do you like high seas?

[ziggy]

i doubt i know what high seas are. but i like to go out when the white caps are out. 1-3 footers is ok with me. i've learned i can deal. does anyone else like the challenge? i do use reason. but i still go out when others chicken out. don't know if theys chickens or not. but there ain't no one else much on the lake that is usually highly populated. anyone else like the excitement?

got myself into trouble playin this game a couple weekends ago. had to have some friends come help me get unhosed from the high seas and being really beached on the beach. i couldn't get myself off. 4 adults lifted it off against 30-40mph winds... on a 2k sq acre lake.... today was only 20-30mph winds. exciteing. but not what was happening a few weekends ago....

 

[mthieme]

Re: do you like high seas?

1-3 footers ? My neighbors 50' Chris Craft throws a wake that's 4-5'.
2-3' is a calm day on the Chesapeake.
Come back after you've been through a Category 2 hurricane in a 12' open boat with 10-12' seas.

 

[ziggy]

Re: do you like high seas?

Come back after you've been through a Category 2 hurricane

i'm in the middle of a corn field man.... i'm lucky i got any lakes to go to.... must say what ya discribe sounds most challenging....

 

[cdnfthree2]

Re: do you like high seas?

I agree, 1-3 ft. isn't too much at all but it is good enough for me. I never let 4-5 footers keep me home though. I enjoy semi rough water. The only thing I hate about rough water and high wind is getting back on the trailer.

 

[lmannyr]

Re: do you like high seas?

The only thing I hate about rough water and high wind is getting back on the trailer.

I'm not the ocean type but let me tell ya, DITTO on that one! The last time we out last week there was a drizzle all afternoon and early evening. Listened to a 60's-70's concert on the water, so the rain wasn't gonna stop us. Anyhow, on the way in, the wind picked up to some 10-15mph or so. The current at the dock was stronger than usual. It took me a good 45 mins to secure the boat to the dock, get the truck, walk the boat on trailer ( this sUCKED!!!) and pull it out. I didn't mind, but the wife was happy she didn't have to help ( kept the kids busy in the cabin ). The experience was good though.

I go out to the ocean every so often to pump out. I don't know, but I don't like it. Then again, I have a Cruiser not a Deep v-hull. My Sundancer doesn't cut through waves well.

 

[mthieme]

Re: do you like high seas?

i'm in the middle of a corn field man.... i'm lucky i got any lakes to go to.... must say what ya discribe sounds most challenging....

LOL.
I was young and stupid when hurricane Agnes came up the Chesapeake.
I seldom see 5-6' waves now.
Sounds like you'd love the waters around here though.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: do you like high seas?

lmannyr, do your pump out at the marina, usually free if you fill up. or make a connection to the sewer at home, to pump out. don't crap in the ocean.

 

[lmannyr]

Re: do you like high seas?

I would pump out at the marina but I fill up cheaper at the corner gas station. May one day do the sewer connection though.

 

[puddle jumper]

Re: do you like high seas?

I'm a sunny flat water guy as a rule. It lot depends on the boat im in but ive been on 12-15 foot rollers about 15-20 feet apart. Was i worried some what . Nothing like a wall of water coming at you. Its not so much the water but the loggs that could be in it . Just hang on and ride her out.

 

[ziggy]

Re: do you like high seas?

12-15 foot rollers about 15-20 feet apart

wow, you ocean guys really got some nasty stuff to deal with.... i think some that size and tight just might be more than my poor ol nineteen could deal with...... no where to run even....scares me just thinking about it..... let alone the logs part..... yikes....

 

[Barnacle_Bill]

Re: do you like high seas?

Hi seas is when you are taking 30? rolls while on an aircraft carrier. This happened to me while aboard the USS Shangra La. We caught the tail end of a hurricane in the early 60's.

 

[NSBCraig]

Re: do you like high seas?

1-3 in lake isn't anything compared to just going out the inlet

 

[reelfishin]

Re: do you like high seas?

What I will brave on a given day depends on which boat I am in. My 18' aluminum will handle far more than my 16' aluminum but I've been finding out that my 16' Sports Craft does far better than ever expected in rough water.
1-3" seas aren't even a concern, 3-5' warnings might make me take a different boat, and anything above that I'd probably stay in that day simply since it would just make fishing too much work. Running in heavier surf doesn't concern me too much, I'm more concerned about getting tossed overboard while anchored up fishing.

I've been out in eight footers but they came up after we had been out a while already and the weather forecast called for the winds to lay down after a while, which they did. That was in a much larger previous boat, but even in a 31 footer with a ten foot beam waves like that look huge when you dip below the next swell. So long as you put out enough anchor rope and are able to stay in the boat all should be fine, but when the water begins breaking over the boat and there's debris in it, it's time to leave.

