How does your boat handle chop?

[boating brad]

Re: How does your boat handle chop?

i was at lake marion 1st week of june, in my 14ft bayliner capri. i was anchored on a dropoff in the early evening 7:30ish about 6 miles from base. the wind kicked up so bad we couldnt fish, the anchors and boat were moving at a high rate of speed. anyway i started heading back. the waves were 3+ft it was a little scary at first! i had to keep the bow up to keep the water spray out of the boat. anyway i sped up, and the faster i went the better it took it! i was doing 30mph for the last 4miles "in the dark" of coarse it pounded a little but it wasnt too bad, tell you what. i have a 17ft dixie that i think woulda sank in that stuff!<br />anybody that goes to santee alot, knows it gets pretty bad when the wind blows!

 

[cpasseno03]

Re: How does your boat handle chop?

I had a little old tri hull, 55 horse. That thing had lines like a shoebox! It was horrible in anything but flat. It was even a little hairy on flat if you decided to deviate from your course, at all. My next boat, a '58 aluminum 18 footer is much nicer! She only goes 20 with a 40 horse but is the sweetest riding boat (in its class) that I know. 2 footers will get you wet, but wont jar the spine too bad. I beat that tri hull up pretty good out here in northern huron. She kept filling with water when we were diving a few miles out, so I put in a bilge pump, figuring it was just getting in and out with gear on and all. Later on realized I was pounding 5-10 miles through foot and a halfers, then leaving the boat for an hour, with what turned out to be a foot long stress crack right under the drivers seat!! the straits of mackinac can be trecherous, kind of makes you think about the slight irony of diving out of your boat, on to one of the many one or two hundred foot long freighters that lost the same battle you could easily find yourself in upon surfacing! Just the other day we went out in great conditions, water like glass. went down checked the anchor, which was wedged in the wreck pretty well. Swam around for twenty minutes before realizing the anchor pulled loose, we ascended to see the boat over a mile away, amidst two footers, and building. Luckily my friends wife stayed in the boat and saw us! Things like that make you check that anchor twice, and have some trust in your boat before you take her out there. All in the inevitable process of getting older and wiser!<br />Craig<br />(Im in the market for a cheap high-seas dive boat)

 

[SeaMasterZ@aol.com]

Re: How does your boat handle chop?

one to two hundred foot ships ... the edmund fitzgerald was a 729 footer, wieghed over 13 thousand tons ... legend has it she was hauling 26 thousand tons when she went down<br /><br />"Does anyone know where the love of God goes<br /><br />when the waves turn the minutes to hours? " <br /><br />only saw one great lake, michigan, and it was pretty impressive, like looking at an ocean .. I imagine being in the middle of one, no land in sight in any direction, would be pretty scary ... with thirty foot waves breaking everywhere!

 

[nitsuj]

Re: How does your boat handle chop?

This topic is one I was hoping to find on here. I'm also a novice boater, for the most part. I have an early 70's 17 foot Glastron Semi-v (I think it's a semi). When motoring down the river, if I get into a rough spot, and the boat starts "slapping" the water, it sounds like it could just fall apart any minute. Is it as bad as it sounds? Do I just ride it out? Should I slow it down a bit? Is there a way to navigate it correctly? As in, turn 90 degrees to the wake? Or run along it?

 

[james1]

Re: How does your boat handle chop?

You are looking for a safe stable boat? Here in South Africa we have a Butt-Cat. These boats are extremely stable and seaworthy. Unfortunately I don't have a web adress fot them but if you can find one they should be supr cheap for you guys to buy/import.<br />They also make extremely good dive boats.<br />If you guys want, I can maybe get John Butt(boat builder) to contact you.<br />James <br />james_heideli@telkomsa.net<br /><br />NOTE TO ALL MODS. I HAVE NO DEALINGS WITH THESE GUYS, I'M ONLY TRYING TO HELP.<br />THANKS.

 

[walleyehed]

Re: How does your boat handle chop?

1979 1800 Fisherman, gutted and refurbished. Designed my own layout based on combinations of new boats. incorporated a 36gal livewell up front with casting deck extending between consoles. The area between consoles holds 2 group 31 batteries for 24vlt minnKota on the nose.<br />1997 115 Johnny on the back just rebuilt by me this spring...18gal built-in fuel with a 6 plumbed in beside it.<br />Boat handles chop-1'or less effortlessly, with no bouncing, as long as you keep it trimmed level or clear in. In bigger water-2-3ft swells it handles well especially if livewell is full. It really cuts it's way thru. I'm very happy with this boat...I spent 4-1/2 years rebuilding and it was worth every day of it. If I had it to do over, it would have a 150 on the transom.

 

[riptide116]

Re: How does your boat handle chop?

