When you get stuck ?

[d4570]

I would guess this is a jet boat question How do you get off a sand bar or a gravel bar or even a submerged island?
I carry a 12 volt 1500 lb wench 200 feet of cable and rope, a snatch block, two long handle shovels buck saw,two sets of chest waders and a small parachute. ALL of which I have used. Once and a while a good shove will work. In the right conditions when the current is running the right way I can lay the shoot out in the water and let the water pull us of( Be careful in heavy currant!!). If its a tree or something like that the saw can be used but that really sucks. On the sand it's just like getting your 4X4 stuck in the mud, you just got to shovel her out. I can use the wench if I can get a good wench point( almost never) I have wenched a lot of trees out of the ground but when it works it's easy. Just looking for more ideas...

 

[dsiekman]

Re: When you get stuck ?

Um, where in the *$@% do you boat that you have to carry all of that with you? I guess if I had to suggest additional gear it would be to invest in charts and a sounder to avoid finding the islands, bars, shoals, trees, etc.

Or, perhaps you could invest in an old surplus duck. You know, the amphibious vehicles they use for sightseeing tours.

 

[d4570]

Re: When you get stuck ?

Um, where in the *$@% do you boat that you have to carry all of that with you? I guess if I had to suggest additional gear it would be to invest in charts and a sounder to avoid finding the islands, bars, shoals, trees, etc..

I could use a transducer way out in front of the boat ,the one in the back only tells me what I already know... At 30 or 40 mph there not much time to look.
There is NO charts for the rivers I run, it would be wrong anyway the high water and ice change every thing each year.
I boat "Any" where Montana.

 

[NHGuy]

Re: When you get stuck ?

I don't get stuck, I do my boating in deep water at 30 to 50 MPH. Are you on a river with shifting shallows or something like that? Years ago I lived on the Mississippi for a summer and the locals all knew where you could go and where not to, even though it wasn't marked with nav aids. You could look at the water and tell where the shallows were by the way the current would move the water.
If you get stuck too much you might want to find a really old local boater, they know the tricks!

 

[d4570]

Re: When you get stuck ?

I don't get stuck, I do my boating in deep water at 30 to 50 MPH. Are you on a river with shifting shallows or something If you get stuck too much you might want to find a really old local boater, they know the tricks!

How much is to much? I am a" really old local boater"

We don't alway get stuck but it can happen any time any where in any of our rivers and some of the lakes. There prone to changing levels FAST. . The BIGGER the boat the Better it will handle the shallows more bottom area and all but ours at 2000 pounds is WAY easer to get out than a
10,000 pound diesel 25 footer.

 

[rwidman]

Re: When you get stuck ?

I would guess this is a jet boat question How do you get off a sand bar or a gravel bar or even a submerged island?
I carry a 12 volt 1500 lb wench ...............

I guarantee you, my wench weighs far less than that, but regardless of her weight, a wench is not likely to be of much use pulling a boat off a sandbar.

Have you thought of being more carefull where you're going? Of becoming a member of TowBoatUS or SeaTow and calling them?

 

[d4570]

Re: When you get stuck ?

Have you thought of being more careful where you're going?

We do see a lot of what we get stuck on , It's all a call of inches 5" water we go over the top 4" of water and we don't.
There is NO "BOAT TOW" company's in Montana your on your own...

 

[dsiekman]

Re: When you get stuck ?

I was in a "west coast" jet boat in OR a few years back. This tour boat was about 30' long, sat probably 20 people, and would do something like 65 mph in 5" of water. Absolutely crazy but a heck of a lot of fun.

Looks like you're in a fiberglass boat. The boats I've seen for that kind of river are mostly aluminum to avoid holeing the glass.

Understand your comment regarding transducers. I've never understood why they don't do forward looking sonar...or do they?

 

[maxum2400sc]

Re: When you get stuck ?

