I have a 2006 20ft triumph center console. I have taken it out a couple times but only on very calm seas. I am wondering what size waves my boat will be able to handle.
Its not so much the boat but more what the operator can handle. I'd say generally, with someone with little or no experience on the ocean that a 20' CC is capable of handling rougher conditions than the operator, so use that as your guide for now. I've been in 7-8' swells in a 24' CC that scared the stuffing out of me. The experienced operator didn't bat an eye.
Depends on what kind of swells also... The distance between the waves, or in some cases, completely random waves, can cause relatively small waves to come over the front in a hurry!
Having said that. The seas are very unforgiving. Many an experienced mariner never made it back to the dock in much larger and more capable boats
The single most important skill you can learn is when to go or not go. Wave heights don't figure into my decision to go or not go. Never has.
You can fish a 7' swell in a row boat but a 3' confused seas will keep 40' boats in port. It's all about wind direction, fetch and tides and the conditions they create.
Just remember .......Leaving the dock is optional, returning is not...lol
all above is so true, so practice tough conditions when you can safely do so--a short run with a buddy boat in high wind but otherwise mild daytime weather; take on some large wakes, etc.