Your in big water when...........................
 

I boat mostly on Lake St Clair which is 430 sq miles. Been out there in 5 footers that I stuffed my boat into. Been out to Lake Michigan which is 22,394 sq miles and hundreds of feet deep 1/4 mile offshore and those waves are interesting because the spacing between them was so large. That is big water to me. Near me is Oakland county which has a lot of small lakes but they are small (under 1000 acres). I find it kinda humerus when people tell me they are going boating on these small lakes (the small lakes have a max speed limit of 55 and you can only go in a counter-clockwise direction and you cant be on them after 9:00pm), that is like splashing around in a bath tub. I define a big lake as something that takes at least 45 minutes to get across it at cruise speed. How do you define a big lake?

I agree big is a relative term. We do most of our boating on an inland lake in Michigan - and yes you are absolutely correct that it is counterclockwise - but to the best of my knowledge we don't have a speed limit - at least that is enforced.

However, we do have a chance to get out to Lake Michigan - and I would definitely say that is big water. In my opinion anytime you can drive in a boat for more than an hour before turning is a "BIG WATER".

3pointstar

I was in big water after a storm front in Galveston Bay saw me surfing my 28 footer down the backside of each wave in the ship channel, hitting the bottom of the trough was so violent that the engine would stumble (something it has never done since). I have worked in Oceans around the world and know there are much worse conditions. However this storm was marked by very high frequency waves at an angle across the channel that made it extremely challenging to get the boat home in one piece, couldn't leave the channel as there was a real risk of hitting bottom in the normally 6-8 foot deep bay.

A big lake is one that I don't have enough fuel to get across.

I think most of you on here are spoiled and have no idea what a "small lake" is. Here in Denver, the two local reservoirs are barely a mile long with a speed limit of 40 mph.
If you drive an hour and a half north or south, you can have a reservoir that is 3-8 miles long (1/4 mile wide), but still a speed limit of 40 mph. The closest "big lake" is Lake McConnaughy in Nebraska at 22 miles long but it usually has 3' whitecaps from the constant wind, and nobody goes there since they made it a "dry" lake.
So what I would consider "big water" is Lake Powell which is 8 hours through some really big mountain passes, or Lake Havasu which is 16 hours one way.

A Big lake is one where you can actually get to your top speed!

What I'd give to have a big lake nearby!!

How far away is LOTO from you?
Or Grand Lake in OK?

I do most of my boating on Lake Michigan out of Chicago. I think most people don't realize how big Lake Michigan is. I have a good friend who lives in Orange County California so he does his boating on the Pacific ocean out of Newport Beach in a big 40 foot cruiser. He was in town last summer and I took him out on Lake Michigan. I don't have a slip so I traileredand put in on the Chicago river which feeds into the Lake, when the doors of the lock opened up and we cruised out onto the lake he just about **** himself, he said "damn, this is like the ocean, this is not what I was expecting". We cruised out about 8 miles and he was even more floored by the size of the lake once he looked back to land. I put it into perspective for him and told him Lake Michigan has 1660 miles of shoreline, California only has about 850 miles of coastline and if you add up all the Great Lakes it's something like 4500 miles of shoreline. Lake Michigan is just a fresh water ocean and the conditions can be far more treacherous than anything the Atlantic or pacific Oceans can dish out with the exception of Hurricane conditions. If you think you are good behind the wheel of a boat but have never boated on Lake Michigan then you truly have not been tested.

Lake Michigan Waves...Not my video just something I found on You Tube. Maybe this is a OSO member?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttN2stWdoeg

Why would anyone do that???

Was that a planned trip out in the rough or did you get caught by surprise?

Not that I have experienced anything huge...8-10 feet in the Gulf of Mexico just 12 miles offshore from Clearwater was as big as it gets. However for big water just look at some of the stuff off of the north coast of Scotland where the oil and gas rigs are. The supply ships there deal with 60-70 ft waves for four months of the year and down south of New Zealand there are some big waves. No Offshore Powerboating there. Atlantic Coast has bigger water than the Gulf and Long Island north has worse water than down here in Florida.

That was not me...I wish I owned a 36 ft Apache lol. Not sure what they were thinking heading out of the channel in conditions like that. These storms and swells can come up pretty quick on Lake Michigan, it catches a lot of people off guard. I was out last year and it was 90 degrees and sunny. All of a sudden it started darkening to the west. I was maybe 5 miles offshore and started heading in. by the time I got to within a mile of shore the temp dropped to 70 degrees, winds picked up to 25-30 miles per hour, I was hitting 7-8 footers which were manageable but not fun in my little 24 footer and NOAA was saying there could be 10-12 footers. There was absolutely no warning, just a fluke weather incident., but not unheard of for Lake Michigan. I've only been boating on lake Michigan a short period of time, I am sure there are guys on this forum that have some great stories about the lake

Pretty sure thats the Blue Moon 36 Apache.

