Rockin and rollin

[Georgesalmon]

OK, so the problem is as the title says. I have a very deep V hull with 24 degrees of dead rise at the transom. Its very good for running in 2 to 3 foot waves on Lake Michigan and I love it for that. However, when I'm trolling for salmon in those same waves it really rolls, I'm talking about a half hour or so running one way and 8 hours trolling in a typical day of fishing. After many years of being in the Navy and boating in general I though I was immune to getting seasick. Not so anymore. And, I got a bunch of Grandkids (12) with the same problem. Wish I had a flat bottom boat for trolling that converts to a deep V for running.

I was wondering how to fix it. Thinking about making some kind of sponsons to put on each side just for trolling. Don't know what to do with them when running, be a pain to store and if I left them in the water I'm afraid they would be a danger at higher speeds if they caught some water. Pretty sure they would be in the way of the two outside downriggers when fishing to. Not sure how I could mount anything like that either.

I was thinking while watching "perfect storm" and remembering those "birds" they put in the water for reducing the rocking and rolling. Looked them up on line (called stabilizers) and they do make and sell smaller ones for my size boat, 21'. But they are expensive and I'd have to figure out how to mount them. They have a lot of force on them so the mount would have to be made heavy, and out from the sides of the boat at least a couple of feet on each side, the further out the better they work I think. Pretty simple idea though, think I could even make a couple, maybe, they are weighted to tip and fall fast when going down and have wings that pull hard on the water when going up.

Anybody else with this problem or that uses stabilizers and do they really work?

 

[Scott Danforth]

I would recommend selling the existing boat and going with a cat hull

 

[smokeonthewater]

Yep the only practical solution is a bigger boat

 

[Woodonglass]

Again, just an Old Dumb Okie with to much time to think... 8lb Pour in Foam to make some Pontoons with some interior aluminum for mounting. And then rig up something like this. Not sure of the cost to fabricate but I think it would work.

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[Woodonglass]

Well like I always say, I'm just an Old Dumb Okie with to much time to think but...

 

[Teamster]

Maybe try a pair of the big buggy bags from Amish Outfiters,...

Running them one on each side from front side cleats, Might have a similar effect as the "birds" you referenced,..

 

[Georgesalmon]

Woody, that's what i meant when I said sponsons. Just don't know what to do with them when I'm running. If one dove under a wave at speed I'd be in trouble.

Bigger boat is out of the question, to old and no money.

Thought about trolling bags, Hmmmmmm, maybe I'll try a couple of 5 gal pails first.

 

[Chris1956]

Gee, The large cruise ships have stabilizers. You might look that up and see if you can adapt something like that. I also saw stabilizers for still fishing. The seemed to be large disks under the water, fastened to each side of the boat. Not sure it they work on the troll.

 

[UncleWillie]

You may have it backwards.
A flat bottom boat tends to Not be "Tippy" in calm water because it tend to align itself with the flat water.
A Round/"V" Bottom boat tend to be Tippy because it does not align well with the water as you shift the load.
A flat bottom boat or a boat with added outriggers will tend to align with the surface of the water.
It will tend to follow the rolling action of the waves, The V-Bottom tends to ignore the waves and is the better choice for heavy seas.
Adding sea anchors to a V-Bottom will hold you in place when stationary. Trolling/Moving will be out of the question.

The stabilizers on large cruise ships are Active Stabilizers.
They are large fins controlled by a computer that senses any rolling forces and activate hydraulic motors to counter the roll.
This is not an option on any boat much smaller than maybe 50 feet. Also huge $$$

When the boredom of of the trip sets in, make a conscious effort to NOT look at objects inside the boat.
Look at the shoreline, and your eyes will not start the argument with your sense of balance that your stomach eventually looses.