Any tips on driving on rough/choppy waters?

[YoMan]

Went out to Winnibigoshish Saturday, and rode through the choppy waters out from the Cutfoot channel, back to the dam. It was my second time on those 2-3 footers (last time was Devils Lake), but yesterday was by far more miserable. I was riding into the waves when I tried to steer towards shore, and a bigger wave caught us sideways rockin' us pretty hard. I almost went into panic mode...

What are some your thoughts on driving in rougher conditions? I would usually just say the hell with it and stay home, but i worked opener and wanted to get out. Are you supposed to get on the plane? Drive slow or faster? I see some guys just throttle it through the waves, but I cant seem to push that throttle past 7-8mph..

I have a Alumacraft Trophy 185..

[CRAZYEYES]

If you're in the right boat you can plainout on top of them otherwise the best thig you can do is just stay straight into them as long as you can and if you dont feel comfortable dont push it or just stay off the lake. With anything 16 ft or bigger you should be able to get up on on 2 to 3 footers pretty easily but when you get 4 to 6 ft waves thats when you need to take it slow. Its all about your experience and level of comfortability, use your best judgement and trust your gut and you wont have a problem.

[Ufatz]

First lesson: I HAD to get out. I personally KNOW guys who HAD to get back....get over there....get home and who are now sprouting tulips on the tundra.

Second: head straight on or quartering into steep chop. Don't try 90-degree turn; rather, gradually tack toward your objective (shore in this case). Slow speed enough to make progress but not so slow you get kicked around. Do not do anything to put your boat broadside to waves.

Be wearing your PFD, not sitting on it. If you flip remember that gas cans and other objects will float and could save your life.

If you try to power up and slam through steep chop you knock fillings from teeth and really damage your boat/motor.

Now that you have been scared by a little ol' Minnesota lake you are going to be a better, safer and wiser boater. Have fun!!

[YoMan]

Thanks guys

I have a lot to learn. I don't know how those guys on the crab boats on shows like Deadliest Catch do this all night, and still keep their hair. I swear, that 40mins felt like 4hrs...

[kdawg]

Every boat has it's limit as far as safe travel on water is concerned. Lake Winnie is one of those lakes that, at times, will excede the safe limits of any fishing boat at certain times. Saturday was a very good example, as the wind was coming from the east. Myself as well as 3 other very experienced boaters found out the hard way. All of us made it back from the West side, but it wasn't without some serious knee-knocking.

My advice is to get to know where your boat's limits (and realistically, your boat skills/experience) are at. Depending on the size of your boat and the motor you have on it, Saturday's waves on the east side may have been the upper limit. As previous boaters have stated, you need to keep your nose straight into the waves, and then pick your spots to move sideways. Patience is key: keep the boat straight, giving it enough power to crest the wave, then let off on the top to keep the nose out of the wind as much as possible. On winnie, there will be your 2-3 footers and then a 4 footer will sneak in - you need to keep a sharp eye for these as this is definately not the time to try to angle towards shore. If you can find a series of waves that look less ominous, you may be able to make a sharp turn towards shore and follow the low part towards shore. You will be going backwards somewhat as you are not trying to go over the wave at this point, but rather riding the low part shore-ward. This is where having a motor that pushes your boat very well comes in handy. The main idea here is having a wave that will allow you to do this. You also need a motor with enough power that will be able to make a sharp turn back into the waves.

There's no doubt in my mind that a number of boaters learned a very good lesson about that lake on Saturday. Glad to hear you made it back safe.

[YoMan]

Glad you guys made it safely. That makes sense about riding the waves sideways and kinda backwards towards shore. There was another boat going with us about 30 yards apart.. Then I looked and they were gone. Was a little startled but then i saw them near shore. They must of took the low part towards shore.

I've got an Alumacraft Trophy 185 w/175 Suzuki. My skeg took a beating as we were coming out of the Cutfoot channel, and i guess the waves made it contact the bottom. Good thing it was just sand..

[gregg52]

theres was a boat that went down sat

i dont know the excat full story

but they tried to cut short threw the bouys going threw the gap i guess

they bottomed out or something

it kinda sounded like inexperience to me those bouys are there for a reason !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was just drifting and sunning one day got in very close to inbetween the 1st and 2nd bouys.and there are huge rocks I should say boulders

that in that wind would diffently take your lower unit out

as far as what you asking if your thinkin you shouldnt be out there

you are right....as you said your self you almost hit the panic button

and that can be deadly

nobody can really tell you how to handle waves which way to go or how to cut them you need to go into water you feel comfortalbe and ease into bigger waves at your confidence level grows

experience....eoerience

also get maps of the lakes you are fishing

if you really wanted to fish by the dam you could have put in at the landing (plug hat) right there and not suffered that nervousness

(although might have been good experience)

still important to know where the landings are as if something woulda happen you coulda went to plug hat and had some one bring your trailer

or get a ride to it

plan old COMMON SENSE and alittle planing on big water like Winnie is essential

I've had my share of experiences up there!!!!!!!!

