Rough water baptism
 

Forecasts called for 6 to 9 last Sat, but I at least wanted to take a look so I headed out Canaveral Inlet and it was 3 max in the inlet so I went ahead and headed out. Then it got a whole lot bigger!:eek: And messy. I turned south and quartered the waves and was able to run about 40. After about a minute of that I started to make a sweep around to the left to get back to the inlet's channel and run straight in. Once we passed the jeti, things started to calm down and I was able to speed up to around 55 and launch safely and funly (that a word?) until I hit the no wake zone. I was most afraid of stuffing it and the boat teased me a little bit on that one, but overall I think it did a good job. And BTW both my dad and I were wearing our cool custom "tailored" Lifelines and I was wearing my lanyard as well as a pair of gloves for grip because we did get wet!

Now I will never seek that kind of water out again, but at least if it ever comes up on me by surprise, at least it won't be a total surprise. I was running my drive around neutral and my tabs were on 4 to 4.5 on the indicators. (29 Fountain) Is that about right? Always looking for more info in case I come across water like that again. Was quartering a good idea? I was able to make more speed, but she teased me a little bit on the stuffing issue. When it did tease me, I backed off the stick real quick and touched up the drive a tad.

Maybe thinking about a boat better built for rough water next year as well. Might be willing to sacrifice the nice cabin and amenities. I'm looking for opinions on rough water boats, 30' or less, single engine, and not a bank breaker:D Just curious about brands like Pantera and Activator.

BTW, here is my GPS data from part of the "run". Notice the Altimeter readings:eek:

This one would work fine.

Wow!:eek:

What a wild 5 minute ride. The altitude readings are shocking. Keep my name if you are thinking of selling. Where is 'O-Town'?

I should post the other 5 minutes of heading back in!!! (Laptop is at home though) O town is short for Orlando Fl.

Not to mention the ass of that boat is already about under water!

:cool:

My last boat was an 03 29 beak with a 525 efi.... difference is night and day to say the least... and I loved my 29.

perfect for you... SSM6 already in place.

100+ mph
200ft rooster tail
no drive issues
rough water proven
cabin
new JC motor
80 hours, 12 on motor

sick!

wish I had some photos of slightly rougher water like your pic:eek: :cool:

I had both my 24CS and 29 out on Lake Ontario in ROUGH water.... 5 to 6 easily... I found the 29 to handle up to 3s very well the faster I went. The 24CS was crazy in that water.... I literally flew it at about 70 in 3 footers and stained my shorts....:eek:

those elevations on the GPS are pretty sweet. bet that was fun :cool:

That boat is sick. As for me, since I barely got to know my boat last year, I'm going to go one more summer with it and I'll see how I feel. If I do make a switch, I'll stick with milder power. And while 1000hp sounds cool, but how long would that last? And how much $ to deal with a refresh?:eek:

Duct tape is cheap!:evilb:

I am tuned at 930hp right now, 565 ci., 5 lbs of boost. I am toying with a few options now for my next one so I will make a move this winter. JC said it will last 700 hours :p I will refresh every 100 - 150 hours or so... cost depends on what breaks, if anything. One ride and you will want it ;) Anything above a 525 should be supercharged IMO and you will want way more power in a larger, better hull. No better sound than a charger spooled up :cool:

The altitude is pretty wild.
How is that measured?? From GPS location (in the boat) to water surface?
That would certainly explain the feeling when you fall into a "hole" in the water in between waves that you didn't make it to the next crest.

Congrats on a successful loss of virginity in the rough.
It seemed I just grew up with it, and had to learn by fire. Got out somewhere, and it just kicked up before you could get home - or even knew it was coming. You learned real quick.
After awhile it turns into a helluva lot of fun - until you start breaking things.

I have a Garmin 76csx. It has a built in altimeter and it sits on the dash of my boat in a cradle.

Masher, the love for big HP is there but must take a back seat to economics. :( At least at this stage of my life. I'll just check things out over the next few months and see if I really want to do anything. Does Activator have a website? Wouldn't mind learning more about them.