Its pretty much the same here when it comes to debris or logs in the water. I saw a whole section of someone's dock floating by when we were out a few weeks ago and countless other pieces of wood, logs and even a few pieces of what looked to be part of a roof. The worst part about when it gets rough is being able to see the crab pot buoys. The white caps and swells make them harder to spot. Its like negotiating a mine field heading in and out.

Loading and unloading can be a real chore when it gets rough too, especially if loading at a marina where you don't have any choice as to which side of the dock to come in on. It's tough to load a boat that wants turn sideways while loading and there's no one with you to help.

 

[oops!]

Re: do you like high seas?

ive had the pleasure of boating in oceans and lakes...both great and minor.

its my opinion that the troughs in the ocean are wider than on some of the smaller lakes......but both are a bit scary.....as when you are in a trough and stand up....and all you can see is water above you....

small lakes......(50-70 miles) are fun in rough weather....the waves are much closer togeather....so they seem rougher even though the waves are smaller.

i used to take my sea ray out (before i cut it) at midnight when big winds came up.......40-50 knts.......id buck (nose first) into the waves at low speed.....manage the throttle, so we didnt submarine, for about 20 miles.....then turn around and make the boat "surf" the waves back.....we allways got soaked...and laughed....and had a great time.....did several runs a night.

one time.....i got water in the fuel from my foward gas tank vent....it was pretty scary......but i got her back in.......it took me 4 hours to get all the water outta the tank.

but.......now.......since ive been on this forum........

i realize my actions may have caused SAR to come out......(i dont care if i wanna be a nut....but i dont wanna risk other peoples lives).

so i wont be doing that again.

but it sure was great fun

 

[arboldt]

Re: do you like high seas?

All depends on your boat and where you are.

Scariest time we had was 30 mph wind with 1' - 3' waves, but we were in a canoe in the Boundary Waters, laden with a weeks' worth of camping gear and supplies. We turned around and put in elsewhere the next day.

Bigger boat, deeper hull, deeper keel I wouldn't be concerned.

 

[Woodnaut]

Re: do you like high seas?

Most of my small boating has been in West Galveston Bay, Bolivar Roads and the offshore Galveston/Freeport area. The bay is so shallow it gets real choppy pretty fast. I really don't like the short steep chop all that much, but any day out on the water is still great.

Offshore its a much better environment. I have a wooden 16' deep vee that I've had out in just about all kinds of weather. I pick my days when heading offshore, and usually don't head offshore if they are over 2' - 3'. Once you're several miles offshore, however, 3' is just great for fishing and cruising. Nevertheless, I have been out in in 4' - 5' stuff several times and I'm ashamed to admit it, but I love it. Earlier this year I headed out through San Luis Pass when the wind was blowing +/-20 kts. I eventually took a set of 8 footers. At that point it changed from fun to dangerous and I realized that both me and my little boat were where we shouldn't be. Discretion being the better part of valor and all that sort of stuff, I headed back toward the bay.

The bottom line is, nothing beats a day out on the rollers. Of course I want to be safe, but after sitting in the office for a couple of weeks, I've just GOT to get out there and get that out of my system. Then I'm OK for a few more weeks.

 

[wca_tim]

Re: do you like high seas?

what are you kiddin me? We used ta load jerry cans of gas in the 16 foot john boat powered by a tiller 25 horse johnson and head for the gulf stream to troll for tuna...

uh... well... maybe we stayed in the inlet aand caught flounder at the drop offs, spanish, blues, drum, specs, etc...

I do love a good day out on the open ocean - in a boat built to take it...

 

[mthieme]

Re: do you like high seas?

Hi seas is when you are taking 30? rolls while on an aircraft carrier. This happened to me while aboard the USS Shangra La. We caught the tail end of a hurricane in the early 60's.

Now you're talking. I bet that got your attention!

 

[Don S]

Re: do you like high seas?

what are you kiddin me? We used ta load jerry cans of gas in the 16 foot john boat powered by a tiller 25 horse johnson and head for the gulf stream to troll for tuna...

LOL, Yea, I remember those days. Walked 5 miles to school, barefooted, uphill (bothways) and in the snow (summer and winter). Was just pure 'ell back in the old days.

 

[scipper77]

Re: do you like high seas?

I boat on lake ontario and you. On the south shore where I am the waves build up as the prevailing winds come down from Canada building up the waves the whole way. I've heard that the great lakes claim more boats than the bermuda triangle (saw this last night on the science channel).

When the water gets rough on Ontario it's like oops! said (I think it was oops), the 5 or six foot waves are very tight together. This makes the waves much more dangerous to navigate. If the waves are any higher you'd need a thirty footer to navigate out there.

For this reason I can't help but think that you guys must be crazy looking for the rough stuff!! Maybe I'm just overly cautious.

Be careful out there guys.