Hooking a boat
 

I have heard of the situation of when a boat hooks, and it does not sound fun. I have an idea of what happens, but can someone explain in some detail what goes on, and how to avoid it!
And any experiences?

Great Question !

Rick 32:eek:

Its alot like ground looping an airplane if you've ever done that. Im sure there will be some good repleys and stories to this one. Ive only done it once in a hard turn in the chop and the boat forgot that the bow goes in front. Fairly violent.

I thought only "tail-dragger" pilots did ground loops! Full right rudder!

when a boat is running through the waves, it typically blows the wave apart and runs slightly through it and over it at the same time. Of course, the boat design and weight affect this greatly. if the boat hooks, it is when the water tells the boat which direction the water wants the boat to go...if the wave is "quartering" and the boat has a "blunt" entry and the speed and timing is right, the boat will hit the wave, but the hull does not go through, instead, it curves with the wave and assumes a new position...depending on speed and attitude.
just my .02!

Is hooking more or less prevalent with stepped hulls :confused: :confused:

screamindemon is close. what actually happens is usally driver error in wich most cases cannot be corrected. when the boat comes out of the water most people don't have a feel for what direction the drives are going. when the boat lands on an angle the boat will bow steer a continue on in the direction the drives were pointed upon re entry. as long as you and your passengers can hang on then you can steer out of it and continue on. usally gets your blood pumpin real good and gets rid of any hangover you may of had. also leading cause of not getting laid that night if you had your wife in the boat.

Treadwell

LMAO!!!

quote:
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Originally posted by Treadwellmotorsports

also leading cause of not getting laid that night if you had your wife in the boat.

Note to self: Do not hook the boat....

This should give you a good explanation of what it's like:

http://www.freezeframevideo.net/Video/video3.htm

http://www.freezeframevideo.net/Video/videoClip6.htm

http://www.freezeframevideo.net/Video/videoClip8.htm

David, Yes and No, Only taildraggr pilots do groundloops and No Full right rudder will not save you. Full power to straighten the nose if you have time. when it comes to taildraggers there are those who have done it and those who havent done it yet. you can tell who is who by the amount of silence in the room when the subject comes up.

Treadwell was dead on in regards to the one (and hopefully never again) experience i had in hooking my boat. I had just got a new set of lab finished props. So like a kid with a new toy I had to go out and see how much better the boat performed. I was boating in Ft. Myers 2 springs ago. I was heading out to the gulf form the Colooshatchee river. As you come out from under the bridge the leads to Sanibal you make a slight turn to the south. I put the sticks all the way forward and trimmed her up so she was really really loose. Now mind you Ive boated the waters for 15 yrs so I should have known better. As you change from the river to the gulf theres almost always some waves or swells. In this case nothing more than 2-3 feet. But stupid me was still flat out, in a slight turn, trimmed all the way, and watching the tach and gps....not the water. Next thing I knew I luched off a small wave and because the drives were slightly turned, while I was in the air I over corrected. Because the bow went straight up the stern caught and tripped whiched caused the bow to land first following the waves. In combination with me over steering the boat hooked immediatly hard right. This caused me to get thrown from my bolster to the port side of the boat. NOw to compound my stupidity I didn't have my kill switch attached. So here I am laying on the port side of the floor trying to get to my feet to puul the throttle back and slow that beast down. Well I did and immediatly realized that I had hurt my back pretty bad. Well the force of the hook caused me to slam into the side hard that I broke a bone in my back. I was laid up for about 8 weeks after that.

So the lessons learned,

Pay attention to the water and everything else involved in operationa high performance boat. And always, always , always wear your kill switch.

In circle racing I almost perfected the hookin' to a science. Several times coming into the turns too hot and engine trimmed too far out the boat didn't set right as I made the turn. The boat pivoted on the bow, drive being high & out no longer in the water:eek: :eek: :eek: I would do a complete 180 degree spin out. One time when this happened, I was leading the race and just went with it knowing the boat was going to go the way it wanted. I turned the wheel hard to the direction it was going and went full throttle. It came around the other 180 degrees and now I was back in the race with 1/2 half lap to go. I made a pass on the last turn and still won the race. :D :D :D That was one of the best finishes I ever had. :cool:

Thanks to everybody that responded. This is what I think happened to a friend of mine two years ago that sent three people to the hospital.

He said he thought that the boat got airborn just after he turned slightly to the right to take a wave more squarely. The stern most likely kicked over to the left in the air and the boat landed cocked on an angle but still moving in the same dierection. It landed on the port chine and almost ejected him out of the boat. He said he landed on the windshield which kept him in the boat. He got bruised ribs out of the deal, but his passengers needed stitches and one broke his foot.

Scary!