is the bayliner 175 a safe boat in rough sea conditions?

[tommyk021]

is the bayliner 175 a safe boat in rough sea conditions?

 

[marine4003]

Re: is the bayliner 175 a safe boat in rough sea conditions?

Is it a bowrider? if not, its as safe as you are knowledgeable about boat handling in heavy seas, Typically inboard boats cant handle alot of water,the motor becomes wet,shuts down,boat is at the mercy of the waves,flounder,sink.Outboards can handle it better,as the motor is higher and is less prone to shutting down. But the biggest question is how capable are you in seamanship and "reading" conditions? Bayliner is no different than say a sea ray if the owner is adept, BUT ..a 17' boat should never be put in heavy seas,inshore,you always have the option of judging the clouds and heading to dock,offshore..if you cant outrun the storm...well..you may end up a statistic.

 

[Craigmri]

Re: is the bayliner 175 a safe boat in rough sea conditions?

I was on board my brother-in-laws Sea Ray 550(55') last year in 3 to 5' Seas....It was a REALLY sucky trip! Rough seas in a 17 footer? Laughable.

Craig

is the bayliner 175 a safe boat in rough sea conditions?

 

[Philster]

Re: is the bayliner 175 a safe boat in rough sea conditions?

The answer is "no".

Let the debate go on, but why even try to justify the other position?

I know anyone who asks such a question is not positioned to make a 17.5' Bayliner safe in rough seas.

 

[lprizman]

Re: is the bayliner 175 a safe boat in rough sea conditions?

no,,,and if you have to ask you do not have enough boating experience to attempt it.
Boat will float,,,you may sink.
Nothing personal,,,you asked.

 

[Snobike Mike]

Re: is the bayliner 175 a safe boat in rough sea conditions?

Nope.

The 175 is really a very small bowrider with low freeboard.

 

[ziggy]

Re: is the bayliner 175 a safe boat in rough sea conditions?

is the bayliner 175 a safe boat in rough sea conditions?

if ya go boating enough, you'll find out soon enough. you'll get caught in the weather and have no choice but to deal with it. then you'll know. hopefully not sinking or dieing and then having some war stories to tell. your skippering skills will all come to light when confronted with the stuff.
that said, a small bow rider out in the stuff is an accident waiting to happen. you spoon up a wave or two with your bow and the game is on to see if you stay afloat..
i'm on my first closed bow boat and i must say that i like the idea of closed bow for just such occasions when i'm out in it. my last boat was a 16' trihull br and i spooned up a cruiser wake with it one day. a real eye opener when all that water comes rushing at you. i was lucky it was only a cruiser wake so only had 3 or so waves to contend with. if it'd have just been a rough day, i don't think i would have like the outcome.. i also got caught in my present boat out in the stuff one day. it was very exciting to say the least and my closed bow sure helped as i stuffed the bow more than once and if i'd have been in my br i might not have come out on top... the lake was white with white caps that day. good solid 2'ers at least.. very wild..

 

[25thmustang]

Re: is the bayliner 175 a safe boat in rough sea conditions?

I have been on an 18' Sea Ray Bowrider when the Sound got a little rough. Lets just say after dumping the bow in a few times, we were happy to make it in safe. This was probably not even considered rough by most standards.

A small bowrider is not a rough sea going vessel.

 

[BTMCB]

Re: is the bayliner 175 a safe boat in rough sea conditions?

Quick answer.......NO.

Long answer..........NO WAY!

 

[nlain]

Re: is the bayliner 175 a safe boat in rough sea conditions?

My first boat was a 1987 17' SeaRay Seville, actually a 16 foot boat with 2 platforms on the back, I only stuff the bow one time, I always cut the throttle back and run very slow with bow high in the sound. 1 to 2 foot seas I would go out to the sound, anything more no way. No it is not safe but you can do it, like the man says, you will be out one day and the water will be as smooth as glass, the wind will change, the tide will change and glass will go to 2 to 4 chop, you go slow and learn quick. Will I tell you to go out in it, NO, do people do it YES and some in a lot smaller. I have seen 12 foot flat bottom loaded with about 4 inches out of the water, how they made it I do not know. You will have to use your own experience and hopefully good judgement on what your boat will handle. Go take a safe boating course, it will teach you a lot.

 

[blairjbyrd]

Re: is the bayliner 175 a safe boat in rough sea conditions?

I wouldnt do it. To small of a boat

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: is the bayliner 175 a safe boat in rough sea conditions?

N.O. That spells "negative."

Now a 17' whaler is a different story. Some hulls are made for all conditions; some for pleasant conditions. One reason to get a versatile hull over a comfy inside.

Everyone has to know his own boat and his own limitations. Look for an opportunity, in relative safety, to test them. If you find yourself in some big wakes with no wimmin and chilluns aboard, cross them a few times, front and back, different speeds. If you have a buddy boat, take a brief excursion in bad weather--not too bad, and not too far, though. Go against the wind and against the current so worse case you wash ashore. I took my new-to-me boat out in small craft advisory in the summer, where hypothermia was not a threat, rather than wait until night fishing in November to find out. I think it's unsafe to operate a boat unless you have some knowledge and skill, in advance, to deal with problems.

