In a following sea, what is the best way to throttle a boat. *It seems a following sea is a perfect ramp for a boat to launch off of. *If I go a nice cruise speed of say 30 to 40 mph, I find that I get caught with my pants down and end up launching off a rouge wave in which freewheels the prop a bit leaving me to scramble to chop the throttle. *Even if I have my hand on the throttle, the prop will still break free for only a short time and I just don't react fast enough to chop the throttle. *It can happen so fast. *If I go slower, *I feel the boat climb the wave only to come down stuffing the bow on the other end. *In a following sea, I tend to trim a little positive trim to keep the nose up. Slowing down to match the speed of the wave is simply no fun at all. *I am just looking for some tips on trim or angle of attack or any other pointers from guys with a little more experience than I. *I love throttling into a head on sea condition but I get frustrated with myself in a following sea. The conditions I am talking about are in the Delaware river/bay and Chesapeake bay areas where the waves can be short and deep. Any ideas? Why do I have a feeling I am going to hear "Get faster at throttling your boat and you won't have any problems." the obvious answer. *

Read the waves and stay attentive to your throttles! also sometimes you may need to tach (like a sail boat) to keep your bow from stuffing

Experience comes with seat time. the more you get to know that boat and what it feels like in different situations the more ready you'll be with the throttles. (Just hope your drives can wait that long )

I'm glad you asked it. I've been wondering the same thing. I've been boating for many years, but very little offshore. Our inland waters are very large, with many things to do. No need to go offshore here, but every once in a while, I like to go have some fun. I also love heading into the waves, but I'm very cautious with the waves going my way. Many things can go wrong. Like I said before, it doesn't really effect me, no real need to go offshore here, but I would like to learn. Whenever I go on vacation and rent a boat, usually pretty small ( 18-25 ft ), I will cruise anywhere. It just seems that the ocean waters are usually tamer there, than in my waters. I'm sure it's just me being intimidated, but that's how I feel.

Just have to pay attention to the waves and throttle accordingly. Every boat is going to act diffrent so you just have to know the conditions and your boat. Have fun and stay safe.

I don't think there's a one size fits all speed or answer... if the waves get to the point you need to pay attention, then you're just going to have to drive it.

And therein lies the problem. In a following sea, after I trim the boat to the conditions and find a speed where everyone on the boat can be comfortable, I feel I get into a lull and WAHHHpp the props break free. The Hoss props I am using now have a lot more bite than the props on my Formula did, so I am just looking for tips to keep things in one piece. I imagine this is even more of an occurrence on boats with real high x-dimensions. My 3's are pretty deep. The drives on my '88 Formula were original to the boat and I had that boat 10 years, so I must be doing something right. And trust me, I have no problem airing things out once in a while.

I had to tack going to the Great Egg harbor inlet once. Going through the inlet was a whole different story. Then I just matched my speed to the waves, pointed my Formula in the direction I wanted to go and prayed. We even have a term for it, 'Point & Pray'.

Thanks for the replies, I guess my answer is seat time. Doesn't look like a good summer for getting that time but we'll see.

Yeah, your right. But if I don't ask, then I might be missing something.

I can atest to you are not afraid to run in the rough

Following seas are my favorite. On and off the sticks hard with slight positive trim. Lots of airtime. If its comfort I need and warm outside, I'll slow down, run some tab, drives tucked and do the slow roll over the waves getting a bit of submarine spray each roller. Passengers usually prefer the latter.

That inlet is a tough one I was goung out once and was met with 15 footers the 40 foot cig in front of me I could see the feet of the crew you are correct point and prey
Rich