I was on a 4x4 forum a few min's ago before reading this post. They listed the same tools you did for their trail rides. lol. Sounds like you pretty explorative.

 

[diesel5599]

Re: When you get stuck ?

I could use a transducer way out in front of the boat ,the one in the back only tells me what I already know... At 30 or 40 mph there not much time to look.
There is NO charts for the rivers I run, it would be wrong anyway the high water and ice change every thing each year.
I boat "Any" where Montana.

You cannot mount a transducer on the front because the front of a boat is out of the water when on plane. Transducers only work if they are submerged in water or the surface they are mounted to is completely in contact with water (i.e. the back of a boat).

They do have some wide angle transducers, but they only see from side to side, I would imagine any forwad looking transducer would be too bulky and would likely get ripped off when you did hit something or due to the drag caused by the water.

 

[drrpm]

Re: When you get stuck ?

It sounds liike the OP is boating on a shallow river with his comment about strong currents. The gear sounds appropriate to his use. If I ran aground that hard I'd be better off staying put because my outdrive would be gone.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: When you get stuck ?

We do see a lot of what we get stuck on , It's all a call of inches 5" water we go over the top 4" of water and we don't.
There is NO "BOAT TOW" company's in Montana your on your own...

So i do a lot of the same type of boating you do... (on the missouri) Commercial towboats? The nearest one is probably 1000 miles away. River markers? hahahahaha, not a chance. (or even charts for that matter) Sandbars can change daily depending on currents and water level. Luckily there are almost no rocks/deadhead stumps, just sand.

I've gotten my jetboat hung up a couple times, and one trick I always use is to get the bow pointed upstream no matter what. Once you have that done, anchor it so it stays there, and then climb back on board and have a beer. Very likely that once you are done with the beer, your boat will be free or very close to it. What happens is that the shape of the hull forces the current to wash away sand under you, forming a pocket around you. (this obviously depends on current going over the sandbar, which there usually is)

also, depending on the boat, you can feel sandbars! its subtle, but once you get used to it, you can gauge the water depth just by the feel of the boat. On mine, I start to notice it in about 2 feet of water, the boat starts pitching forward. Once I'm down to 6 inches or less it probably has pitched bow down about 10 degrees.

final tip, don't let off the throttle until you actually make contact! Pulling back in shallow water is a sure way to make sure you actually DO get stuck...

 

[sasto]

Re: When you get stuck ?

Maybe stay to the outside of the river bends and away from the estuaries that dump into her. I realize your need for speed to get on plane.... Slow down....unless the excitement is coming from running a river Indy style, then I think you have a pretty good style of getting her free. "If ya haven't run aground, you haven't been anywhere"

 

[Thajeffski]

Re: When you get stuck ?

I'd like to see your wench

 

[LazyCruiser]

Re: When you get stuck ?

You may have discovered a new pasttime: 4x4 Boating

Good luck & be careful

Sarah

 

[AllAboard]

Re: When you get stuck ?

I'd like to see your wench

 

[d4570]

Re: When you get stuck ?

Absolutely crazy but a heck of a lot of fun.
Looks like you're in a fiberglass boat. The boats I've seen for that kind of river are mostly aluminum to avoid holeing the glass.

Nope its all aluminum
An 18 foot Hewescraft sportsman with a 175 inboard Mercury sport jet.

 

[d4570]

Re: When you get stuck ?

You may have discovered a new pasttime: 4x4 Boating Sarah

Thats exactly what my wife calls it...

 

[Beefer]

Re: When you get stuck ?

You could always switch to a hovercraft or an airboat , and ditch all of that equipment! I haven't beached a boat in about 30 yrs., so I'm really no help. I'm sure if I boated where you do, I'd be in trouble.

 

[EddiePetty]

Re: When you get stuck ?

.....Um, where in the *$@% do you boat that you have to carry all of that with you? ......

Ha, Ha !!!!!! The answer to that is in his location!!!!

" On the LAND" !!!