 

[Subliminal]

Re: is the bayliner 175 a safe boat in rough sea conditions?

From what I understand, from reading here is the bow is open and if you take a wave wrong the boat will just go under.

 

[Jimboczer]

Re: is the bayliner 175 a safe boat in rough sea conditions?

I had a 17' Arrowglass walkthru with a 135 Evinrude. My 3rd time on Tims Ford Lake in TN about 2 miles from the dock a sudden storm came in and in just over 2' of chop I found out my boat was made for smooth water. Slowly I made it to the nearest island where we waited out the storm under plastic while my bilge pump emptied the boat. Like drowned rats we made it back to the dock. I only have my 16' jon boat now and 5 years later my wife still won't go fishing with me. That's good or bad depending on your perspective but my daughter was 5 at the time and it was the most afraid I've ever been.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: is the bayliner 175 a safe boat in rough sea conditions?

Got to agree with everyone....NO! Don't try it!

I got caught out in a wicked storm years ago in a 18ft Glastron bowrider.
70 mph winds and 3 to 4 ft waves...
Barely made it in after stuffing the bow in a few waves. It was an outboard and if not the motor would have been sucking water and died.

Same thing happened in my current boat but it handled it very well with the closed bow and wide flared hull.

 

[Ryan50]

Re: is the bayliner 175 a safe boat in rough sea conditions?

When I was about 19 years old-early 90's, some friends and I were out in our 17' Bayliner Capri on Lake Marion in SC. Weather rolled in on us quickly while crossing the "big water" returning from a trip through the locks. Chop was easily 2-4ft, sky turned black, lightning everywhere. Most afraid I have ever been. I was quite experienced at such a young age, and Dad had insisted that I complete a boating safety course prior to being allowed to use the boat without him present. I nosed it up, and continued to the nearest land. The wind direction kept changing and at 1 point, I had waves crashing over the transom. The old Bayliner never sputtered, bilge pump ran constantly and she got us home safe-except for the extreme exhaustion from the stress of the situation. I'd like to think I could avoid that in the future, but here in the southeast these afternoon storms can really come upon you without warning. It took years to get the courage to cross that portion of the lake again.

 

[JimS123]

Re: is the bayliner 175 a safe boat in rough sea conditions?

I boat in Lake Erie and it can be a bad place at times. Once we were out fishing when the water was like glass. When the wind started to pick up we pulled in the lines and by the time we got the anchor up and the bow cover on the waves were 1 to 3. When we finally got to shore behind the breakwall the waves had gotten to 4 footers. I took water over the bow several times. I would never go out without a bow cover!

 

[Utahboatnut]

Re: is the bayliner 175 a safe boat in rough sea conditions?

Here in Utah alot of folks (myself included) boat at lake powell, when its good theres no place better, but when it goes bad (usually about 15 min warning) it gets UGLY. There are places on the lake where you are surrounded by sheer cliffs for miles and the waves bounch off the walls and concentrate. 3-4-5 footers all going different directions with white caps. I have been caught twice in real bad storms 1 a 19 foot open bow thought it was going down, but finally found a small cove to pull into for a few hours. Second time was in a 20' Wellcraft cuddy which had a pretty deep vee, I made it okay but only because it was an outboard. I took on ALOT of water had both pumps going full tilt and realized just how poorly sealed my hatch was. A 17' open bow is not a boat to be out in rough SEAS in at all.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: is the bayliner 175 a safe boat in rough sea conditions?

Gary's photo of his Chris Craft answers the question. Look at the height compared to the stern half of the boat; look at the spoon bow. Note the pronounced splash rail (the rub rail sticks out at a hard angle underneath) to throw water down. Regardless of how the inside is fitted, it's made for waves.

Then look at your typical flat bow "bay boat" or dropped-down bow bow rider with no splash rail. The boats that are shaped like bullets in the front look like they are designed to drill into a wave and settle smoothly to the bottom.

I have a 17' bay boat design and it is a lot of work to take it through rough water.

 

[pmillar]

Re: is the bayliner 175 a safe boat in rough sea conditions?

This is good reading for me as I need to seriously recalibrate myself regarding weather. I have a lot of experience on Lake Michigan and the Pacific... racing and cruising in sailboats . It's a whole different game than a small powerboat. I've been out literally surfing in 6-8 ft. waves on a J-24 with a spinnaker up, crossed from Wisconsin to Grand Traverse under small craft warnings (6 to 10 ft waves) on a 34 ft. cruising sailboat. It was exciting but never felt dangerous thanks to the boats, skipper and crews (I was a crew member.) BUT I have never dealt with weather or waves worth mentioning while in a small powerboat... I have a Crestliner Fish & Ski to learn on now. For the next few years I think I'll stick to small lakes here in MI, mostly with the kids, before moving on to the big lakes (fishing/cruising) So bow cover or no, I for one am listening to the advice here on the board.