Taking Water In Over Bow

[Greene's Basin Girl]

We solved any problems that may occur in rough water. We purchased a tri-toon pontoon boat with a performance package. Boating through the broads is as easy as pie. Now going through the broads with our Seadoo is a different problem. We always go over the waves at an angle.

[Rattlesnake Gal]

This will certainly add time to your voyage, but might be much less rough: Head southward down the island with the waves and then cut across using Treasure and Sleeper Islands as shelter, making your way up to WAM.

[Baja Guy]

I agree with taking it at an angle, somewhere around 45 degrees to the waves. Plus, adjust your steering with each wave. In following seas you may need to run a gentler angle down the front of a wave before you hit the trough, and then turn a bit into the wave as you climb to the next peak. And as the previous poster said do whatever you can to keep your drive in the water since it is your control surface.
Also when stuff gets dicey don a PFD. (lifejacket) Put your cell phone in a plastic bag too.

[rgilfert]

Lots of good stuff here ...thank you! From reading everyone's posts it seems like my single biggest mistake was heading directly into the waves versus taking them at an angle. Actually, the thought of pursuing more of a "tacking" strategy crossed mind but at the time I wasn't sure whether it would help or hurt. Now, from your input, I know that it would have helped and I will definitely take the waves at more of an angle in the future. It makes complete sense!
I've been boating on Winnipesaukee most of my life. When I was a kid, I used to LOVE to go out into the Broads in rough weather and beat the H out of my Grandfather's boat. However when you're young you're invincible (at least you are in your own mind). Now that I'm an old goat I realize that bad things do, in fact, happen and thus I've become MUCH less of a dare devil! This feeling was amplified by the fact that I could see concern/fear in my wife's eyes (she's not a strong swimmer) and all of these things made for a bad boating experience!
A couple of other specific responses:
1) RG - When we left the island late in the morning last Sunday (9/23) it was once again very windy (although not quite as bad as the previous Sunday)...and we did exactly what you suggested. We headed south and went with the waves and then stayed in the shelter of the Rattlesnake peninsula as well as Treasure, Cub, and Sleeper Islands on our way to WAM. Going that direction was infinitely better!
2) Baja Guy - We absolutely agree with your PFD suggestion. In the wake of this experience we both agreed that we are going to buy a couple "quality" PFDs and actually start wearing them in the boat when it is really rough.
3) Slickcraft - Now I know that your comments regarding using a small bowrider as your sole "vehicle" when living on an island is not the best choice is true. Totally agree! Both my wife and I frequently talked this summer about what we type of boat we want as our next boat and we're in complete agreement with your comments/suggestions.
Once again....thanks to all for your input!

Rog

[tis]

Taking waves at an angle was something my father taught me when I first starting driving a boat-when I was about ten maybe even younger. Kid could drive in those days.

[pontoonbarge]

Lots of great advice ! I've been reading on this subject for years.... the angle into the waves idea has been very helpful. My old pontoonbarge is not meant for the rough water, but my V-hull takes it well. There is some great information in the Army Corps of Engineers Coastal Engineering Manual. (I found online a few years ago; at present it seems to need a password to get into it..)

It had a very interesting point -- the reason the waves are often bigger in the fall, is that the wind has a higher coefficient of friction when the air is colder than the water.

Anyway it give creedance to what we see out there and to the Edmund Fitzgerald song.

It also showed how the edge of the waves toward an island get slowed down, so that out from the lee end of an island the waves can "wrap around" from both sides, adding and cancelling depending on their phase. It can lead to some unusual wave sizes based on constructive/destructive interference.


My Boat Handling Under Power book says the worst boat for waves is a "flat bottomed ferry barge" (my pontoonbarge??) Interesting.

Be safe

Andrew

[Belmont Resident]

I've been out in 4 foot waves and had the same thing happening to me. I was able to adjust my tabs, trim & speed and make it work going straight into the waves.
But I also believe the length of the boat can add or subtract from the problem.
A smaller boat is going to have many more problems during these conditions then a bigger boat will, which is why many will recommend at 24+ foot boat when people ask for recommendations on boat sizes for Winni.
Green Basin Girls I'd question weather your referring to the same type of weather as mentioned. I was on a 28+ pontoon boat being ferried out to a job.
When I asked about how the boat takes the lake I was told a totally different story. Having not seen how a pontoon reacts on the broads in big waves I cannot comment. It does not make sense that a pontoon boat with or without canvas will outperform a v-hull in rough/windy conditions. With canvas up you will be protected but your gonna get blown around and have to deal with that as well as the waves. I owned a cruiser and it was amazing what putting the canvas up did to make the boat hard to manage on a windy day.

