Is 18 ft Too Small For The Great Lakes???

[a70eliminator]

Re: Is 18 ft Too Small For The Great Lakes???

I NEVER SAID THAT!
Go back and read the posts, I've never even seen a 12' wave before, 3's are my limit as I stated in my post. If your going to quote what someone said make sure you get the right name, now go and fix it please, ok thanks.

 

[zibzer]

Re: Is 18 ft Too Small For The Great Lakes???

These are some pictures of my boat. Thanks to everybody for their thoughts!

That boat will do great on lake erie (ive never boated any other great lake). It just takes practice to be able to drive in the rough water, you'll be fine. dont expect to be doing 40mph in the waves though

oh, and make sure you have the bow cover on and your bildge works. Even with a closed bow I will get splashed if my motor isnt tilted right... and occasionaly even if it IS tilted right.

 

[cmcpherson]

Re: Is 18 ft Too Small For The Great Lakes???

I NEVER SAID THAT!
Go back and read the posts, I've never even seen a 12' wave before, 3's are my limit as I stated in my post. If your going to quote what someone said make sure you get the right name, now go and fix it please, ok thanks.

Obviously, he just quoted the wrong person, relax. Now back to the matter at hand, 12 foot seas in that boat, DRFITER_016, just who do you think you are kidding??????????? I am not even going to bother pointing out the obvious crap that is going on here. The only possible explanation that he could have is to think that "seas" means depth, which based on his obvious bravado, he would never admit to this even if it is true!

 

[a70eliminator]

Re: Is 18 ft Too Small For The Great Lakes???

Obviously, he just quoted the wrong person, relax. Now back to the matter at hand, 12 foot seas in that boat, DRFITER_016, just who do you think you are kidding??????????? I am not even going to bother pointing out the obvious crap that is going on here. The only possible explanation that he could have is to think that "seas" means depth, which based on his obvious bravado, he would never admit to this even if it is true!

Put your name in there and see how it makes you feel, no it's cool, easy mistake but I had do defend myself you know..
Ok anyhow, aren't wave heights actually calculated from the water level? Kind a like if a wave was considered 12' then you could veiw it as being 6' above the water line and 6' below the water line, its confusing to me, but what I consider a 2 footer could really be a 4 footer in actual wave height.

 

[cbavier]

Re: Is 18 ft Too Small For The Great Lakes???

My Fisher SV-18GT with 90 HP Merc was used extensively on Lakes Erie, Huron and Ontario for almost 10 years. It is a cross between a bass and walleye type boat and I have had it out in seas 12 to 15 feet during an east blow on Lake Ontario (out of Port Credit) and it handled fine. If you have confidence in your rig and ability there is no reason that you can't go out in waves to 6 feet. You will barely even notice 3 footers in your boat.
I have guided in the Arctic for the past 15 years and have been out in 16 and 17 foot Lunds with 30 HP 2 and 4 strokes in waves to 10 feet numerous times and never felt in peril, but that's me. If you go out when the waves are 1-2 feet a couple of times to get used to it slowly work up to rougher water to find out what you're comfortable with. In my early years I used to take a 12 foot aluminum with Johnson 5.5 up to 4 miles off shore in Lake Ontario. (seas 2 feet or less).
Make sure you have a VHF radio and watch the skies and follow the weather closely and you'll be fine.

Sorry a70eliminator It was DRIFTER_016; too close I guess My mistake, my apology. He's got more guts than I have. Like I said once in three foot waves was all I ever want.

 

[DRIFTER_016]

Re: Is 18 ft Too Small For The Great Lakes???

>>>

 

[cmcpherson]

Re: Is 18 ft Too Small For The Great Lakes???

Ocean waves and Great Lakes waves are totally different animals. I30kt east winds on Lake Ontario will build some pretty steep waves that are 10 seconds or so apart. That day the harbour police came out in their 20 foot inflatable to ask me if everything was OK. They probably thought I was insane. Also an 18 foot boat is way more comfortable than a 50 foot sportfish as it rides up and down the waves while a big sportfish will stuff the nose on every wave. Running my buddies 33' Post, 36' Hatteras, 44 Viking all start to get uncomfortable in 8 foot plus seas. I also have total confidence in my boat, if it were an 18 Bayliner or similar boat I wouldn't go out in waves over 5 feet as I find those small deep vee's quite unstable.
One more thing, this outing happened 20 or so years ago when I was in my 20's and bullet proof.

Ok, now that you have explained it, I really don't believe it.

 

[cbavier]

Re: Is 18 ft Too Small For The Great Lakes???

Ok, now that you have explained it, I really don't believe it.

Amen 12 ft is 12 ft The only difference in waves is if they are choppy or swells and the results is always the same in an 18 ft boat. Call it swamped!!! That's my story and I'm stickin too it.

 

[cmcpherson]

Re: Is 18 ft Too Small For The Great Lakes???

Amen 12 ft is 12 ft The only difference in waves is if they are choppy or swells and the results is always the same in an 18 ft boat. Call it swamped!!! That's my story and I'm stickin too it.

Yep, save the fish stories for people who don't know any better...

 

[sar3195]

Re: Is 18 ft Too Small For The Great Lakes???

I fished Lake Erie for years with an 18 foot Sylvan aluminum center console Rodmaster. That was one great boat for the lake.

I fished from the Bass Islands to Ashtabula and as far out as 20 miles. I don't care if you have a 25 foot boat you have to be careful. Watch the weather and know the warning signs of a storm. I have been out in 5 to 6 foot waves and the going gets slow and uncomfortable. Make sure you have all the safty equipment and a radio call in for an emergency.
12 to 15 foot waves seems pretty impossible for a small boat, and not wise.

