Is there a term for riding your own stern wave?

jdlough · Apr 30, 2013

My pier and boat lifts are in a shallow tidal area. At low tide, it's too shallow to get back on my lift at its lowest point. I normally just tie off and wait. Once, with a big surprise storm approaching, I pulled off this desperate maneuver. It worked, and now I use it at any extreme low tide, when it's so low I can't even get to the pier to tie off.
I just never heard it described before. Here 'tis...

1. Run screaming near full throttle at your boat lift (to keep your boat on plane when the water's only 1-2' deep)
Aim is extremely important at this step.

2. About 70' before you crash into your boat lift slip, jam the throttle back to neutral.

3. Wait about 3 seconds for your following wave to lift you up.

4. Throttle forward firmly but moderately, riding your stern wave to lift you up and settle you onto your boat lift cradle.

5. Act like it's normal, no big deal.

FYI, I don't do this with wife, kids, civilians aboard. Just my son-in-law fishing buddy, who understands planing over shallows, what I'm doing, sits down and hangs on. I only do this on my bigger boat that I totally know and trust the controls. I have a check book at the ready for mis-judgements.

smokeonthewater · Apr 30, 2013

Re: Is there a term for riding your own stern wave?

If there is you will likely find it in SHT

jdlough · Apr 30, 2013

Re: Is there a term for riding your own stern wave?

smokeonthewater said:
If there is you will likely find it in SHT

Yep. Just re-reading my post, it sounds like I'm nuts.

It reads much worse than it is. Believe me, I am a cautious boater, not a thrill seeker.

You know when you're running WOT and you shut down too quickly, and you quickly stop dead in the water, and a stern wake is about to top your transom, so you gun it a bit to get ahead of your stern wake, and your boat surfs that wave?

It's kinda like that, only on purpose.

smokeonthewater · Apr 30, 2013

Re: Is there a term for riding your own stern wave?

I wasn't calling you stupid... I was being serious.... I've heard of a similar technique for bouncing a john boat over a levee.

jdlough · Apr 30, 2013

Re: Is there a term for riding your own stern wave?

That's cool. I may make it to SHT yet, with this maneuver.

I don't do this with my smaller boat; its controls are a bit touchier.

The last 25' or so, I'm only going as fast as my stern wave.

If I overshoot the lift cradle a bit, I just tie off and wait for the tide. Same if I undershoot.

I'm not trying to defend myself either. If you know of any Darwin Award winners because of this, please let me know!

And on this particular boat, I trust the controls with my life... the same as I trust the feel of the brakes on my car. I installed both.

Home Cookin' · May 1, 2013

Re: Is there a term for riding your own stern wave?

it's called good boating skills. Lake boaters wouldn't understand. But us low tide coastal mud runners know these things. We're the guys that run on a plane over water too shallow to cross at hull speed, always carry a shove pole, can turn a 19' boat around in a 15' wide gut, and never have paint on a skeg.

I use that method to cross sand bars and other lumps.

A couple other tricks:
sometimes its better not to put everyone in the bow; level works better than bow heavy sometimes.

If a loaded boat is hard to plane, run over shallow water and the water pressure will lift you.

My family has been going out to a barrier island for 45 years, usually in heavily loaded small boats. When I was about 15 my dad was in one boat, coming into our place, and got hung on a bar at the mouth of the boat basin; I was coming in behind him, so I gave him my stern wake and washed him in.

It's not stupid if it works!

Mischief Managed · May 1, 2013

Re: Is there a term for riding your own stern wave?

Sounds pretty clever. Can you post a video?

Oshkosh1 · May 1, 2013

Re: Is there a term for riding your own stern wave?

During ABC (Assault Boat Coxswain) training, (and in real world ops) we used this technique to insert "heavy" onto beaches/shoreline. In some circumstances, we also used each others wake(staggered abreast "surfing") to also help in the shallows. Once everyone was off we had adequate draught to usually float right out. I did get stuck once...my intructor wasn't too happy, as he jumped in and got a little moist!lol!

mrdancer · May 1, 2013

Re: Is there a term for riding your own stern wave?