But what exactly is it measuring?? The height from the GPS to the surface (as in trough) of the water??
If I'm coming off like a Dik, I certainly don't mean to, I actually just want to learn what it's reading.
When you see a max hole of 18' that you flew over, that's pretty impresive.
I know running out in 3-5's, 5-7's, the holes could get pretty deep (multiply crest by 2 and add launch air).
And before I open up the whole can of worms about measuring wave height from the horizon, and the wave trough/crest debate, and how the Great Lakes are no comparision to the Ocean debate, I figured I'd ask how that is being measured.

Only 12 hours on the engines??!!! If you're skeered, just say so!:D

:evilb:

It's measuring true altitude based upon atmospheric pressure. I knew I was out in some big stuff, but I was floored when I saw the data. (The forecast was for 6-9)It was high tide and the unit was reading about 18 feet above sea level in the inlet and grew to 21 as I approached the ocean. That inlet uses locks to minimize the tide effects because of all the cruise ships and NASA stuff there and the water just pushes up when there's a big easterly push like on Sat. So when I got outside, I was dropping into big holes. I remember looking to my left towards my dad and seeing water way above his head. That's when I announced that we were pushing our luck and began the long sweeping turn back towards the inlet making sure I was lined up for a straight run in. You can see my speeds change as I'm turning east, then to the north. The swells were coming from the NE. The unit takes a reading every few seconds, so sometimes it was reading while I was in a hole or up in the air and the boat did launch. I aggravated my old neck injury from the run. There was more than once the boat just plain dropped into a hole. Florida may not be known as a place with big waves, but when we get those Nor easters, it does get ugly. I've been to Daytona Beach in Feb and couldn't even walk on the beach becuase the water was past it and approaching some of the hotel parking lots:eek:

Pretty soon, all of this will calm down and it will be safe............almost boring out there:D

actually 12.5 after last week and out again tomorrow testing props so 13.... d1nk:evilb:

and it is scary

Cool stuff!! Offshore running at its best

That storm hit us in Miami later in the day.3pm testing NASTY water.

We made 1 pass hit a 103mph on the 1/4 sea almost put the boat on its head and called it a day.

Johnny Stanch hit 128 between swells

Be safe

Gregg,
I knew it was going to be rough out there, but these # are impressive. Glad you got to play a little and got home safe.
I will not be around this weekend but will be back on Monday night. Have fun.

Dail

GawwwwwwwwwDAM!!!!! I want to drive that boat!:evilb:

That's what I'm talkin' bout:cool: :cool:

Good stuff!!
I'm used to Lake Erie, and I've unfortunately been out there in forecasted 10-12's - under necessity, and not in a performance boat. Let everyone else speculate on what you are realy running in those sea's, but the guy's that have been there know what I'm talking about.
This was always in a 25' boat - I didn't have the luxury of a 41' APACHE, and I could barely hold the wheel let alone a cocktail while running through it.
I've been out in the Gulf in some rough stuff, and it seems like similar water close to shore, but a little more distance between the holes.
Erie in that small of a boat ( my 25) was run the trough for three waves, and then no place to go but up, launch it, and hope there was a crest to catch you. If not, you landed in the hole - hard. Hence, I broke a lotta $hit.
If you could get a nice 2-3 tight chop, that was the most fun I've had in my life - maybe better than sex. Airing it out occaisionaly, but working the trim to keep the air under the hull - it's like a drug. It keeps calling me back.

You, my friend, are very close to the addiction. I can tell, you're already thinking about the next rough water run.:D

I've been out in 13+ foot seas stuck on the flybridge of my dad's 36' cruiser. I know it was at least 13 feet because when we'd reach the bottom of a trough none of us could see over the next wave. And from the boats water line to our eye level was about 13 or so feet up. Try riding that roller coaster for 8-9 hours.

It's always a blast in the rough.

Never tried to verify it but I've always been told that the altitude shown on the GPS isn't very accurate near sea level. I know I've been running in the gulf on a perfectly flat day and watched it vary by 5 or 10 feet. Still sounds like you had a fun day.