Traveling in groups

[Gasman]

I was wondering I have a group of maybe 6 to 10 boats leaving detroit,mi going to put in bay... just wondering is there a proper way for that many boats to travel together..... (single file, a few wide, or does it even matter long as everyone gets there safely)

 

[Island Time Buffalo]

I've traveled the Great Lakes alone and in groups many times and still do (PIB - awesomeness).

When in groups, each boat needs to travel within their cruising sweet spot, so in all likelihood you will all be separated. The key is to maintain radio contact for sure, and visual contact when possible. We have often used staggering departure times when there is a big differential (a 30mph express traveling with an 18mph bridge for example).

 

[Strecker25]

It can also be incredibly annoying to get caught in rollers created by wakes of boats in front of you. My preference is either to be first (we often are since we cruise at 28-30mph), way out to either side, or way back. Getting too close inline is dangerous if someone has to pull back quickly, and the wake thing can really suck

 

[Jimmy Buoy]

We kind of gave up cruising with groups a couple of years ago. Everyone seems to have their own sense of what constitutes "on time". After waiting at the dock, watching the weather worsen everyone is finally there and one by one we pull away from the dock only to have one or two stragglers take their sweet time to join the group now uncomfortably bobbing around in the chop in wait. Once everyone is ready on the water, one or two boats (usually the ones that held the whole group up) speed by the rest of the group, banging the crap out of their boats in the process, and disappear in the distance. They want first choice of the reserved docks...

After asking a fellow long term boater why they never join the group he said "been there, done that and bought the t-shirt - no more". He agrees to meet others at a pre-planned destination but does not make any plans to leave with the group. In fact, he's illusive as to what time he is planning to leave simply because it's much less stressful cruising solo. I agree. If it's a nice day, I've taken 4hrs to get to a destination normally 1hr away while the others are racing to the destination. Lots of time for social dock time later - I want to enjoy the water!

 

[Strecker25]

We kind of gave up cruising with groups a couple of years ago. Everyone seems to have their own sense of what constitutes "on time". After waiting at the dock, watching the weather worsen everyone is finally there and one by one we pull away from the dock only to have one or two stragglers take their sweet time to join the group now uncomfortably bobbing around in the chop in wait. Once everyone is ready on the water, one or two boats (usually the ones that held the whole group up) speed by the rest of the group, banging the crap out of their boats in the process, and disappear in the distance. They want first choice of the reserved docks...

After asking a fellow long term boater why they never join the group he said "been there, done that and bought the t-shirt - no more". He agrees to meet others at a pre-planned destination but does not make any plans to leave with the group. In fact, he's illusive as to what time he is planning to leave simply because it's much less stressful cruising solo. I agree. If it's a nice day, I've taken 4hrs to get to a destination normally 1hr away while the others are racing to the destination. Lots of time for social dock time later - I want to enjoy the water!

Great point, the only time we really travel in groups is when we go "offshore" (a relative term for great lakes) but for safety reasons we like to cross the lake with at least one other boat in radio contact.

Anytime we're running the shore I go alone, I like to be on the water between 5-6AM while others like to leave later

 

[Gasman]

I didn't think about all the boats having different cruse speeds.... duh....

 

[Gofirstclass]

We travel in groups with our club a few times a year and the travel arrangements vary on where we're going. If it involves going through a lock and the locks are on their summer schedule (lockages only at set times) we cruise independently and meet at the lock at the designated time.

Since we cruise more slowly than most of the other boats (us around 9-10kts, them around 18-20kts) we usually leave quite a bit earlier than they do. We take care of notifying the lock master of the group's arrival time and the number of boats we expect.

We do that about 30 minutes before we get to the lock in case they need to "turn the lock around". That means if it's at the lower level and we need it at the top that gives them time to raise the water for us. Then, when we show up, we don't have to wait for them to do that.

