Mother Nature Kicked our Butt

[Robski97]

Gary beat me to it ... When u can SMELL the lightening ... GOOD JOB getting everyone home safe.... That sat weather for my GPS is the best money I ever spent!!!!

Rob

 

[Turtlesboat]

It only gets scary when the cabinet doors start breaking...

Or the bilge pump floats start "floating" from being tossed around...

or when you can "smell" the lightning...

Or the hail is hitting the eisenglass so hard it leaves indentations in it....

Seriously, i have not been hit or caught in bad stuff since I bought my XM weather equipment. I got tired of being on the Chesapeake Bay and being part of the afternoon "fun". It seemed before I bought the XM equipment, it was an annual thing to get my clock cleaned by a storm.

Looking into it now. I could see my GF was terrified, not a good feeling to know you put someone in that position.

 

[chuck1]

Hey Mike this is sounding more and more like a big Turtle tale what with dragon & pirates. Next thing you are going to add this monster tidal wave that rolled the whole boat.:lol: You know we are not going to believe you without pictures. I mean you are the "Minister of Media" and did not have you video going. :smt021


Seriously glad to hear you came through it in one piece. I've only been caught a couple times in bad weather in 40+ years of boating and it sure can teach you a lot. What is that say "Lord your ocean and sea are so great and my boat is so small":smt100

 

[Nehalennia]

The XM weather looks pretty slick.

I have the Garmin. Does it just overlay the Weather Doppler over the Nav screen?

 

[Four Suns]

The XM weather looks pretty slick.

I have the Garmin. Does it just overlay the Weather Doppler over the Nav screen?

It does an overlay. It also shows vectors of where the storms/cells are heading and gives their speed.

I don't have a Garmin but have a software package called WxWorx ( http://www.wxworx.com/ ) and run it on the bridge computer but you could also run it on a laptop if you don't have a chartplotter that supports Sirius or XM weather.

 

[Nehalennia]

It does an overlay. It also shows vectors of where the storms/cells are heading and gives their speed.

I don't have a Garmin but have a software package called WxWorx ( http://www.wxworx.com/ ) and run it on the bridge computer but you could also run it on a laptop if you don't have a chartplotter that supports Sirius or XM weather.

Yeah sounds cool. Garmin's site doesn't really show a good "Screen shot" or description, but I get the jist of it.

It would be nice to know if your running into or out of the fray.

The Weather around here is pretty predictable for the most part, but there are a few occasions that if in the wrong place at the wrong time and the weather decides to kick up, I'd be kicking myself, or the Admiral would be kicking me.

 

[Troubadour]

We got caught out on the hook on Sunday in Boston harbor. It was an unreal storm that was fast moving. I was able to power us on the edge of the path of the storm for half of the way until the wind shifted and we were enveloped by near zero vis, hail, lightning, 30kt+ winds. luckily I was lined up for a straight bearing into the harbor at 6kts because I wouldn't have wanted to stray from course across the channel. Lots of people were racing in, several people were turning around mid channel as they realized it was way worse than they thought. I had to idle at what i would usually make 12kts at to stay in one spot once we were in.

Any tips on tuning the radar to perform a little better? I had a radar whiteout even at 1/4 mile range. One a different point, the boat handled wonderfully. Our guests were a little tense however but I did my best to keep them feeling like we were ok.

All in all, weather is an unpredictable thing this time of year (or any time of year in New England really!).

Brian

 

[Dave S]

I'm jealous. We only get wimpy weather on Lake Wyile and nothing like you went thru Mike. On second thought maybe that's good.:smt043

Glad to hear you came thru it OK Mike.

Dave

 

[Boatingfool]

The XM weather looks pretty slick.

I have the Garmin. Does it just overlay the Weather Doppler over the Nav screen?

Correct, the XM Radar overlay's right over your normal GPS Chart on the Garmin...really neat!

