seaworthy searays?

Odyssey said:
When we all tried to get over to Port Lucaya on Memorial Day, Mike with his 48 sedan bridge and I with my 44 EB left Hillsboro inlet in what I would describe as 4 -6 foot seas (occassional 7 footers). It was uncomfortable and didn't take us long to decide to turn around. I wasn't about to endure those conditions for 6 hours. I do not however remember waves coming over the bow.

As Chad said, the frequency of the waves make a big difference as well as the speed and direction of the vessel.

Randy
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Randy,

I remember that weekend. Starting Thuursday winds were out of the east at 20~25 MPH with a small craft advisory. Seas were 4~6 ft. and higher in the Gulfstream. That forcast was from Jupiter Inlet to Key Largo and out 60 Nautical Miles , which pretty much put the end to any comfortable offshore cruising no matter what you were running. I recall that there were a few inlet accidents that weekend involving small boats that ventured out and swamped comming back in Jupiter and Boca.

You guys were very wise to go to "Plan B" and run down to Boca Chita that weekend. You would have probably seen 8~10+ in the stream...NFG !!! I think that the weather did not let up untill late Monday early Tuesday.

You guys had a blast and you and your equipment lived to see another day.:thumbsup:

John F
 
The small craft warnings go up at 20+ kt winds?
A small craft is anything under 65' ?
Lots of small vessels 24'/26' are getting a B ratings for use up to 40 kt winds?
Nice to get a offshore rating, But kind of creepy.
 
Odyssey said:
When we all tried to get over to Port Lucaya on Memorial Day, Mike with his 48 sedan bridge and I with my 44 EB left Hillsboro inlet in what I would describe as 4 -6 foot seas (occassional 7 footers). It was uncomfortable and didn't take us long to decide to turn around. I wasn't about to endure those conditions for 6 hours. I do not however remember waves coming over the bow.

As Chad said, the frequency of the waves make a big difference as well as the speed and direction of the vessel.

Randy
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Randy I mean/meant no disrespect to your boat at all. I think the wave period was very short and the larger boat in this circumstance suffered. Most cases would show the opposite effect. Many trips have shown the larger boats beating me to port all day long.

The waves were very steep and are not represented well in the photos. I tried to get a picture of my cousins boat standing on it's drives on the crest of a wave, but timing would not allow me to snap a picture at the proper moment. It was all I could do to drive and keep my boat pointed and going in the right direction, let alone concentrate on getting a picture. lol.

It's a wary thing to see a boat disappear from sight that is as close as we were to each other. I would drop in a valley as he would, and all that could be seen is walls of water.
Then I would see them again when we hit the crest. Thank heaven it was only 4 miles of that.
 
I am a new boat owner myself and just learning the ropes. This thread has been enlightening to me too. Would it be possible for someone to expand on how to drive a 24-32' size boat in choppy waters or say 3-6 foot seas off shore? We also would like to learn more skills regarding navigating inlets and running on the ocean for the future. Would anyone be able to point us to some reading or books on this?
 
Chapman Piloting & Seamanship. Has all the bases covered.
Generally find the speed and approach angle that does not beat you, or your boat up. Then all is good :thumbsup:
Whats the saying...Take care of your equipment and it will take care of you.
 
islandhopper00 said:
The waves were very steep and are not represented well in the photos. I tried to get a picture of my cousins boat standing on it's drives on the crest of a wave, but timing would not allow me to snap a picture at the proper moment. It was all I could do to drive and keep my boat pointed and going in the right direction, let alone concentrate on getting a picture. lol.

It's a wary thing to see a boat disappear from sight that is as close as we were to each other. I would drop in a valley as he would, and all that could be seen is walls of water.
Then I would see them again when we hit the crest. Thank heaven it was only 4 miles of that.
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Very cool pics, Pics never due justice as what the conditions really are. Looks like you would be lucky to be doing 5 knots in that slop.
 
The biggest water I have been in is 10' to 12' swells about 30 miles offshore (near the spot where the NFL players were lost in the Gulf). Was still able to make and keep 18kts since the waves weren't breaking. We were out to mark fishing hot spots (success BTW!) to use in better weather. There were a handful of boats our same size that appeared to be doing the same thing for an upcoming fishing tournament. They kept falling out of view between the waves. We all had bridge boats reaching near 18' out of the water. I wouldn't recommend this unless your boat is in bristol mechanical condition.

I've had extremely bad rides in 4' to 6' confused seas and absolutely smooth rides in 6' to 8' seas with a longer wave period. Sometimes crossing lower Tampa Bay when it should be flat calm is a mess due to boat chop.

The saltwater pics on the page before this one would have been a rough ride for any Sea Ray. A similar sized Bertram or Hatt would have cut through that better IMO.

Conditions are different nearly every time. I have spent hours and hours learning to navigate different conditions, inlets during storms and outgoing tides, etc. I find something new all the time and get surprised now and then.
 
islandhopper00 said:
Here is the pic of the 44 pulling into Grand Bahamas West End "behind me". Note I'm docked already. Just saying.
4444.jpg
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OT. The 44 did OK though. I saw him on the South side of the Sea of Abaco snorkeling on Friday.
 
Boulder GT3 said:
OT. The 44 did OK though. I saw him on the South side of the Sea of Abaco snorkeling on Friday.
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So, did you get caught in the weather also?

I tried to get a slip at West End that evening but they were full. I/we had to anchor up inside the jettys near the beach. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. There is a ten foot deep hole close to the beach with good holding.

