So I bought an AVX 1980 Dec. of 2020 and am relatively new to boats. Haven't owned one in 20yrs. I know every ones opinion will very but what wind speed is the boat capable of handling safe? I'm aware experience helps and I'm working on it. Was just wandering what most people consider winds to crazy to be in?
Over 35 yrs bass fishing I've always said over 15 to 20 mph stay home not worth it just my 2 cents
I agree with this general guideline as much more than this makes it really tough to control the boat in a safe manner especially if the wind and waves are coming perpendicular to the boat when running in big water.Originally Posted by James 10
I had several trips to Chequamegon Bay last spring where the early morning runs of about 4-5 miles from the boat launch to some of the tributary river areas was calm, but coming back to the launch in the afternoon, the winds had picked up (~20-25mph) and there were a few times where I wished I had been running my Ranger 522 instead of my Vexus, but the boat handled the conditions well after making some adjustments to the hydraulic jack plate (new boats always take a bit of seat time to learn to drive in rough conditions) and always got me back home safely if a bit wet from water spray.
Having said that, the pad hull design on the Vexus runs much better and smoother than the old school mod-v hull on my previous Ranger RT188 aluminum bass boat did so I am more confident about running the Vexus in windy conditions compared to my old Ranger RT188 for certain.
Please have a great day!
2022 Vexus VX20/Mercury 250 Pro XS | 2021 Vexus AVX 1980/Mercury 150 Pro XS | "Overkill is underrated!" - "Då Som Nu För Alltid"
I have run mine in some nasty stuff so I would agree with what everyone has said so far. These same conditions would apply to any boat tin or glass. I have run boats in the 25ft range off shore to 16 ft Bay runners in the Ses of Cortez. I’ve been a tropical storm off the Ridge along the Baja coast line in an 85 ft Sportfishing boat. If the wind blows its really time to stay home.
Having said all that, I am truly amazed how well this AVX series handles the rough stuff. The designers did a great job with these boats.
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over 20 sucks for me. on the lake around me I wouldn't call it unsafe but unenjoyable
Depends on the water and whether or not your can easily get to a protected area. I've been in some nasty stuff in mine and while it wasn't fun or ideal I never felt unsafe. Had about 30 MPH winds going directly against the current on the Mississippi north of Davenport, IA and it was just stacking the current. I bet they were pushing 4 footers, I just hugged the shoreline the best I could and drove slow. I think a foot throttle helped tremendously.
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If in doubt don’t go out. Below 25 it’s probably a matter of how bad you want to pound your equipment above 30 things can go wrong really really quick. You start taking on water from stuffing a wave or spray and boats start to preform badly. I got in over my head on Lake Oahe once. It worked out but I hope to never be in such a situation again.
I hate fishing in nasty winds! My last boat was a 21 fiberglass skeeter that handled big water like a champ. I currently have a vexus avx 1980 out of 3 tin boats it handles the best in rough conditions not as well as the 21 skeeter but thats not expected.
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