Lake Michigan is on Fire!!!
 

I just went out to the Pier, I saw waves hitting the N side and going as high as the marker, the buoy says some 7s and with a 30+ mph wind we should see some 8s to 9s and a hopeful rouge wave of 10. I also think they will die a little but space out to nice rollers, I am taking the Zodiac out, if anyone wants pics I will have the camera and I will look, or more likely listen for you. I even wear a helmut sometimes, this may be one, a good vest, the lanyard and I even tie a rope to my ankle so I don't loose the boat, with wind and waves like this the boat would be gone even if stopped. When we say 10 is big it is because the waves are a second apart and about 10ft wide so they are 10 ft walls of water. So look for this and I will follow you.

That's some big water.
I used to love running in the 3-5's on Erie, and that was in a 25'.
Yeah, it's a quick fast wall of water.
In that size boat I got nervous in anything larger, but had been out in as much as 6-8's.

Be careful in that little blow-up boat - but have fun!!!

you are crazy, but hey, you only live once so live life to the fullest.

There is really nothing safer than this boat is these seas. I have been in 12-14s on lake Superior, the thing about this boat is it is impossible to sink it, with 5 chambers and a rigid hull it is very buoyant, you cannot stuff the bow and it is a very dry ride. It sails off waves like a jet ski and lands a ss first so it is soft. I would not go out in a boat this size unless it was a RIB. The Coast Guard can't be wrong.

Last time I checked, the US Military kinda likes 'em too....:cool:

Be safe out there!!

Only calling for a high of 64 degrees in Chicago tomorrow, I can't believe the season is over already..... :traurig001:

Loading the boat onto its winter home called the trailer tomorrow AM... :( Yeah, I know it's early but my wife is pregnant and due in about a month so it's time for me to shift gears... ;)

I used to go diving out in Lake Michigan and Lake Superior in an inflatable. It was a Zodiac. Like you say,they are very safe in big water. I remember once we got caught out in some big water. Had 3 guys, 3 sets of dive gear and a foot of water in the boat. Still floating . Just bailed out with a small bucket and kept her going. When I took it out by myself its exactly lilke you describe
You are going to have a blast out there!

A nice feature of the newer RIBs is the self bailers, there are 2, 3" holes at the back of the cockpit that suck water out fast, I have had a lot of water come in when I had a wave break on the side right into the boat, it was done on purpose to see what it could take, I also was heading down a wave, pulled back on the throttle and let the wave break over the stern, it just passed right thru. It has 2 bilge pumps also but water rarely gets into the hull. The rating is for 11 people or 3200lbs so you can imagine the buoyancy, you could fill it with sand and still float, the old adds had a football team standing in and around it and it hardly settled in the water. I will surely take pics. Dyno went out with me once in 6-7 ft waves, he had a blast too.

Zodiacs are freakin awesome. My cousin has played with one all summer. Zodiac with twin 250 Merc egg beaters on the back. RCMP West Coast Marine Service and their patrol is 600miles of pacific ocean coastline, between Alaska and Washington State. They do both law enforcement and search rescue, etc. Their requirement is the boats in service must be able to handle any weather conditions, which near Alaska can get a tad nuts! :cool-smiley-027:

I was looking for you, where were you :drink:

You were out there yesterday?

My boss just bought a 21' Zodiac with a 175 E-Tec on it! The boat takes off like a jetski!!

no, not yesterday :drink: :ernaehrung004:
this was last year, but my pic shows how nasty lake michigan can get. ( or how awesome)

I should have had a life jacket on, but not sure if I would tie a rope to my ankle like mitch ( shhhhhhhh he's a little crazy)

I was on the lake in 10' swells in my 211 liberator. the year they cancelled the offshroe races in Grand haven. we were going to be a race patrol boat, so we headed out to play instead.

Ramb

That is one pretty pic of a level-flying Formula! You guys have great water over there- we certainly enjoyed it the summer I had my AT over there at Great Lakes.

I had my 211 Liberator out in some pretty nasty stuff in the North Channel of Lake Huron a time or two- it still amazes me how capable a boat they are- would own another one for a toy in a hearbeat.
Jim

In like a Lion, Out like a lamb

same boat, same lake ( all 88 miles wide of it)

WOW , Nice air Rambunctious.
Mitch, post pict"s if you can of that water. Maybe someone can get a picture of you like Rambunctious :D

Rambunctious,
Great shot!
Dan

Can we title that one "BEER RUN"? Looks like you were on a mission!:drink:

I have been out in 8's in my 11' Zodiac with a 9.9 merc. This was when I was a teenager. My dad told me not to go out and I went out anyway, he caught me and my boating previledges were taken away for quite sometime. It was worth it though!

Had the same 9.9 merc 11 Zodiac set up to play with when I was a kid. Was'nt that nuts with it!

That is an AWESOME pic!!!

I saw you Rob but you must not have seen me:drink: The wind stopped last nite and the lake is flat today, I wish I had gone out last nite but it was too late, now I missed it. Next time I will not wait for it to die down. Did you make it out last weekend Rob? I went to Hardy river and had a good time with KAAMA, then ran the river Sunday, the black flies were horrible, you could not stop without 100s on the boat, up the river was fine but the lake was horrible, I was bit many times before I finally gave up and went up river. There still may be some time left.....

Not all RIBs work well in big waves!!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=VsY87ykIBiY

We are on our 7th boat. I managed to knock the transome out of 5 of them, of course tney were all under warranty. My dad only paid for 2 boats, we still are running the original engine!:drink:

Mitch,

Check out the waves today!! You heading out?

http://www.wunderground.com/MAR/LM/848.html

I was in Pentwater last week, caught a lot of Salmon Monday. The rest of the week was too rough.