 

[fc3]

Any tips on tuning the radar to perform a little better? I had a radar whiteout even at 1/4 mile range. One a different point, the boat handled wonderfully. Our guests were a little tense however but I did my best to keep them feeling like we were ok.
Brian

Assuming that you have a Raymarine, there are three controls. Gain, rain clutter, and FTC (Fast Time Constant.) There are no hard and fast rules to adjusting these. I usually start with auto gain, then bring in a little rain decluttering and FTC until I start getting an image, then adjust gain and go back to playing with FTC and rain. The manual has more details. It's more art than science.

Best regards,
Frank C

 

[Troubadour]

Assuming that you have a Raymarine, there are three controls. Gain, rain clutter, and FTC (Fast Time Constant.) There are no hard and fast rules to adjusting these. I usually start with auto gain, then bring in a little rain decluttering and FTC until I start getting an image, then adjust gain and go back to playing with FTC and rain. The manual has more details. It's more art than science.

Best regards,
Frank C

Yes, C80 with 2KW Radome. I went over after work today and was able to tune with the gain and clutter in manual and it's quick once you get used to it. Like any good electronic, it doesn't replace common sense and slowing down. The electrical engineer in me wants to design a couple planar arrays to see if I can build something more sensitive (think Aegis!). That and a wave guide and I could cook duck at 300 yds!

I'm going to take her out tomorrow in the slop they are calling for to see how the FTC effects pickup. I'll let you know what I find. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Air O'Nautical]

Turtle glad you made it OK.
We were on our way to Block Island and stayed on a gas dock instead of going through it.
Hope you didnt scare the GF out of boating.
Cheers,
Mark.

 

[tphinney]

for those of you that carry blackberry's or window's mobile devices here are a couple of websites to help you steer out of harms way. remember you do have to be close enough to shore to get a cell signal so anything more than 3-5 miles offshore (depending on the coverage area) and it won't work.


depending on the capabilities of you device this site will give you either a static uptodate image or an animated image of the local loop radar for "ANYWHERE" (this includes Europe)

http://www.ssec.wisc.edu/data/paw

I used this site on my 125 mile trip home from tween waters to doag thunderheads as I was heaed back to Tampa Bay. until I hit a masive thunderhead that I could not go around.


http://www.wunderground.com/radar/map.asp

this site has NexRad radar sites that you can customize the view and then bookmark as I have done for the area I boat in mostly.

I will probably breakdown one day and get the XM weather module for my Garmin 545s but until then at least I will know what i am head for before I get in reall bad trouble.

Turtel glad you made it home in one peace, definately check for loose screws as I foud screws from my wind screen backing out after my little trip.

 

[Turtlesboat]

Turtle glad you made it OK.
We were on our way to Block Island and stayed on a gas dock instead of going through it.
Hope you didnt scare the GF out of boating.
Cheers,
Mark.

Nope, she's not scared out of boating. I brought up the idea of going to a bigger boat and she said no way. "I love our little 280, especially because she got us through hell."

Things I did find about the 280 with 4.3's A1's

cruising in following seas is not easy. The seas were traveling at about 15-16 mph. The boat can't stay on plane well at this speed. The 4.3's don't have enough power to stay at a constant speed in these kind of conditions, don't know about the bigger engines.

I had to hit about 21 mph and ride over the swells. Climbing up a swell was a challenge for her at 21 mph and not fall off plane near the top. Any faster and we would launch off the swell. Any slower and we would fall off plane.

Riding over the steep swells, my A1's would cavitate at the top, not sure how to avoid this other than going to inboards.

every 10 or so minutes I would run into big swells. I would have to adjust my throttles to motor up them and then spend 5 min trying to get back to the speed I was at.

I spent a few hours practicing cruising in following seas. Any tips or advice is welcome. To me, it felt more comfortable going faster than the seas rather than slower. But maybe I just doing it wrong.

