My Grandfather grew up on Lake Eire was captin in the Coast Guard in WWI and II. His take on the great lakes was one needed at least a 25' boat. Remember back then most boats were 25' long at the water line and stem to stern perty much vertical bows. So today a typ 25 footer is less 16" to 24" because of the swim platform. Then less a couple feet because of the bows rake. todays 25 footer is relay about 18 feet. tHINK THIS HE HAD BASED this ON WAVE SPACInG FOR THE MOST PART. He would then speak of the quick a storm could hit the great lakes compaired to the ocean which the storm could be seen coming 100s of miles away. Have had family in Fla since the late 1800s were he and the family and myself also boated. Mosty an east coast fla guy myself.

Waves are of basically 2 kinds on the ocean chop and swells. The great lakes are more like huge chop very steep (realy easy to stick a bow into or flip a boat) except Lake Mich it has swells and the huge chop.
The Gulf Stream is tricky as it can get relay messy quick. Miami area is tricky as it is so close to shore there.
Then ther is storys of a friend in a destroyer escorting a carrier back from Nam hitting a wave were the white water was 30 to 40 feet over the pilot house and how it bent the destroyer.

Ok, so to summarize, and answer the original question posed in the thread. Yes, the Great Lakes are rougher, unless you're in a hurricane. Got it. lol.

I'm pretty sure lets say if both have 4-6 footers, I gaurantee a Great Lake is rougher 4-6 to run a boat in tben a ocean 4-6 footer, end of story.

rougher i think is the wrong word....more unpredictable is prob better statement.

end of story the ocean is bigger and badder but the Great lakes seem to come at you from all angles whuch isnt the case in the ocean.

Probably a good general statement above, but there are tidal waves that are spread out, and then wind induced waves that are not...plus....there are just so many different areas in the ocean that these same height waves can be very different from themselves also. Tide waves fighting wind waves fighting current waves, plus dry land and land shapes under water....

As example, Did you know that Maine, itself, has 3,478 miles of shoreline ? Yes, that's a wow !
That, itself, shows that it will present a ton of different ocean conditions just offshore.

Speaking of Maine, you guys ever see the type of Offshore racing they do there ?

This is cool !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZ5v6PGDkqE

True, I guess if you are in a part of the ocean that has smaller cross cross waves then yes that's true, inthinknine General that's not the case.

You simply just can't stay on the throttles in certain water in Great Lakes... Just too short of waves unless you just let them hit limiters between jumps lol

These are good points. While Long Island Sound isn't the ocean or Great Lakes it chops up real nice, enough to have some big equipment turn around in last years Don Aronow Race. If you boat in the eastern end of LIS you have to deal with The Race which is an area that out of nowhere has standing waves and tough chop all tide, current, bottom topography, induced. Not to mention the long fetch and compression of waves at the western end so land mass, currents, wind speed/direction, tides all come into play.

Basically any tidal water or body of water with enough fetch can be brutal under the right conditions. On any given day any of these can be the toughest boating around.

Then there's that brutal river out west...

The Race below:

I been in 55 to 60 footers in ocean, fwiw

Winters are long there .....

Ken