High Speed Boating Questions
 

I have now finally gotten my 33 foot cigarette ready for the water. It has been a multi-year process, but that is another thread.

I have had other boats, but I got my boat set up to run mid 70s. My questions are these.

1. What are the best places to read about high speed problems to watch out for?

2. What causes some of the high speed rolls?

3. What are common causes of performance boat wrecks that do not involve alcohol?

We have own other boats but never a performance boat.

Thanks in advance for help.

just stay within your comfort zone and be hyper aware of your surroundings and always be looking for potential situations. Wear your lanyard and wear it on your wrist, you will become use to it and are more likely notice if you forget to put it on (sort of how you notice when you dont have a seat belt on in your car). Seat time, seat time and more seat time. Personally i never mix alcohol and boating i really believe in zero tolerance for my self.

If you can, take one of Tres' driving schools. The knowledge and experience between him and Brad cannot be equaled anywhere else.

just dont get ahead of yourself and learn to read the conditions and the capabilities of you and your boat.


post pics of your boat :cool:

at what point??
 

At what point does a fast boat become dangerous (mph)?? I've had MANY years of boating experience, but NONE over 45 mph. What becomes dramatically different?? WHAT is ACTUALLY considered fast??? I actually knew a guy many years ago who landed a 30 ft baja on its side in the Detroit river, throwing all passengers out.. He OBVIOUSLY didn't belong driving a boat, but clearly he didn't respect what he was playing with, and this was the result...

fast is a relative term. To someone like Johnny Tomlinson its probably mundane under a hundred thirty or so. It comes down solely to your ability not the mph #. Best thing is to leave the ego at the dock period. Theres a lot at stake out there at any speed and accidents happen very quickly.

Two good posts by glassdave here.

I don't think there is a carved in stone point where a boat becomes dangerous. It very much depends on the hull design and the skill level of the driver. One thing for sure is that the faster you go the quicker things happen and can get out of control and the less time you have to react. Reality is that there are more boating accidents in family type boats under 50-60 mph each year than in the wild 150+ mph cats. There is an old saying that is very pertinent to performance boating "A man needs to know his limitations!". Learn this and you will never find yourself in a situation that you can not handle in a safe manner. Never trust that the other guy will make the right decision in a bad situation, you must think and react on the basis that he will not.

I very much agree with glassdave in respect to the "Zero Tolerance" when boating, fast boat or slow boat, booze and boats just don't mix. Number one contributor to accidents on the water, number two would be operator error, which is just the result of a man not knowing his limitations and being stupid.

Thanks guys...those are great answers... I guess the start of responsible behavior IS KNOWING you don't yet know what you're doing and taking the time to learn before making the mistake. I've never owned a boat that had the potential to "chine walk" , and hadn't even heard of it before these very helpful forums. I DO KNOW there are lots of idiots out there, and I boat the great lakes, so the danger is even higher.

Thanks again

leave ego on dock and dont be stupid

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjluQW-KBas

how fast?? a boat can be dangerous when tied to a dock., with all things being equal, I bet you will be paying more attention when going 70 then when idling down the channel, playing with the stereo and talking to passangers. Thus doing 70 is actually probably safer.

I can only stress from a racers standpoint is to fully learn your boat. Waves, prop, weight (people),speed are variables that change what the boat will do in any situation. With pleasure boating you should always make the safety of your passengers the utmost concern. Alot of good racers have came from poker runners who have mastered there boat and wish to take it to a new level. Learn the boat !!!! Practice Practice!!! Most of have fun doing it!!!

Damn...thats the EXACT SAME BOAT AS MINE CRASHING!!!!