Large waves

[_chris_]

I was out at Lake Mohave this last weekend and on Friday the lake was like glass all day and into the evening, it couldn't be better(except the fishing). On Saturday morning the wind started picking up when we got onto the water at Cottonwood cove and made our way about 20-25 miles north and started trolling down when it got gustier. We had to stop fishing because the waves were coming over the front of the boat. We decided to just go back to camp and pull the boat out of the water and wait it out. On the way the waves/swells got bigger and bigger, they were getting to be about 4-7 feet tall and I was ******** myself, I kept the bow as high as I possibly could and was still taking on alot of water. It took us a couple of hours to make it back and I am very glad I kept it floating, We tried to get into a couple of coves but the water was so low it was difficult getting around. I think I did ok but I was definitly scared most of the time. when we got back the reading was 40-54 MPH winds. I have been on the ocean several times and have never encountered waves this large.

What would you guys do in this situation? Remember I am in a 20 foot open bow.

 

[tx1961whaler]

Re: Large waves

I would have checked the weather report first.....
Anyway, I would zig-zag back in (tack), keeping the bow into the waves at an angle to minimize the water coming in.
If no one was with me, I'd go as fast as I could before my kidneys got beat out of of my body. I have an itty bitty Whaler, and the boat can take more than I can......

 

[_chris_]

Re: Large waves

I did check the weather and it was supposed to be clear and no wind all day.

I had my grandfather with me and a buddy of mine.

If I went any faster my bow would start to drop and that would not have been good at all.(I think) but this was also the first time being in this situation.

 

[AngelC]

Re: Large waves

I will be out there this weekend. I too encountered this problem in the middle of the basin with 8 adults. We took a beating but the worst thing you can do is panic and let everyone see it. I too was scared but played it off well. I just knew that I had to get us out saftly and I did. The wave were about 5-7 ft also and I tried to keep the speed up but the beating were very hard. I stood up to lessen the effect but my guest took it hard. I agree with the zig zagging, as I didt this and it helped. I was making the run from katherines to Hoover dam, which by the way was the nicest trip I had ever taken. However, when I got right in the middle of the basin the weather just changed very quickly without warning in the middle of the afternoon. So I made my way toward the mouth of the river just before cottonwood. I think you handled it just as I would of!! Great job

I will not be in the middle of the basin this weekend!!

 

[werthert]

Re: Large waves

4' - 7' waves 20 miles out on the ocean on a 20' open bow?


I am wary of 4' waves.... on a lake... with a 30' cruiser. The boat can handle it sure but hitting more than one or two of them is not my idea of fun.

Good job man. Also now you know the area and what to expect.

 

[Les Robb]

Re: Large waves

You have just learned a couple of very valuable lessons. The upper limits of your boat and also yourself in high winds and seas. One of the main reasons the coast guard has an offshore minimum requirement for x numbers of hours is to make sure your know how to handle yourself in adverse conditions. Oh yeah we all watch the weather and try and plan accordingly, but a surprise squall or rapid cold front (not predicted) can really tighten up the old muscles.

Just be glad you weathered the storm and look at it as one of those things you can't always forecast, but try and avoid to the best of your ability.

Sounds like you passed your test well, and great that all are safe and sound.

Luck ya'll

 

[WAVENBYE2]

Re: Large waves

Glad you made it back OK, sounds like you did everything you could and got her back, put another notch in your belt, Good job!!

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Large waves

Been there, done that, here's my Mohave story...

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=253817&highlight=storm

A buddy and I were fishing at Lake Mohave on my 16.5' SeaSwirl, it was really quiet and peaceful all night long. The next morning we did some trolling and decided to head home when the 2-3' waves picked up. We were taking a bit of water onboard so I had the bilge pump running. I didn't know there was a bug nest in the bilge pump discharge tube so water built up flooding the starter and killing the engine. Cleaned out the offending bug nest, pumped the boat out and managed to get the boat started again.

