To all with BIG BOATS!??

cr0ck1

cr0ck1

New Member
Jun 10, 2007
815
Tampa Bay/Gulf (In a pineapple under the sea)LMAO!
OK how in the world do you all do it.. Ok heres the situation.. IM at an island today anchored at the same distance from the island as a huge boat, must of been 40 or more feet. Ok how do you all do it.. You dont get stuck, you just speed right off and dont bottom out, And even if i follow you in your path that you took i still get stuck in a SAND PILE like i did today!!! I give you all alot of credit for this skill you have! Hats off to you.. I got this PUNK A** 20 ft and im like stuck and bottoming out all the time.. today i totally took all the paint off the bottom fin of the outdrive.... Had to jump off the boat and literally rock and push it off a dam sand barge!..Wife was screaming at me scared telling me to call seatow and im in the water which was like a foot looking at her thinking (why call seatow, im standing in shallow water and pushing this boat to deeper water) LMAO..
 
Ahhh there is this stuff called Local knowledge ....

I know it's frustrating ... new boat, anxious wife ... whats good her eis you did the rignt thing and got yourself out of trouble.

Knowing the crusiing ground is simply essential. That big guy ubdoubtedly had GPS with a good chart kit with bottom data on it. He could thread a needle with his bow ... with that gear ... and yes a few feet either way matters at times.

Bumpiong bottom coast you a little paint ... that big guy would have torn off a prop blade, bent a shaft and really runed a nice back balance had he hit that shoal..

If you haven't got on it yet, get a small fully featured Garmin portable marine chart plotter/GPS unit with the proper charts on digital media ... one with a really bright daylight readable screen. These are on sale at most maine supply houses all summmer long. Shop the price and comit to get it and learn to use it blindfolded.

I know you'd pay big bucks to just not hear your little womans big voice again ... now's the chance :smt101
 
I actually posted another thread about a gps.. im looking for one.. but my minds telling me yea.. BUT MY CREDIT CARD is too hot to handle.... As some people know i cant even afford my guid ons yet so when i get busy with my company and bring in more money ill start looking for one.. right now buisness is slow and i cant afford one.. But hey you never know from day to day how things go :thumbsup:
 
Follow in their footsteps

I gotcha on the thin wallet issue ... My fair lady just sucked 12 g from my stack this spring what with two new pumps and major overhauls, bottom job and cutless bearing and on and on ...

Do set up a search to determine what you want by make and model, then set a search on eBay. You maybe able to snipe one cheap.

Meanwhile, use someelses local knowledge when eve ryou can. You had the right idea about following a big buy ot of the anchorage, but you obviously were to too far back to really run in his wake.

When you can. slip in behind a big boy and stay close and dead center in his wake, he'll plow the road for you. By close I mean a safe close distance for the speed, but close.
 
Re: Follow in their footsteps

Asureyez said:
I gotcha on the thin wallet issue ... My fair lady just sucked 12 g from my stack this spring what with two new pumps and major overhauls, bottom job and cutless bearing and on and on ...

Do set up a search to determine what you want by make and model, then set a search on eBay. You maybe able to snipe one cheap.

Meanwhile, use someelses local knowledge when eve ryou can. You had the right idea about following a big buy ot of the anchorage, but you obviously were to too far back to really run in his wake.

When you can. slip in behind a big boy and stay close and dead center in his wake, he'll plow the road for you. By close I mean a safe close distance for the speed, but close.
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FUnny i do that alot and they look back at me like am an a**hole... .And im not that close either..
 
This thread is taking you down the wrong river. GPS is not the answer to getting stuck on a 6 inch sandbar in 1 foot of water.
Okay, so you were exagerating(?) about the 40 footer being in that same 1 foot of water. And maybe he was a little further out. The real lesson to be learned here is don't anchor that close to shore. With a small boat the tempation is to get right up on the beach. The big boater has learned better.

Also, he may have stirred up the bottom a little on his way out. His big bronz props can move some sand, where your little prop will not. And it takes a bigger blockage of sand to really strand his boat. Sounds like you just anchored in too close!
 
A GPS is not the only answer. Most of us with big boats started in much smaller boats and long before there was GPS or Loran or Sat Nav (remember that?).

The key to coastal navigation is a good detailed chart and a pair of parallel rules. A depth sounder is way more important than a gps and so is a good hand bearing compass. Get the basic tools and learn how to use them. They will help you find the deeper water and gain the skills to navigate larger and larger craft.

Sorry to sound so preachy, but too many people want to short cut the basics of prudent seamanship.
 
Good local knowledge and knowing how to read the bottom are the keys, but having a bottom sounder is almost as important.

A good chart or GPS with depths help, but the cartography for some of them dates back to the 1950's, so their value in this situation could be a lot or no help at all. It depends upon when they were last updated.

