How do you handle crossing wake?

[sycostang67]

Still pretty new to the boating thing, this is only my second season with our boat. We have gone out a couple times this year so far without any of the mishaps we had last year such as dead batteries and forgetting to put the plug in. One issue we seem to have more often this year though is when crossing the wake of another boat, it feels like we are catching air and slamming down real hard, needless to say this scares my wife and daughter and I don't feel all that comfortable with it either. Is there a proper way to handle this, I usually end up cutting the throttle and crawling until it passes. Would turning to run parallel with it be a wiser decision or is there another way?

 

[Scott Danforth]

back off throttle and cross the other wake between perpendicular to and 45 degrees to

Never run parallel

 

[Sea Rider]

If it's a huge wake produced by high HP motors better run out of it as fast as you can or will inevitably shake the combo worse than a witch maraca.LOL!!

Happy Boating

 

[Sprig]

Depends on how big they are and the size of your boat. But mostly you want to slow way down and quarter them. If you’re slamming down you are hitting them too fast. Some larger wakes you may have to slow way way down and creep over them.

 

[roffey]

I was out on the water and a pontoon boat was just cruising along for a family day on the water. They had a table set out with drinks and snacks for all, looked like a lot of fun for all. A large cruiser went by on plane throwing a huge wake and sent everything on the table into the water and waves over the side. Made me mad, gives us boaters a bad name. I slow down for smaller boats and give fishermen a huge berth.. some time common sense is not so common, sad really.

 

[QBhoy]

Scott D has the best general advice for a wake that’s not silly big.
I usually slow down a good bit...trim down the bow and cross it at an angle certainly no less than 45o

 

[ahicks]

I was out on the water and a pontoon boat was just cruising along for a family day on the water. They had a table set out with drinks and snacks for all, looked like a lot of fun for all. A large cruiser went by on plane throwing a huge wake and sent everything on the table into the water and waves over the side. Made me mad, gives us boaters a bad name. I slow down for smaller boats and give fishermen a huge berth.. some time common sense is not so common, sad really.

Agreed, but situational awareness is the captain's responsibility. Knowing that table of food was spread out should have left the captain with a much keener sense of awareness. Assuming the 'toon was under power, a hard turn into that wake, attempting to cross it at 90 degrees, and warnings to those at the table, would have minimized any disruption.

Point being, stuff happens out on the water. You need to be ready to address it.

 

[sphelps]

Yep take the bigger swells at a 45 deg angle or more . Really it’s just a matter of getting used to how your boat handles .
I usually have a better/smoother crossing if I slow down a bit before I cross but I accelerate going through the swell . That’s while on plane of course .. it kinda powers over it instead of hopping over the swells ...
Try different speeds and angles till you find a comfortable technique...

 

[jmb23802]

My first season with a boat I had a 17' bowrider. I saw a large wake off of a cruiser coming my way and I got nervous so I slowed down and trimmed out some to lift the bow a bit. My thinking was I needed to get the bow high so I don't stuff it into the wave and take water over the bow. As the wave got close I eased into the throttle, which pulled the bow up even more. The bow rode up over the top of the wave (as I intended) and came crashing down flat on the back side of the wave with a jarring "thud." That was an experience I did not want to repeat. I quickly learned to approach the wave at a 45-90 degree angle, trim in to keep the bow down and use the leading edge of the bow to slice through the wave rather than ride over the top of it. Worked much better. Of course, you have to learn what size waves your bow can take without stuffing it under the wave. Your boat will likely slice through bigger waves than you think it will and remain dry. That is where experience with your boat will be needed.

 

[dingbat]

Every boat handles rough water situations differently.

Without knowing size boat, hull type and size wakes encounter, advise will vary from very generalized or pure speculation.

The secret to running in any rough water condition is to front and back of the hull supported so you don’t teeter tooter.

Wakes from passing vessels causes a problem because they are typically short duration events. Running them at an angle gives you the best chance to keep the hull properly supported during the crossing. The taller the wave the shallower the angle I run.

If you have an aggressive hull, accelerating into a wake is an option. While counter intuitive, the burst of acceleration helps break the wave face and lifts the hull up out of the water minimizing the impact on the hull.

 

[Scott Danforth]

and we all learn.... every day

there will be waves you encounter that will be rough

a few years back, i stuffed the boat hitting the wake from a 700' tanker (a half mile from the tanker)

two 6' waves off the bow about 20 feet apart

went over the first wave without a problem, however the spacing between the waves was really close which caused the second wave to hit the bow when it was in a downward attitude from the first wave..... allowed about 500 gallons of water over the bow (about 6-8") into the boat

in that instance, I should have nailed the throttle on the first wave to get some air to hit the second wave with the nose up, vs idling into it..... I would have slammed the seconds wave vs stuffing it. looking back, I should have come up the first wave and turned to come into the trough a bit prior to attacking the second wave

bilge pump ran for a while. worst part was my bud loosing a camera to the salt water (he was sitting in the bow area taking pictures of dolphins dancing in the bow wave of the tanker) and having all the beers spill....

eventually we all learn and get better with what ever is thrown at us.

 

[sycostang67]

We're just cruising a little 16' Sunbird sport boat on the lake, no tankers thankfully. There are just a lot of faster boats running around in the 20'-30' sizes. Thanks for the tips, I'll try and find a way that works best for me without causing anyone in my family to further soak their shorts.

 

[Old Ironmaker]

I generally slow down to 1/2 throttle or less and hit it at 45 degrees as Scott advises. The problem is boats don't have brakes. Hitting it full speed can send a passenger overboard, been there but so far no lost mates. Hit one so hard that the seat came unclipped from the post and buddy ended up slamming against the outboard. That was a bit unsettling. Be aware of all the traffic around you at all times. Sometimes you don't get enough warning to slow down. I will not go close to WOT when there are other vessels around me that a wake will effect my boat. Get your boat air bourne enough and you will find yourself boating solo.

 

[Texasmark]

I cross them on a bias, going or coming....amount depends on what it looks like and how fast I'm going, whether I feel like I need to slow down...each case has it's own rules. Sometimes I misjudge how big they are and when I am upon them and can see better, I change my angle to put myself more parallel to the wake, rolling somewhat with it, or change attack angle in the middle of going over them. If small and I'm hooked up, I just blast across not caring how...like running in a good chop at WOT on the pad, hooked up.

Only time I crossed one at idle was when I was a kid fishing about a mile off the Houston Ship Channel in Galveston Bay. A loaded tanker was speeding and I could see his wake coming on the horizon. I was in a 13' skiff. There were 3 waves and the water was deep enough that they didn't crest (break over-whitecap) which allowed me to follow the contour with the boat perpendicular to the wave front.

Since the boat stayed horizontal (boat level, bow first into the waves) for the crests and the troughs, I'd guess the width to be 60-70' apart.....one minute I was sky high and could see forever. The next I was in the trough and all I saw was water. Wasn't an unsafe minute to it, just never experienced that before and being a teenager, it WAS an experience.