No problem, boat's running good again, bilge pump is pumping, waves outside of the cove are only 3-4' now,,, the boat has been through worse... As we round the point I see a 25-30' boat go cutting off to the right so I push on into now 4-5' waves,,, seen those before, have to take it slow and work through the waves. My buddy isn't sharing the anxiety about fighting through the waves and decides to jump as hard as he can as we are coming off a 5'er,,, he almost cleared the engine cover and (edit) almost went into the lake. Right after that I look up swell and see a set of 3- 6-7' waves coming dead at us,,, whoa crap! After we cleared the last one I looked at my buddy and saw he was scared s**tless... Oh yeah, the engine decides to die again!

I grabbed the trolling motor and made our way into a cove. 6-7 hours later the engine still wouldn't fire, but when we poked back onto the lake it was glass smooth. Thank God! We had 4 miles to get back to the marina on the trolling motor.

When we got home everyone was concerned as it had been blowing 50-60MPH. I refer to that trip as "The Perfect Storm"

Oh yeah, when your buddy says his wife is going to be p***ed if he's not at home by noon use better judgment than I did

 

[RoyR]

Re: Large waves

I had a similar experience at Lake Mead, luckily I was on a house boat and tied it up behind the houseboat, while we were drilling through the waves with the house boat. Side-to-side motion was so bad, we lost all the dishes that fell out of the cupboards

Last time was Lake Mohave, I had to ride in the no-wake zone of my buddies 23ft Chaparral to make it back.....scary stuff indeed!

 

[Tig]

Re: Large waves

Sounds like you did well.
If I'm traveling any distance from home I like to scout out safe harbours down wind. I also like to have a spare set of keys accesible for someone to go get and bring my truck and trailer over to the safe harbour.

 

[rentprop1]

Re: Large waves

I keep telling you guys you need to take pics while your out in that soup

 

[bob johnson]

Re: Large waves

HUGE difference in being 20 miles off shore in that rough weather and bing in a lake and having to go 20 miles to get back to the launch!!!!

in the lake you can turn the boat for shore and run ashore and live!!

out in the open ocean.....it is life or death and your skill at handling what the waves are doing and prepairing your boat ahead of time makes all the difference.

and LUCK!

I can back in really rough weather one winter out in Long Island Sound..it was blowing about 40 mps and we were down near NYC and the wind was coming from the north east and so it had miles and miles to build before it got to us..

so I just took the boat tight along the shoreline and figures if we got dumped...we would wash ashore in seconds, and most likely live.

once stood the boat up at about 75 degrees and while holding onto the steering wheel looked back and the motor was totally under water!!!!

that was one of the rogue waves...i would run in ther troughs as fast as i could and just turn her slightly into the waves when they came, unless it was a rogue...we eventually just called Uncle and turned the boat into a sheltered cove and moored it in a closed marina and called a cab!!!

when ever we got to really shollow water the waves rose up to double!!!

bob

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Large waves

Great story; a lot of good take-away points:
For those of you who seldom use the bilge pump (single day boating) you need to verify it as part of your pre-launch proceedure. A good idea is to have two.
The bow-riders (like in your picture) that are popular on lakes aren't in open water for the reason you experienced: their design makes the bow a big scoop and they don't have the chines or spoon bow to throw water aside. You would never take that boat off-shore (including Gulf, large bays, etc.)

Now that you know you can get caught short, buy a bow cover--a strong one--and carry it with you; it turns your boat into a closed bow and that helps shed water. Also seal the bottom of your rub-rail, a great source of water in rough weather.

All your passengers should be wearing their PFD's, buckled tight, for the obvious and to prevent bruised ribs in the boat. INstruct your passngers that you are in a serious situation and you need their immediate compliance with your orders. Cell phones go in a zip lock and in your most secure pocket and at least one of you should have a flashlight also secured and water tight on your person. (you do have zip-locks for this on board, right?)

The guy who jumped up and went over the stern? leave him. No but seriously, in those situations it's too dangerous to turn around or to slow down for anything--all gear needs to be stowed and secure, also so you won't trip over it. Get all that done before you start running and before the wind is up. Stop fishing, stow the drinks and focus. Get your crew focused.