Why the big guy doesn't get hung up? Most islands have a drop off on the protected side, so maybe the big guy has found hole to anchor over. We have a dozen spots in our area where we can leave our wheels over 8 ft. of water but the swim platform is in waist deep water so you can step off with no problem.

One more suggestion....don't drive the boat where birds were walking yesterday..............no, this isn't a funny. Pay attention to tidal activity every day you are out and what other more experienced boaters do and you will gain the local knowledge you need.
 
fwebster said:
don't drive the boat where birds were walking yesterday...............
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That reminds me of gong into a marina by Cape Charles last year and a dog was standing next to the red daymarker in the middle of the water about 1000 feet from the beach... not a good spot to get out of the channel and anchor. :grin:
 
I should mention, you bought your boat from Marine Max right? If so they offer FREE classed on chart reading. I definitly recommend it.
 
Crock,

Your lack of a GPS is not the problem. The guy in the bigger boat has 3 advantages on you. First, he sits higher in the water so he can see more. Not much you can do about that. Second, he probably has learned how to read the water. This is a big one, and you need to practice doing it.

It is easiest on a bright, sunny day. Look at the water, and notice how it changes color. Generally, as it gets lighter in color, the water is shallower. Watch your depth finder and go slow, and you will learn what color is a certain depth.

Third, he has probably been there before and knows where the deep water is by trial and error. Where I like to anchor, I learned the water depth by anchoring in the trough between sandbars and getting in the water to see where I could stand up. So now, I know exactly how close I can get to the beach.

A GPS won't always help you around here, because the sandbars sometimes move around and the charts just are not that detailed.
 
Cr0k1;

Let me guess, you where running the channel to the anchorage at Caladesi?

here's a couple of things you can do to make life easier on your sterndrive.

1. invest in a cheap pair of polarized sun glasses. no matter how dorky or cool make these you shade's when driving the boat. they'll cut the glare off the water and let you see the suttel shade difference so you can spot rocks, weeds, and yes sand bars.

2. when you're depth hits 5' or less on the depth gauge and you don't know the area like the back of your hand; drop down to no wake speed and bring you're drive, but don't put it in trailer mode. this may loose you cool factor points but you wont be replacing a spun hub or worse.

3. find a cheap GPS. it will show you the channel markers and the more you travel around the more reference tracks you'll have stored on it. this way you follow you're own route where you know you didn't get stuck last time.

heres what I use on my 240DA:

http://www.thegpsstore.com/Garmin-GPS-76-P512C4.aspx


It's all a learning process and we've all been there. I didn't have my old 220SD more than a month or two before I spun the hub on my Bravo III in some shallows near honeymoon beach.
 
actually it was the shallows around passage key... and i got stuck coming back form shell key cause i passed bounces pass like an idiot and turned around and got stuck on the submerged piles.. lol

caladesi is easy.. just go to marker 14 and go like 112Degrees twards the channel.
 
yup; channels are tight in the area and if you get outside of them you SOL.

I run all the way out to the outer most markers in that area before trying to come in on any of the passages. it's real shallow...
 
Sea Gull is 100% correct. 1 update chart of your area, $20, A parrallel ruler and dividers, $10. 15 minutes plotting your course before firing the engines up, priceless...

I actually preferre the manually plot my course on paper. Paper charts are easier to see than my navman, and have more detail. Its a good feeling when you find the bouy your heading for without the use of a GPS.

I also tend to enjoy my cruise more. I have my key headings writen down on helm. To me, you enjoy the day so much more than starring at a chartplotter screen. Don't get me wrong, its nice to have for conformation, but not a necessity for safe navigation.
 
RjVA said:
Sea Gull is 100% correct. 1 update chart of your area, $20, A parrallel ruler and dividers, $10. 15 minutes plotting your course before firing the engines up, priceless...

I actually preferre the manually plot my course on paper. Paper charts are easier to see than my navman, and have more detail. Its a good feeling when you find the bouy your heading for without the use of a GPS.

I also tend to enjoy my cruise more. I have my key headings writen down on helm. To me, you enjoy the day so much more than starring at a chartplotter screen. Don't get me wrong, its nice to have for conformation, but not a necessity for safe navigation.
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So i guess its totally normal to go miles out of yoru way to justget to a marker? sometimes i think im going too far for nothing.. but i guess this is the correct way!
 
You're really not going out of your way if you are avoiding running aground. Sometimes a straight line between points isn't the best way to go. Study the charts, take your time, If your gut tells you not to go someplace, don't, and enjoy the boat! :thumbsup:
 
Crock,

The answer is not in technology, it's in seamanship. You don't have to follow marked channels and in many areas it is better not to.
 
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