It's called surfing. We do it here to get over shallow sandbars in the river if we're not in a tunnel boat. Works best with flat-bottom boats.

southkogs · May 1, 2013

Re: Is there a term for riding your own stern wave?

I've always called it surfing and have used it in several different situations - fresh water lakes even! Used to do it a lot with old '57 Johnson 7.5 to get to a favorite fishing spot.

I like your write up - particularly step #5. :laugh:

greenbush future · May 1, 2013

Re: Is there a term for riding your own stern wave?

The way you describe it seems to lead me to think it can work, but not every time. And my concern would be the one time you missed or miss-judged the approach. We need film on this approach to docking your rig. I'm a sweet water guy so I don't know anything about this kind of boating.

Home Cookin' · May 1, 2013

Re: Is there a term for riding your own stern wave?

you also have to raise the motor while you're doing it. The trick with driving with a raised motor is that you compromise steering. You really have to play the wind and current, which can be unforgiving.

I often navigate a stretch to get to our place that has very swift current, shifting bars, often a stiff breeze, and I have to cross certain sections (I use the "ferrying" technique you use for kayak/canoe in rivers--also the dedication to keeping the bow ni the wind when I can). Sometimes I'm in a loaded boat that drags; sometimes an empty boat that acts like a sail. And I often do it at night, no lights.

As for surfing into a slip/lift, I'd be a little worried about overshooting. Docking balls (just big round net bouys) or maybe a strap at the end to catch the bow (counterpart of the tail-hook used on aircraft carriers) would prevent an embarrassing mishap while learning or teaching other drivers.

rbh · May 1, 2013

Re: Is there a term for riding your own stern wave?

What ever floats your boat LOL

jdlough · May 1, 2013

Re: Is there a term for riding your own stern wave?

Yep, I do tilt the motor up a bit in the shallows.

I generally only have to do this surfing trick at dead low tide, at or just after tide change, when the current is about zero.

smokeonthewater · May 1, 2013

Re: Is there a term for riding your own stern wave?

Hey not we have high n low water here w/o the salt..... every time it rains upstream the river goes up... then down... I'm not opposed to a lil creative floating

gtochris · May 1, 2013

Re: Is there a term for riding your own stern wave?

jdlough said:
FYI, I don't do this with wife, kids, civilians aboard. Just my son-in-law .

I love this part the most:laugh:

Sounds like a creative tactic, would love to see a video, I'm a lake boater that gets out of shape in anything less then 3ft of water

jbetzelb · May 1, 2013

Re: Is there a term for riding your own stern wave?

I had to do this once to get my boat back on the trailer. Was on a fishing trip in a lake that was used for irragation. They started dumping water and the lake level went down 4 feet in three days. When it came time to trailer the boat I couldn't get the bunks below the water line. I did it with a spin to kick up some wake then got on top of it and rode it right on the trailer. I had 3 foot of water to deal with when I did the spin. Souonds like the op wouldnt have enough water to spin so straight at it with speed is his only choice.

Okieboatguy · May 1, 2013

Re: Is there a term for riding your own stern wave?

OK, that just sounds cool. Now those of us who are reading about this and grinning need video!:joyous:

littlerayray · May 1, 2013

Re: Is there a term for riding your own stern wave?

yep we need a vid

jdlough · May 1, 2013

Re: Is there a term for riding your own stern wave?

Sorry, no video yet. Maybe next time I need to do this.

I generally try to avoid being in a situation where I have to dock this way, but sometimes the tide drops lower than I expected, or incoming bad weather forces me home at an inconvenient tide time.

Actually, in some ways it's easier than docking at idle speed.

At least there's no bow wander!

Is there a term for riding your own stern wave?

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