 

[islandhopper00]

I'll tell you what I do but it doesn't make it right. If I'm not in a hurry, I just follow the waves. Meaning I get just in front of the trough, and follow the wave in front of me. If in a hurry, do what you did. Power over the wave in front of me, but, make sure to not jump over or you could stuff the bow into the next wave as you found out. Everyone wishes everyone else following seas, but they are tough to run if they get big. No boat has enough power to push over the wave in front easily. Never try to overpower mother nature. The ocean won't have it. If you get crossed up in a following sea, that's when you broach or roll the boat. Not good. When I had a sail boat I've "knocked her down" because I was pushing to hard. When the wave catches you and lifts the stern, you start to surf, not good. Quartering in heavy seas, not me. I change course and take the "long way". Head seas, speed. Slow down, tabs, and don't bang the boat. That's why when I buy a boat, I want to know how slow can it go, and stay on plane.
I've run the gulf stream at 12-15mph. in 4-6ft seas in the 240. It's scary but if you get caught out there, there is only one thing to save you. Your skills as a boat operator.

 

[Nehalennia]

.........I spent a few hours practicing cruising in following seas. Any tips or advice is welcome. To me, it felt more comfortable going faster than the seas rather than slower. But maybe I just doing it wrong.

What I have found in either a big tail wind with larger following seas is to try and go just slightly faster than their speed. This should allow you to use the energy to propel you, but also not bury the bow into the next wave because you're going too fast.
When you do crest and fall towards the next wave turning slightly to one direction in a rythym avoiding that bow burying really keeps the ride soft.

The challenge is if you always have these waves on your hip. If you can, alter your course to allow the waves to follow you (perpendicular if possible) for some distance, then turn towards your desired heading and surf the waves. This should gain speed and keep the pounding on a hip to a minimum. It's hard to described and can be really botched if done incorrectly, so I wish I could show you, but being on smaller boats in some undesireable seas before, has taught me this technique. It's much more comfortable, but takes some practice. Done incorrectly seems like eternity.

 

[Alex F]

TT,
I'm glad you made it through in one piece with no damages. We all learn much more when get caught in rough situations. Just a few comments/questions:

- You had mentioning that there wasn’t enough fuel. How far was a closest harbor? How much fuel did you have at the beginning of the trip?
- Your 280DA has a radar arch, I would consider adding a radar. When I was upgrading my boat, knowing that I’ll be travelling by water only, a radar was on my “must have” list. It helps a lot in poor viz.
- You had mentioned that only with a help of compass you could verify your position/course. Don’t you have GPS/Chartplotter? Even on my 240DA I had two units (1 installed, 1 handheld) and 3rd (old handheld) as a backup. I don’t know what I would do without them in poor viz. or at night. If you don’t have one and don’t want to commit to an installed unit, there’re number of handheld or portable units that will do just fine. Investing in to good navigational aid is critical IMO.
- You said that you almost lost your dinghy as it was sliding off. what do you use to tie it on the platform? I use regular ½” lines and it’s fine.

Once again, I’m glad you guys are ok and you did a great job as the captain.

Regards,
Alex.

 

[fc3]

Following seas technique will depend on the conditions and the boat. Either keeping pace or running faster is acceptable, but you have to determine which when you're in those conditions. It's not one-size-fits-all. While running in following seas, you're nearly always adjusting power. My technique is slightly different from my previous boat (single @#$@ Alpha 1) and my current boat, which has twin V drives. The V drives do not ventilate. You actually experienced ventilation, not cavitation. There's a difference.

Alex is right. Visibility issues do tend to go away with a good radar and plotter. A GPS alone is insufficient! I'd rather only have radar than only have GPS. That said, Furuno makes the best radar units, with Raymarine being pretty close behind. Pretty close depends on who just released a new generation. Ray catches up a little, the Furuno leaps ahead. Ray only got ahead of Furuno once back in the late 90s when they dumped their XX stuff. The tests I've seen show the rest as a mixed bag.

Once you own a radar set, use it every day, in good weather, bad weather, and at night. You need to get used to the unit before you can rely on it. Practice is a must. I used my radar Saturday night coming back from the restaurant. The only time I needed the spot light was to hit the headlight idiots who we bent on blinding everyone else.

Best regards,
Frank

 

[osd9]

I wonder what 60MPH winds, with quarter size hail, would do to an open array? Would the mechanical 'spin' be affected?

 

[fc3]

Dom,

Check the specs. Most open arrays are rated to at least 100 MPH winds.

Best regards,
Frank