[upthesaukee]

this article on trim tabs touches on how to use trim tabs in a variety of situations, including rough weather.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5647543_use-trim-tabs.html

[LIforrelaxin]

Originally Posted by Belmont Resident

A smaller boat is going to have many more problems during these conditions then a bigger boat will, which is why many will recommend at 24+ foot boat when people ask for recommendations on boat sizes for Winni.

Why is it people always assume longer is better.... I can say this, as I practice it... Handling the rough water is not just about length, it is about width, and hull configuration... I have never had a boat longer then 18'... one was an incredibly sharp V hull, that would slice through the wave, and made the rough water easy to deal with... My current boat has a wide beam, and is extremely stable because of it. and thus unless I am heading directly into or with a set of wave, is a very comfortable riding boat.

On the contrary, I have been in some narrow 22-24' boats that handle the waves awful, as the don't cut into the wave, nor do they have side to side stability......

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That aside, Trim tabs, definitely help... and are a good investment when either buying a new boat, or looking to help a old boat out, that is being kept long term.....

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last Pontoon, vs. TriToon.... Two different beasts... I would agree that Pontoons an a rough day aren't that great... A tri-toon on the other hand is a world of difference......

I have been on both... and was amazed at how much better the tritoon handled.

[Island Girl]

Waves are not all the same height.... And are variable in length. There is often a "path" between the high waves that can be followed. It looks like zig zagging through the water. You can often look ahead and plan the path through the lower waves. The color of the water is a little different as well... Look for the lighter color. A sailing instructor taught me this. It is kind of fun... And takes the mind off of being scared.

I have a 20 ft. Cuddy which handles the waves well.... Bow up as suggested. My rule of thumb is when Accuweather forecasts anything over 11 mph M
N, NW, WNW, W.... I plan to stay off the water. I will leave the island early, stay late, etc. to avoid being out there is high winds.

IG

I did have an 18' bowrider and the wave did come over the bow and into the boat. .... Learned the hard way.

[Greene's Basin Girl]

Originally Posted by Belmont Resident

I've been out in 4 foot waves and had the same thing happening to me. I was able to adjust my tabs, trim & speed and make it work going straight into the waves.
But I also believe the length of the boat can add or subtract from the problem.
A smaller boat is going to have many more problems during these conditions then a bigger boat will, which is why many will recommend at 24+ foot boat when people ask for recommendations on boat sizes for Winni.
Green Basin Girls I'd question weather your referring to the same type of weather as mentioned. I was on a 28+ pontoon boat being ferried out to a job.
When I asked about how the boat takes the lake I was told a totally different story. Having not seen how a pontoon reacts on the broads in big waves I cannot comment. It does not make sense that a pontoon boat with or without canvas will outperform a v-hull in rough/windy conditions. With canvas up you will be protected but your gonna get blown around and have to deal with that as well as the waves. I owned a cruiser and it was amazing what putting the canvas up did to make the boat hard to manage on a windy day.

Did the 28 foot pontoon boat have 2 or 3 pontoon's? The number of pontoon's can make an unbelievable difference when out in the broads on a rough day.

[ApS]

1) An outboard boat that my Dad and I built for Winnipesaukee, would be "all wrong" for The Big Lake; however, we never took water over the bow. In fact, we didn't mount a windshield to stop that possibility.

How did we manage for a decade with just a 14-foot outboard boat? Perhaps because Dad had been racing "Laconia Speedsters" on Lake Winnipesaukee since the 1930s—and the boat was a very lightweight boat that took chop very well. That boat never saw an outboard with more than 45-HP.

During those years, we never "wanted" for anything greater for the lake. Later, we moved to a 24' sailboat—one very much like the sailboats that regularly circumnavigate the globe.

2) A few years ago, I was never so impressed as after a dinner at the Wolfeboro Inn, I came upon a couple at a table who were Rattlesnake Island friends—one being a general-aviation pilot—and just four miles from their Rattlesnake Island cottage. Without being aware of any remarkable weather conditions out on the lake, we asked, "What brings you to town this evening"?

They said, "We're staying overnight at the Inn—there's too much chop for our 24' bowrider".

• Weather and waves are not a constant: if you're taking water over the bow, you probably shouldn't out there. Pilots call such trips "Get-there-itis"—which has taken many a pilot. As I see it, you're never going to beat Mother Nature. Decide before you go.