Before starting a crossing like that, amend your float plan (you did leave a float plan, right?) by calling someone on shore and let them know your location, direction and circumstances. And more important, call them back when you are ashore!*
At 50 mph winds and a 20' lake boat, I'd go to a cove even if shallow. This is why you carry a strong anchor, properly rigged.
Wind usually drops an hour before sunset and stays down for a few hours afterwards (although I am not experienced in desert lake microclimates so I may be wrong).
Draw from your experience; what was the water like before it got really gusty? Small ripples and ripples on top of the waves? Your clue to bolt immediately, not to wait and see what happens. Sure, there are some systems that have little warning but even line squalls have signs in advance. I learned a lot about surface air when I learned to sail; I use it all the time in a motor boat. But even the most casual pleasure boater has a responsibility to learn to read weather like a sailor. Trust your senses; I've felt the hair on the back of my neck rise with an impending hurricane.
Glad you made it. Great adventures in boating are born from experiences that occur not by choice. I know I've punched out a couple of my nine lives out on the water.

*I once had to scramble a boat at night, winter, in seriously bad conditions to go look for someone who made it in OK but forgot to call when he got ashore (I was secure on an island). He truly risked our lives for nothing.

 

[rbh]

Re: Large waves

its not much fun standing on the beach, whatching your boat, which is at anchor 10 feet off the beach, go up the 3 foot wave, down into the trough then get slammed with a 5 foot wave, over and over again for about 2 hours.
rob

 

[bob johnson]

Re: Large waves

its not much fun standing on the beach, whatching your boat, which is at anchor 10 feet off the beach, go up the 3 foot wave, down into the trough then get slammed with a 5 foot wave, over and over again for about 2 hours.
rob

it is much more fun from there, than from under the water as you sink to the bottom!!!!!!!!!!!!

bob

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Large waves

A good boat can take it. As someone said about his Whaler, they can take more than we can! But I agree it's nerve-wracking. I've been there.
One sailboat technique for mid-ocean storms is called "laying by" where you batten down the hatches, go below and lay in your bunk while th boat does its own thing. Of course a sailboat can roll and right itself, and it usually right well sealed, so I'm not recommending for motor boats. But there are techniques for drifting through storms using trailing lines, sea anchors, etc. It's something to know about if your motor drowns on you.

 

[_chris_]

Re: Large waves

Here is a little more clarification.

When we got on the water it was just a slight breeze which is normal for the area, all weather reports showed no wind until the next day. I have been fishing this lake for years and it is unpredictable about the wind (It will just come out of no where at times and I this was by far the worst I have ever seen).

My boat handled the beating fine and never skipped a beat and my bilge works great (trust me on that it was pumping water for a couple hours). There was a cove or two I could have stayed in but my 88 year old grandfather was with me and there was no way he could get out of the boat and back in with out alot of help so we pressed on(personal choice of course).

I did have my ship to shore radio with me even though I don't know if anyone monitors it at Mohave but I did talk to another guys fighting his way through so at least someone new we were out there other than my girlfriend 250 miles away.

We all had PFD's on and I had the other two sitting in the far back seats so they wouldn't fly out and I just held on for the ride.

This was a ride I will never forget and I was already talking about making a bow cover for this very reason, it gets a little nerve wracking watching six inches of water flow over the bow every few minutes wondering which one will swamp the boat. I had to keep reminding my buddy that it only takes one good one and we are done, he thought a bilge pump could take care of it no matter what.

I found the best way for my boat to take on the least amount of water was to hit the waves at about a 22 degree angle. I tried just about every configuration but that was best in my case.

I tried to take a picture for you guys but then I figured living was a better option at the moment.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Large waves

sounds like you knew a lot and learned some more.
with that much water in the boat a sealed battery box can be important and if you have a battery switch, it's not where it could flood. I need to move mine.

 

[Fun Times]

Re: Large waves

About what time did the wind die down???

Even though it is closed right now, I'm glad you where not all the way down to the dam. Glad you made it back safe, Good job.

 

[_chris_]

Re: Large waves

About what time did the wind die down???

Even though it is closed right now, I'm glad you where not all the way down to the dam. Glad you made it back safe, Good job.

On that day the wind did not die down, it got worse into the evening and blew all night. I didn't even bother going out the next day I just went home.

I was up close to Monkey rock but in that area it wasn't that bad since it is so narrow with the high cliffs. It got real bad right near Opal Mtn.