotKetchup]

Re: Faster up river?

Also some visual mind games happening with the current going against you, it seems like theres more water going by you than there really is. AND the wind blowing the waves the opposite way and in your face, yeah man you think youre flying.