 

[RollerCoastr]

We gave up on it too. Too many differences in cruise speeds and timing to coordinate. It can also work against you at the destination. Unless you don't plan to dock together, 10 boats will overwhelm the dockmasters. Boats in your group that may have had to hurry to leave or run faster than they prefer to stay with the pack might be in a situation of waiting in line to dock.

Where do you plan to stay? If you intend on city docks A & C, there is a benefit to keeping the arrival times somewhat close. B Dock tends to be more organized, but if you want only your friends to raft on you on A & C, I would advise staying close to your boat so they don't put strangers on you.

 

[trflgrl]

I didn't think about all the boats having different cruse speeds.... duh....

Our merry band of cruisers ranges from 250/260 DAs to 38 Santegos, plus one 17' Scarab. We travel upriver once in a while when an air show is in town and raft up adjacent to the airport. We typically travel inline, well spaced, and keep our cruising speeds mostly in synch, to ensure we can stay in the channel and avoid waking each other. Those who prefer faster or who burn extra gas at slower speeds just deal with it since we don't do it very often and prefer to arrive together, choose the anchor spot, and raft up efficiently (no marina/dock for rendezvous). The plan works well when we launch hours or even a day earlier than most others on the lake (which we do) and when everyone is on time (which we typically are). The return can be quite dicey, though, as some parts of the river are narrow, and it's difficult to maintain the caravan because everybody else that rafted up is also returning at about the same time; usually we can't build a buffer on the back end by staying a few hours extra or overnight.

 

[FootballFan]

Look for some of the annual threads for the NE Flotilla. Really good example of something that group has been doing for years - and it seems to work very well.

I always follow the thread and read through the details. They are typically gone several days to destinations along the NE coast. There is a lot of work put into their planning, I have learned a lot just reading the threads.

Mark

 

[northern]

Your last president who left early, I was told had a saying "He who travels alone travels quickest"
I have seen groups of boats going to Alaska and they have a leader who is the law. You either do what he says or you are out of the group. That system seems to work but when you talk to the people individually the general comment is "Not again".

 

[my3sons]

Been there, done it all ways. No matter if we get there first (rarely) or last, if someone is late or runs wide open to get there first in case there's a slip available next to the babe lounging on the Azimut, the rest of us don't care or are over it after a few beers.
What might be more important (except for safety) is having a plan for breakdowns. If someone breaks, is everyone's vacation in the dumper or do you assist if you can and if not hang around until tow boat shows up and then continue on and they catch up later? It's best to have an agreement on that before leaving the dock.

 

[Gofirstclass]

if someone is late or runs wide open to get there first in case there's a slip available next to the babe lounging on the Azimut, .

We're gonna need some photos of that to make sure you're not BS'ing us.

 

[Creekwood]

How close depends on the types of boats and the type of water you are going through. The biggest pain in the posterior traveling in groups is that large boats set up two types of wake. There is the V shaped wake, but there is also a vertical "standing wake" that is off the stern that creates a set of waves right behind the boat. So even in glass calm water, if you follow right behind, you bounce up and down. I have traveled a bit with a friend that had a 560DB. I hated running behind him because of that standing wake. I would let him get way ahead and meet him at the destination.

 

[streetglider]

Our club once took 17 boats on a trip from Grand River, Ohio to Chatham, Ontario. We pretty much ran together the whole way making stops in Vermilion, Put in Bay, Windsor and then Chatham. We planned it out over some cold ones and then told people who to call to reserve a dock in advance. Everyone stayed within site of at least one or two boats and maintained radio contact. We have found that people find a comfortable distance on their own to stay out of each other's wakes and run at their own speed. Often they would be pretty far off to the sides of the boats in the lead and seemed to catch up while we were docking the boats.

We just leave at the time we say we are going to and if you aren't ready, you catch up at the next stop. I remember most everyone leaving together to be with the group in case they needed something. I think two boats had some trouble. A couple of us would stay with them while the rest went on and were waiting with some open docks and started looking for whatever was needed for any repairs. Both were able to run one one engine. Over the years we have made several trips, though not with this many boats, and this seems to work for us.