At what point will boat flip?

Just curious, if running at wot in a runabout and you crank the wheel full to the left or right, what is the result? Will it skip sideways, or flip the boat, or ? I pushed mine through some medium hard turns to see how it handles. I think it may have slid sideways a little. I'm afraid to push it harder.

Re: At what point will boat flip?

The worst thing I have ever had happen is that the prop cavitates and you lose speed.
I would worry more about being thrown from the boat before the boat itself doing anything weird. I run some pretty hairy boats - hydroplanes and jet boats capable of some pretty high speeds.

Re: At what point will boat flip?

hitting a wave at the wrong angle, in a sharp turn, can flip a boat. you really have to be comfortable with your boat, and know what it will do.

Re: At what point will boat flip?

tashasdaddy said:

hitting a wave at the wrong angle, in a sharp turn, can flip a boat. you really have to be comfortable with your boat, and know what it will do.

Click to expand...

Very true.

Re: At what point will boat flip?

I have run an 18' Bayliner WOT (about 40kts) and winged the wheel hard over. You need to be sitting down because inertia is a pain in the butt, however on glass water it came about with no issues. As you cut the wheel it tries to plane the boat up and opposite of the turn (sort of leans into the turn). You lose about 20-25 knots in speed and indeed begin to cavitate.

If there is any sort of sea state I would not try it either, those waves will definately grab the hull of your boat and change the way it slides across the water. I would recommend some sort of starter kill to be rigged and attached to you before trying any high energy turns though...Just in case you pull a superman over the side.


-DrCox

Re: At what point will boat flip?

At about the time you express "Oh ****".

Seriously, if you have to ask that question, you need a lot of conservative seat time to get to know your boat.

I have no idea what kind of a boat you're driving. Some boats will slide, some will hook a keel and turn very sharply. Some high performance boats, including a lot of bass boats, can pitch you out so violently that you take part of the boat with you, and leave part of you behind. Some inboard ski boats handle more like a water flea.

There's always some combination of sea, speed, and turning that can flip a boat on it's lid, or swamp it.

I always wear a life vest, and I always use the lanyard kill switch. The only time I exited the boat accidentally, I tripped and somersaulted in trying to lip a bass. This old phart is now looking for a boarding ladder for the bass boat. I have, however, gotten pretty bruised up learning how to handle this boat.

hope it helps
John

Re: At what point will boat flip?

Like others have said, you need to know your boat.

My guess would be that the biggest danger would be from turning the wheel hard at a slower speed and then hit WOT. Earlier this year, there was a pontoon undergoing testing and they managed to flip it. Unfortunately, one man died as a result.

Re: At what point will boat flip?

I've been boating quite a while, and I don't think I have ever had a reason to HAVE to crank it over at WOT. I have done it running pretty fast just fooling around, but each boat handles differently. The same boat can handle differently depending on loading changes. As has been said above, get some seat time.