I lost my dingy there though. Not sure if I didn't tie it off good, or maybe it "walked" away.
Guess I'll never know.

The weather at Grand Cay/Double Breasted was not so nice. It rained and the wind blew like crazy.
 
islandhopper00 said:
So, did you get caught in the weather also?

I tried to get a slip at West End that evening but they were full. I/we had to anchor up inside the jettys near the beach. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. There is a ten foot deep hole close to the beach with good holding.

I lost my dingy there though. Not sure if I didn't tie it off good, or maybe it "walked" away.
Guess I'll never know.

The weather at Grand Cay/Double Breasted was not so nice. It rained and the wind blew like crazy.
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I was staying with friends in Abaco and we were using their boat. We had to run around a big storm on Friday about an hour after I saw the 44 at Sand cay. We went to Pete's Pub and threw a couple down while we waited for the weather to pass. Winds peaked at 45MPH. The net is we missed all of it but had to use boat speed and radar to do it.
 
Mike I've heard the Bahama has a major problem with dinghies "walking" away.
 
chuck1 said:
Mike I've heard the Bahama has a major problem with dinghies "walking" away.
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An even bigger problem with center consoles walking away. Contender's with twin Yamaha's are the most likely to get lost it appears. Put a bladder in it, go to Haiti and bring folks to SoFla at $8500/head. Still a lot of swag in the out islands of the Bahamas.
 
Boulder GT3 said:
I was staying with friends in Abaco and we were using their boat. We had to run around a big storm on Friday about an hour after I saw the 44 at Sand cay. We went to Pete's Pub and threw a couple down while we waited for the weather to pass. Winds peaked at 45MPH. The net is we missed all of it but had to use boat speed and radar to do it.
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You missed a big blow. Good thing. Radar...my boat is to small and I have no radar arch! Electroincs are a good thing if you have it and know how to use it. lol.
Untill then I'll have to stick to using my hard head and driving ability.
 
chuck1 said:
Mike I've heard the Bahama has a major problem with dinghies "walking" away.
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That's the general reason my family bypasses the big island and the "population" and head over to the out islands of the Abacos. Generally we clear customs at West End and run to Grand Cay to overnight. Never had a problem in the Abaco's. Oh well.
 
Tail Chaser 661 said:
Closely spaced wind waves like that really suck.
Ive got into 12fters twice crossing some 30 mile channels. Once at night. Lucky they were just short of breaking waves. Chopped the throttle back as the bow went vertical sitting the bow softly down on the backside. My female passenger was having fun :wow: Twice was enough for me. Ive mostly changed my crossing times now. These overhead swells I didnt even need to turn into. Messed up my fishing though:smt013
Since my engine and tank is out. I'm doubling and adding stringers to my boat. On the 85 26'DA. Sea Ray only glassed one side of the stringers in the ER room.:huh: Going 100 miles offshore, I'm expecting 10fters to be the norm.
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I have spent many hours off shore fishing in my pre-sea ray life. It is not a place to be testing how big your nutz are. You should have an epirb, life raft, and a survival "ditch bag". Aslo set a float plan with someone on shore incase you run into trouble. I am not sure how it is down south but up hear in the north east it can turn on you quick. Sea Ray's are my favorite boat, but you sacrifice alot in comfort for off shore capibilties.
 
islandhopper00 said:
You missed a big blow. Good thing. Radar...my boat is to small and I have no radar arch! Electroincs are a good thing if you have it and know how to use it. lol.
Untill then I'll have to stick to using my hard head and driving ability.
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Skill and experience trump electronics. I'm curious what your speed was coming across the Gulfstream last week?
 
out-n-aboat said:
I have spent many hours off shore fishing in my pre-sea ray life. It is not a place to be testing how big your nutz are. You should have an epirb, life raft, and a survival "ditch bag". Aslo set a float plan with someone on shore incase you run into trouble. I am not sure how it is down south but up hear in the north east it can turn on you quick. Sea Ray's are my favorite boat, but you sacrifice alot in comfort for off shore capibilties.
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Those two really bad channel crossings were when conditions turned ugly when I was already at point B.
The nighttime crossing was on July 4th, 06 season. Gave it a bunch of thought of staying at Catalina island. Figured it would be way to crowded at the island so I ventured 50 miles back to the mainland. 5 hrs of battling seas. I did have a brief thought of how I did not feel like treading water all night. After 3 PM is when it usually gets pretty snotty out in my waters. I do need to rig me up a ditch bag. I should hook up the distress function on my Icom. I sold my dingy. And im to cheap to buy an eprib.
 
Tail Chaser 661 said:
Those two really bad channel crossings were when conditions turned ugly when I was already at point B.
The nighttime crossing was on July 4th, 06 season. Gave it a bunch of thought of staying at Catalina island. Figured it would be way to crowded at the island so I ventured 50 miles back to the mainland. 5 hrs of battling seas. I did have a brief thought of how I did not feel like treading water all night. After 3 PM is when it usually gets pretty snotty out in my waters. I do need to rig me up a ditch bag. I should hook up the distress function on my Icom. I sold my dingy. And im to cheap to buy an eprib.
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Boy Tail, you really like to go on those long trips! I usually don't go that far from home, and when I do I just don't go out if it's gonna be that bad. I have been caught 100 miles from home in bad weather and made the trip anyways once, it was no fun.
 
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