Thats now why I own a 20ft glass boat !!

[BobT]

Quote:

As previous boaters have stated, you need to keep your nose straight into the waves,

I disagree and I learned this lesson first-hand once on Mille Lacs.

I had little experience with really rough water but on this one occasion I was glad I had a buddy along that did. Shortly after I got my Sylvan Adventurer 1600 my buddy and I decided to go out on the big water. This was a new experience for me. As we cleared the sheltered launch and began to move onto the main lake body we encountered some pretty big waves in excess of 5 feet. I know that when we went down into the trough we could not see over the crests. The further we got out the bigger the waves grew.

My preconceived idea was to drive straight into the wind as has been mentioned here. What I found was that as the waves got bigger we encountered more and more trouble nose-diving into the next wave and taking on water. My bilge pump got tested that day.

It didn’t take long before my fishing partner told me that I needed to change my tactics before we swamped. This is what he told me to do and it really made a difference on how the boat handled and smoothed out the ride considerably.

He told me that rather than going straight into the waves that I should cut at about a 10 degree angle so we kind of rolled over the waves. He warned to be careful not to go at too steep an angle because then the waves and the wind would tend to push the bow sideways and this could roll the boat over. I started cutting a very slight angle and the change was amazing! The same is true when running with the wind.

Since then I have learned a few other tricks on smaller waves like those 2-3 foot choppers. In this tactic I will cut from 45 to nearly 90 degrees with the waves so I again kind of roll over the crests. The ride can be very smooth in rough conditions and since the waves are not too large to crest over my gunwales, they won’t swamp me.

[YoMan]

Yes, it all comes down to being comfortable. My dad, 2 brothers, along with a bro in law was with me so I had to keep composure. I do have a lake masters chip and it does a good job at telling us where the ramps are.

We launched from plug hat, but zoomed over to cutfoot before the winds picked up. Then the old man got to his complaining (lack of fish) and we tried to zoom back over... WRONG..

But sure enough, things got calmer after we got back... A lesson learned is to try and wait things out next time..

Thanks for all the tips guys, I will def try all that has been mentioned. As for 5 footers, I think i will pass..

[SkunkedAgain]

On our honeymoon, my wife and I went out fishing on Vermilion. It was finally a calm day and we were in our narrow 16' Fisher. About the time that we got across one of the bigger bays, the wind kicked up again as the sun fell. We started across the bay and got beat up a bit. I slowed down and got off plane, but the bow was nose-diving into the waves and my new bride was getting wet. I went full throttle on that 35hp Evinrude and powered back to plane, hit some nasty waves, and ended up puncturing a hole in the hull, a 3" seem right along side the little keel. I too learned a lot that day about boating into bigger waves.

Stay safe and know that your family will be happy to see you come out a few hours or even a day later, rather than see the water patrol pull your body out a few weeks later.

[Matt C]

Some great points.

One that I will add, is keep your bow up! Go a speed that you are comfortable with, hit them at a slight angle, or strait on...and trim your motor out to keep your bow riding high.

Im in a Trophy 195 w/ a 200. My young children were comfortable on Mille Lacs in some very large waves.

In your 185 with a 175, you have plenty of juice to not let the waves take you where they want to.

And ALWAYS where your PFD!

[DRH1175]

With that boat you don't have too much to worry about. You have to learn just how your boat reacts and to trust it. I have a 1700 Lund Explorer. Which is quite a bit smaller and I have been in 4'ers and still felt comfortable. I have been fishing Mille Lacs for years though so I know what the boat will do. What works is to get the bow up. If it is real rough 3'+ I get the bow up on top and bust through at about 10 to 15 mph. For under 3' I find I can ride right around 20 quite comfortably. You have to get up and out for your boat to ride the best. You have pretty much one of the best Aluminum boats for the rough stuff.

[Eric Wettschreck]

Good info here.

One thing I'll add is sometimes the closest shoreline is the best shoreline, even if it's not where the landing is. This isn't always the case of course, but if things are going badly, the closer to shore you are the closer to land you are.

Worst case scenario...boat insurance will replace the guys boat, life insurance doesn't replace the guy.

[broken_line]

if you have to think.. should i be out here..?? dont go out! kinda like an ice fisherman putting a 2" between him and trouble.