Because he can. LOL

I remember that video when it posted. I think it is Steve R's boat from what I read.
http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/g...-sighting.html

I have never experienced "big water". I've been offshore riding up the coast of NJ but only on calm days. Only once did I come thru the Cape May inlet where the swells were large enough to swallow my boat. I currently boat on what I consider a very small lake. 13 miles long. It gets really sloppy on weekends but it's just that annoying chop, not big water. My vacation spot is Lake Norman, NC which is 34 miles long with many fingers. For me, that's a pretty big lake. But not really good for going very high speeds.

that Apache video would just be miserable IMO.

The Great Lakes surprises lots of people who just don't understand the enormity of them or how ferocious they can be. Waves have a shorted span than the ocean and can be more choppy. I have been out on a Saturday or Sunday heading into the St. Clair River from Lake Huron and have hit holes where the friends boat right next to me disappears and walls of water are around me. The only time we would see each other was when we would be rising or dropping from the swells. Ask anyone in the area and they will all tell anyone just how gnarly conditions can get with the current, a southern wind, Freighter and cruiser traffic. Just research Great Lakes shipwrecks and find out just how many large ships have been sunk to realize they are "Big Water" and deserve the respect.

Don't lake boat here and wont lake boat here :D

Big Lake = A lake where 700 foot boats sink and remain lost for years because it is real big and real deep.
Small Lake = Where you hope to have boat problems.

That looks like the right port and definitely the conditions that a certain person that is on this site would be out in, not going near fast enough that is how I know it is not him.

Is that an Apache with a feather on the bow, it made that water look like a pond:party-smiley-004:

Still not as ruff as loto so people from there say anyway....

that is a couple of my buddy's, jim v on this site taking it..and yes it is blue moon. great running boat. great video.

todd

who??

todd

Lake Huron has made me wish we were elsewhere.

Because it's an almighty Apache sent down from the heavens above to crush waves and the souls of all the other v bottom boaters who think they can hang.

:evilb:Not mentioning any names, some Knuckle Head .

In watching that video, I was cringing because I could feel the spines compressing. Need a traction table after that ride. But none the less bad a$$. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that an Apache is the boat that all others (except for maybe Cigarette's) aspire to be.:party-smiley-004:

Big water

Why the hell not!!!! Offshore boats are supposed to be built to do that, unltd hydros are built to go 190 mph on smooth water. There is just a little difference in design and construction between a sledge hammer and a potatoe chip.

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I'm on a freshwater river that goes into Penobscot bay (Atlantic) . Not unusual to see everything from flat calm to 6-8 footers in the same day. Never boring up here!!

And while we are on the subject of "why would anyone do that" You sir, need to turn in your man card for simply asking a question like that. Do not pass go, Do not collect $200, go sit in the corner starring at your Justin Beiber posters and listen to Barry Mannilow records as you discuss the fluffyness of the quiche you made for brunch with your douche flute huffing, man bun wearing metrosexual butt buddy, now drop and give me 20 you blow boat loving scum!!!!!

http://cogdogblog.com/wp-content/upl...mp-500x400.jpg

How far away is LOTO from you?
Or Grand Lake in OK?

Both are about 11 hours away.

Have you considered moving????

I've never even heard of this. Is this a "law" or something?

Pages 36 and 37 give a quick breakdown regarding speed and direction of travel.

http://michiganlakes.msue.msu.edu/up...egulations.pdf


And here's a link to the law-
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(csk...=mcl-324-80149

I have never heard of this eather as I have only boated the grate lakes. How fun can it be going around and around and around. Its like when you would get a group of friends in a swimming pool doing it to make a wiraldpool lol.

You know its starting to get big when you are in a 38 and looking up at the waves!

I would also like add, lake erie is a bad b*tch!

You know the water is big when you can't keep the props loaded while struggling to get on plane. Been there & done that with a 39' stinger.

I live on the Chesapeake Bay which is thousands of square miles of water but most of it is shallow so it don't take much to stir things up. This is me coming home from the blue angles in my 19' boat. You have to build them tough to last around here. Mine happens to be build in 1972 and still around so it fits the bill.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...nname/1_17.jpg