Bad weather! ... or so i thought?

[Nathan k]

hi forum

i was out today testing a bowrider i was looking to buy (17ft 3 litre) when the weather took a turn for the worse

the waves were taller than the boat, i'd say 4ft maybe 5ft waves! this was the first time i'd driven a "powerfull" boat if you could call it that, and i was having the time of my life! but the sound! and the force of the boat hitting the boat! i couldn't belive the force the boat hits the water, it shattered the plastic holding on the newly installed speakers and i found one at the back of the boat on the floor when i left (i kept this quiet :S)

now my question is... was the weather really that bad? i think the reason it was so bad is that i'm 15 and the only thing i can think to do in those situations is a jeremy clarkson style POWER!! approach..

Anyway should i be expacting worse when i buy my boat eventually?

Looking foward to your responses

Nathan

p.s i think 1 more person has joined the boating community, THE MOST FUN I HAVE EVER HAD!

 

[americaneagler77]

Re: Bad weather! ... or so i thought?

a 17 foot boat doesnt belong on plane in 4 to 5 foot waves period. so you test drove a boat....damaged it, and left it to the owners? i guess its their fault for trusting a kid but you should respect the boat and the water a little more. not cool.

 

[southkogs]

Re: Bad weather! ... or so i thought?

Whoa ... how in the world did you not capsize the boat? A 17' bowrider in 5' seas with an inexperienced skipper is typically a news story waiting to happen. The "sound" you mentioned above was the sound of damage being inflicted on the glass and stringers - especially if you managed to break plastic around the speaker horns, you were putting some pretty incredible force on that boat and are pretty fortunate she didn't crack up on you. Not to mention americanagler77's comment about turning the boat back in broke. Definitely not cool.

When you do purchase one - you can only expect seas like or worse than that when you haven't properly paid attention to the weather or ignored small craft warnings.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Bad weather! ... or so i thought?

You guys are taking a 15 year old's story at face value? They were not 4-5 foot waves. That bayliner would be at the bottom if they were. I honestly believe very little of this story, it started with a truth and turned into a whale tail from there.

 

[Thalasso]

Re: Bad weather! ... or so i thought?

Whats with these 15 year old stories? Just stories.

 

[americaneagler77]

Re: Bad weather! ... or so i thought?

You guys are taking a 15 year old's story at face value? They were not 4-5 foot waves. That bayliner would be at the bottom if they were. I honestly believe very little of this story, it started with a truth and turned into a whale tail from there.

true

 

[Frozen]

Re: Bad weather! ... or so i thought?

true

agreed! What body of water was this on?

 

[Borgey401]

Re: Bad weather! ... or so i thought?

I highly highly doubt they were 4-5 foot waves. That bowrider will act as a scoop and just scoop up water and you're done in that kind of water. But you shouldn't have damaged the owners boat and just leave it for him to deal with. That's not cool and there is such thing as karma. As boat owners ourselves we all know how expensive even little things can be on boats. Once you realize that maybe you'll have more respect for them. Another thing is having respect for the water itself. A body of water is a very powerful thing and if it's not respected it will without a doubt whoop your butt. Just some food for thought.....

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Bad weather! ... or so i thought?

dialing back the question to reality, what he was doing (probably) was running off one wave and landing on the top of another, which can crack some hulls in half. The broken fixture shows the hammernig force. So aside from his view and our response to the size of the waves, the rest is good comment.

 

[Nathan k]

Re: Bad weather! ... or so i thought?

this was at brighton yesterday, south england. i was sat down and the waves were bigger than me at the sides at some points.

also i offered to buy the boat off him for ?2300 which was 300 more than he originaly wanted but he took someones elses offer for ?50 more.

 

[DuckHunterJon]

Re: Bad weather! ... or so i thought?

Agreed with all the others, just want to add - before you buy anything and before you go out in the water again. Please take a boaters safety course. Then, go buy a boat before beating on it. You will learn alot, but only if you are around to learn it. There are many scenarios where "powering out" isn't the best approach.

 

[Nathan k]

Re: Bad weather! ... or so i thought?

Yeah i have learnt that now, i am taking RYA level 2 in a week or two, it's a 2 day course and i'm hoping to learn alot

 

[Borgey401]

Re: Bad weather! ... or so i thought?

After taking the course go out the first 5-10 times with somebody who knows boats and is familiar with the body of water you're on. It'll help you out a lot in the long run.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Bad weather! ... or so i thought?

next time, take the seller with you. He'll have something to say about how you run it!

 

[Philster]

Re: Bad weather! ... or so i thought?

5' waves can be easier that 2.5' waves. It all depends on the type of wave and the frequency/spacing. Either way, slamming down means you are doing something stupid. Sometimes stupid is fun, and being stupid doesn't mean you'll die or be injured, but it certainly increases the likelihood.

I've been in seas taller than my 18' bowrider I had as a teen, and they were spaced well enough apart to float ever. I've been in 2-3' seas that were absolutely brutal.

 

[Nathan k]

Re: Bad weather! ... or so i thought?

next time, take the seller with you. He'll have something to say about how you run it!

He was with infact he did more damage than me i think, i almost got thrown of with him driving

and i agree with the comment above, yeah there was alot of spacing so you'd drop to the bottom of the waves after each one making it hit hard