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Winnipesaukee · 08-26-2008, 10:16 AM

Now let's make it complicated.

That minimum speed a boat must maintain can change given the conditions.

Take, for example, a 4mph current to the Lakeport dam (it's a crazy spring). If you're going into Paugus Bay, and your little 15' Whaler needs water moving under its rudder at 3mph to maintain steerage. So since you're going with the current, your speed over ground will need to be 7mph: 4mph with the current and 3mph more to get water moving over the rudder.

It's kind of like walking on one of those airport walkways. You're walking at your normal speed, but that plus the speed of the walkway makes you move much faster.

Now, let's say you're in your Whaler in the above conditions, with a following sea with 2 foot waves. You need 10mph to maintain steerage. Illegal? What if you're in a NWZ on Lake ABC in Xyz, New Hampshire that has a following current of 10mph? Do you need to throw your boat in reverse to stay under 6mph?

Generally, as a rule of thumb when powerboating in a NWZ, I make a wake as big as the waves I'm in, and speed is irrelevant. By this I mean that my wake can be seen feet off my stern but "blends in" with the water past that.

This generally means that a) my wake isn't more damaging than the natural waves are, if at all, and b) I can maintain a good amount of steerage at that speed. I don't know how legal this is, but I've done this on several bodies of water, past law enforcement and property owners, and have never had any issues.

Okay, how about this... I'm sailing zig-zag upwind in a NWZ with an average speed of 12mph, but a velocity made good of 5mph. Is that illegal?

08-26-2008, 10:16 AM	#38
Winnipesaukee Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 233 Thanks: 14 Thanked 16 Times in 12 Posts	Now let's make it complicated. That minimum speed a boat must maintain can change given the conditions. Take, for example, a 4mph current to the Lakeport dam (it's a crazy spring). If you're going into Paugus Bay, and your little 15' Whaler needs water moving under its rudder at 3mph to maintain steerage. So since you're going with the current, your speed over ground will need to be 7mph: 4mph with the current and 3mph more to get water moving over the rudder. It's kind of like walking on one of those airport walkways. You're walking at your normal speed, but that plus the speed of the walkway makes you move much faster. Now, let's say you're in your Whaler in the above conditions, with a following sea with 2 foot waves. You need 10mph to maintain steerage. Illegal? What if you're in a NWZ on Lake ABC in Xyz, New Hampshire that has a following current of 10mph? Do you need to throw your boat in reverse to stay under 6mph? Generally, as a rule of thumb when powerboating in a NWZ, I make a wake as big as the waves I'm in, and speed is irrelevant. By this I mean that my wake can be seen feet off my stern but "blends in" with the water past that. This generally means that a) my wake isn't more damaging than the natural waves are, if at all, and b) I can maintain a good amount of steerage at that speed. I don't know how legal this is, but I've done this on several bodies of water, past law enforcement and property owners, and have never had any issues. Okay, how about this... I'm sailing zig-zag upwind in a NWZ with an average speed of 12mph, but a velocity made good of 5mph. Is that illegal? __________________ Sail fast, live slow!