I currently drive a 'old shoebox'<br />1959 Uniflite 14 ft w/15hp evinrude,like a pig on the water and found out that is hull is allmost outdated for my likeing<br />3-4 ft swells is the max for my blood,got caught in some nasty stuff and DONT wanna deal with a tide change @ a BAAAD spot,thought i could get thru -PPPHHHHTTTT!!!-had my share of rough water!!!<br /><br />I love it when the water is like glass,gotta figure out that tide thing...never go further from shore that you are physicly capable of swimming. <br /><br />I did a crab boat in alaska "F/V Bountifull" a 135x35 ft vessle,42 man crew.<br />did the grand curve back from dutch harbor alaska to strait of juan de fuca (washington state)in a straight line(i.e.grand curve) with a load of krab and 250 crab pots,plowing thru some big'uns, easy 30-40 ft swells with a bad case of ice (3-5 inches in 6 hrs on rigging and pots)winter tour december to march.<br /><br />the puyallup fair just aint the same.<br />....and that was allmost 10yrs ago and I still not like 'rough' water...<br /><br />Peace from the Southern Puget Sound<br />Boating season allmost here,I gotta cram to get boat ready for the season!!!!<br />see ya on the water!

 

[MajBach]

Re: How does your boat handle chop?

I have a 2000 16' 6" Sylvan aluminum with a 90 hp Honda. It is just shy of 8' wide and has a 'gull wing' hull. Despite its deep rake on the bow, if there is one thing I am not completely satisfied with with this boat is how it handles the chop. Actually, it's not all that bad, it's just that sometimes even a chop less than a foot can slow me right down to a crawl - if they're widely spaced. Typically though, this is when I have 4 adults on board and a full tank - all in the rear. I frequently fill the front live well and this makes a considerable difference, even increases the top end.<br />On the other hand, I am totally impressed with how it handles big swells. I have been caught out on Georgian Bay with 3' -4' footers on more than one occassion and she never comes down hard. Boat is also bone dry (including the bow)in all conditions, thanks to low spray rail and 37" deep hull. <br />I compare this to a 17.5' Wahoo (almost identical to a Whaler) that my friend has. We could almost plane on those 3'-4' seas and she could take the worst of beatings. Always got pretty wet though.<br />I dare say that my Sylvan could run circles around my old 23' Sea Ray Sundancer in heavy seas too.

 

[sandijk]

Re: How does your boat handle chop?

Used to own a 22' Bayliner small cruiser.<br />Chop? What chop? Never felt it. Smooth as velvet ride through lake whitecaps Chop? Like a Champ?<br /><br />Sandi

 

[jrcraft]

Re: How does your boat handle chop?

I have no complaints with my 2000 Starcraft 2010. She's pretty heavy and the 5.0 will push me through just about anything. Deep floor with the deep V keeps everyone in the boat and pretty much everything dry.

 

[Twidget]

Re: How does your boat handle chop?

Posted by Nitsuj:<br />

I have an early 70's 17 foot Glastron Semi-v (I think it's a semi). When motoring down the river, if I get into a rough spot, and the boat starts "slapping" the water, it sounds like it could just fall apart any minute.

Do you have a semi V, or a TriHull? A TriHull has a large center hull and sponsons on the side. A Semi V is a regular V hull that doesnt have a very deep V in the stern.<br /><br />If you have a TriHull, the slapping is normal, water is getting trapped between the main hull and sponsons. Every Glastron TriHull I have ever seen sounds like its breaking up when you hit chop. We had three of them while I was growing up. It is a good boat, pounding in chop not included.

 

[Twidget]

Re: How does your boat handle chop?

I have a 16.5 foot Silverline DeVille with an '83 Mercury 90. It handles chop very well, it has a very deep V for its size and throws the water away from the hull. It is a heavy boat for its size also, the fiberglass is really thick on the hull.<br /><br />Now lets not mention stability at rest. The stern is too narrow and curved to mount a boarding ladder, so I have to use the over the gunnel variety. Im 6'3" and 275lbs, so the boat really tips when I crawl back in.

 

[QC]

Re: How does your boat handle chop?

Twidget . . . Holy time warp batman!! nitsuj's last post was almost two years ago and this one was almost three years ago . . . It's like being caught by Muttley over on the Dock

 

[Realgun]

Re: How does your boat handle chop?

Well I love the Bayliner 1700 Capri or 17.5 FT.<br />Handes wakes just fine but the lake was really choppy with 4 to 5 ft white caps. And I was getting wet from the waves and bumped pretty darn hard! The Ranger told me stay close to shore. Not me, only 100 yards out and turned around and loaded backup. Was just to windy darn it! It did ride good with the wind as you did not get so darn wet. The hull did toss the water away but the wind picked it up and tossed it over the boat. 2-3ft waves it rides pretty good.<br /><br />I just don't like cold water!

 

[Twidget]

Re: How does your boat handle chop?

Hmmm, color me stupid. I didnt look at the date.

 

[tomatolord]

Re: How does your boat handle chop?

14ft mckee and 17ft mckee - tri-hull type boats <br /><br />Handles great in the summer - that nice spray keeps you cool<br /><br />Terrible in the winter months - that nice spray is very cold.<br /><br />nough said?<br /><br />Tomatolord