mr_velocity

You just hit the nail on the beak. Biggest problem with the ride on many pad bottoms is the driver overtrimming the boat. Definitely takes a lot more skill to get the ride out of these boats.

Jonas

comon guys..
any large body of water can Kick your azz. Lakes oceans etc.. the boats we are in are not designed to take real rough nasty crap,
if you get caught in a weather pattern that blows up to a gail then to storm conditions you dont have a chance, these are performance boats,, sure they can handle moderatly rough conditions but real 8+ footers will not just be an uncomfortable ride, an 8 ft wave has a deep troft behind it so its gonna feel like a 12 ftr, and depending on the time = distance between can really make it hairy... anything over 3-4 i stay home.. and drink beer,,,
even if i am in a boat designed for it, our sail boat in Puerto Vallarta can get thru it but its not fun, it gets freakin hairball,, never took out bayliner its 43 ft overall weighs around 25000 lbs and it blows thru alot at 10 knots but still would not go out in that phsyco weather,, yes i am a chicken,,
in the real world of boating our offshores are potato chips out there,, as a kid my dad used to make me crew on his 50 ft sail boat, doing races from sweden to denmark etc,, ( it was miserable )
i been in chit that was super ugly,, forget that, not fun.
we ran our old 35 foutain in some ugly water leaving newport going up to longbeach man did it kick our butts
wet, sore, cold, screws had to be tightend, wife pissed!!, etc.
dont leave newport late afternoon..

Panther

Very true, my family learned the hard way a number of years ago...

When there are small craft advisories it's best to stay home. Also, running WFO in crap like that, no matter what your skill is, you can't predict when you'll hit a hole or land down the back of a trough and stuff it. Call me what ya want but I'd rather live to boat another day!

TeamShogren.com

Dust like Confetti, that must have been spray running by a freindly competitor. No, nothing wrong other than some cosmetic stress cracks (superficial) by glove box, broken mirror and a few loose screws. Check with your board freind 10X he was driving it, but please do not stir up un-necesary rumors.

Thank you

bouyhunter

My last boat was an old '85 Baja 25' Force ( Yeah, I'm the poorest guy on the board ) but it's been 7 years since I even had that one.
But, it was pretty heavy for the size. If I remember, it was around 4500 #'s, and I carried so much crap on it... more #'s added up.
I was never afraid to take it out in 5's - been out a few times (intentionally) in 6-8's to make it from Toledo to PIB - maybe just to prove a point. And been caught in larger seas unintentionally.
If you know how to run your boat, and know how to read the waves, you will also know your limitations.
And before someone chimes in with the "time honored" chart about reading actual wave height (measured from horizontal, crest, trough depth... wave"length"...) yes, I know how to measure, when out in a 6' sea, I saw a 12' hole in front of me. I was in a 25'er. In a small boat, you try to run the troughs, which are always changing direction, and changing elevation from "horizon" - this also means that you need to know how to "navigate", otherwise you're gonna find your azz a long way from where you meant to go. My experiences on Erie were that you eventually run out of trough to run through, and wind up on a crest - this is when it get's ugly - you're gonna stuff, you're basically surfing the wave (if following sea, might have a chance to run the trough out of it), but if it's a head on sea, you're gonna stuff - if you don't read the upcoming wave pattern quick enough and apply the sticks properly.
In a larger boat, if you can catch the "wavelength" you're in for a fun ride (if you know what you're doing) skipping across crest's - it still takes alot of work getting in/out of the sticks at the right time, you're going to see some air time.
The newer, lighter, or exotic hull lay-up's IE steps, don't react the same - also don't react the same to long periods of air time. Less surface tension because of an aerated hull, the old straight bottom heavy V is gonna stick to the water more, or just launch off it when it drops out from underneath.
I don't mean to sound like an azz, or that I'm an expert of any sort, these are merely opinions and observations, and experiences.

FeverMike

Exactly...on a good pad bottom boat were the pad runs up to the bow like on a Velocity or a good step hull boat like a Fountain you do not need to trim it to the moon for the best top speed. Let the bottom design work for you. A lot of guy think the trim buttom is the go button...it's not! I had this very same conversaion with Ben Robertson recently.

Tricky919

I love trim !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

bouyhunter

I still revert to reading the water condition, knowing the "set" of the waves (if there is one ) , and knowing how YOUR boat handles them.
This isn't about hull design - each has it's own condition that it is built for. But how to react to a condition that is not what your boat was built for is education and experience.

RJ1340

Hey, Scott
Don't let zoomnfun ruffle your feathers. He's just bitter because he spends so much time in his engine compartment. I don't know if its because something's always broke or because his wife won't let him out.
Back4more: first we were both in the warehouse and now we're both under the rainbow flag. I wonder who we both know who could be so clever???????? If I had a camera that could see through the internet and into his computer, I could zoom in and get a picture.

29goingon42

U all ain't got sheet on this...

No sheet there I was on a cruise liner minding my own business and WHAM a 100 Ft. wave turned the ship upside down and I had to save a precious few ladies to the top of the vessel to be saved. I swear it was true