 

[dave11]

Re: Is 18 ft Too Small For The Great Lakes???

Your boat will be fine. Just use a little common sense, keep an eye on the weather, and watch for squalls.

 

[rolmops]

Re: Is 18 ft Too Small For The Great Lakes???

I run a 17 footer on Lake Ontario out of Irondequoit bay.But this 17 footer has 2 outboards,a ship to shore radio and a captain who will cut a line when he sees a thunder storm come in.
The problem is really not the wave height.It is the wave period.Because the great lakes are small, the time between waves is very short and they keep on hammering with no time in between to correct steering problems.
Out on the ocean you can be in a 7 foot swell and your boat will just go up and down with the waves,on lake Ontario there is no 7 foot swell.There are 7 foot waves with 4 second periods.This will take out 30 footers if only one mistake is made.

 

[eburr]

Re: Is 18 ft Too Small For The Great Lakes???

I fished a 19' Sylvan Eliminator (aluminum Fish and Ski model) on lake Erie for a couple of years (walleye and steelhead fishing), and found that it rode too hard for me, especially in 3' waves that seemed all too common on the big lake. On the plus side, it had both a 115 Merc and a 9.9 for backup in case of engine failure. I never had a close call, but did get pounded a couple of times when things went to heck in a hurry.

I now use a 19' Hydra-Sports super deep V center console with a self-bailing deck, a 150 Rude' Oceanpro and smart tabs. I also have a bow mounted 24V Great White trolling motor that *might* get me back if I had a motor failure, but none too fast I am sure (5mph?). I might actually find myself in Canada rather than Cleveland in a big wind though! The fiberglass deep V rides 100% better on this lake than the aluminum did, but eats a lot more gas, I have no plans to go any bigger, however, as my Hydra-pig can take 3-4' waves at 20-25 mph all the way back in without knocking my teeth out. I had to add a secondary transom (wave block) out of starboard material to keep the rollers out of the boat though.

Here is a thought: if you go out on a small boat in Erie, make sure your boat has a "seaworthy transom", meaning that is high enough to block waves from entering the boat's deck area, as many small boat transoms are just too low to keep 2-3 foot waves out. Mine was too low until I added the secondary wave block, a necessary additio as I almost swamped the thing on my maiden voyage! Here's my write up.

http://www.everythingboats.com/ryob/ryob_search.pl?type=view&boat_id=1206

 

[Xandre]

Re: Is 18 ft Too Small For The Great Lakes???

My 2 cents:

I take my 14 ft runabout with 33 HP out on Lake Ontario off of Rochester, NY as much as I can but I'm always aware of the weather. I also don't go too far out. Conditions on Ontario and the great lakes can change quickly and a nice calm day will turn into a dangerous storm.

Large tankers have sunk out in the lake...so that gives you an idea of how bad it can get.

Always smart to have a radio on hand just in case.

 

[rdny041285]

Re: Is 18 ft Too Small For The Great Lakes???

i had my old boat out on the ocean, it was a 16 foot scout....if i can take that out on the ocean then an 18 footer on the great lakes should be fine....my dad used to go out fishing on lake ontario all the time with a 16 footer...all depends on the weather

 

[getinmerry]

Re: Is 18 ft Too Small For The Great Lakes???

Eburr is right. The transom makes a huge difference. I was on lake Erie in a friend's 19' boat. The weather kicked up quickly and went from dead calm to 4' waves in less than 1/2 hour. As soon as the weather started to turn, so did we. We were about 200 yards from the entrance to the the breakwall and the waves started breaking over the back of the boat as we got in shallow.

My friend pegged the throttle, but the boat was taking on so much water so quickly that the boat couldn't get out of it's own way. The lower the transom got from the weight, the more water we took on. The boat sank 75' feet from the ramp.

We were lucky. It was a 30 second swim to the nearest slip. It could have been a disaster if we were out beyond the breakwall still.

The boat was pretty much ruined. It cost him over $2000 dollars for salvage and clean-up operations. Insurance wouldn't cover it because he was "risk taking" using such a small boat on a bad weather day.

Chuck

 

[SeeeeRay]

Re: Is 18 ft Too Small For The Great Lakes???

I've been 14 miles offshore when the yellowfin tuna were running and there were guys out there in 12' Sears aluminum fishing boats and the like!

I guess in that situation you know there are lots of other boats around to help if you get into trouble but I still would not do it.

 

[eburr]

Re: Is 18 ft Too Small For The Great Lakes???

On that sinking story, wow. I thought most boats were designed to float above the water even if swamped. What about his bilge pump? Was it not working or too small?

A secondary transom is a "must have" in my mind, if you plan on fishing Lake Erie with a low-cut transom. I had a problem once, before I added a screw down splashwell inspection cover, one-way scuppers and the starboard splash guard. Made all the difference, but I am still pretty conscious and careful of conditions when I am out. Pry off inspection plates have no business where they can be routinely submerged.

 

[hubbard53]

Re: Is 18 ft Too Small For The Great Lakes???

This has been an interesting read... as my wife and I want to venture up to Erie with our Yamama SX230.... nothign too major, just a couple jaunts to Kelly's island, put-in-bay, etc.

I've heard the same thing about trying to stay within 1-3' waves, nothing more... I dont think we would be comfortable doing that anyway.

I have a VHF radio (both marine and amateur) so that's not a problem. Sounds like I need to get the bow cover and upgrade the bilge.

 

[Zamboni]

Re: Is 18 ft Too Small For The Great Lakes???

So it was your boat that endagered your life???? Everyone else was headed in but you stayed for a fish???? HMMMMMM...

"Foolish, my boat-actually endangered my life for a fish."

Poor choice of words on my part, I meant that I foolishly endangered my boat and even my life by staying out there.