Rough water tips

[catfishjn69]

Guys a couple of weeks ago I was on pickwick lake and the wind was a blowin. Waves were in 2-3ft size. Tried to do different things to run them but going into the wind it was nit happening. Had basically just idle. I could run with the wind around 20mph. What are you guys doing in these situations
Thanks

[CincyGus]

[CincyGus]

[Highcentered]

When the swells get that big I pop the nose up in the air enough to let the keel cut but not spear them. Also the prop you use will make a HUGE difference. I run a good 4 blade because it stays hooked up so well in less than perfect conditions.

[Jtreed99]

The TVA systems can get meaner that most realize, especially because much of it in north Alabama runs east to west and winds are often highest from west to east, causing the waves to stack quickly. It’s interesting that you found running with the wind easier than against as I find the opposite due to the spacing created. When it’s just choppy enough to white cap I trim down to cut the chop for comfort. There comes a point when this is no longer safe and you must get the bow up for dryness and safety. The higher you get the bow the less comfortable the ride will be because you are riding on the widest flattest part of the hull, but it will keep you safe and dry. With time you will learn that sometimes you can’t take a direct path to the destination and must quarter the waves in opposing directions to save your back and your equipment. Sometimes we just punt and put it back on the trailer and trailer to a location where the river isn’t parallel to the wind. As highcenterd said, a prop with a lot of bite helps immensely at holding the boat on plane and the nose up at slower speeds and has the added benefit of increasing the effective throttle response when it gets truly disgusting and you’re chopping the throttle up and down each swell.

[GeauxTide]

Idling is your friend if you want to save your welds.

[Jtreed99]

Idling is your friend if you want to save your welds.

This is also a great point even though in a perfectly manufactured world the weld should be stronger than the sheet either side of it. It’s been a long time since this was actually the case though.

[jkk]

I slow down nose up take my time back to the ramp keeps all the screws tight and the welds intact it's a tin boat not a battleship lol.

[Transom]

Just slow down. There is nothing worth ruining your boat or putting yourself in danger. On all but the largest lakes you will be safe but it may take a while to get where you are going and you will get wet.

[Highcentered]

Something else I should have mentioned is to make sure your boat will do what you need it to do when things get dicey. When I bought my H18 my dealer told me it DID NOT need a jack plate and adding one would hurt more than it helped. Well, I've known forever he doesn't like jack plates or hot foot throttles but I think he has both on his Gambler but that's an entirely different animal from any other brand he's ever sold (he used to sell gambler). I'm just standing there looking at him thinking "I'll be the judge of that because I can tell what a boat needs by just running it a few trips". I had him replace the stock Maxxum with my Ultrex and put the typical big screens and black box up front. Also put lithium in the back. Basically, if you add and subtract the weight that was added and cut when compared to how most people have these boats rigged it would be about like having a 200 pound person sitting up front about where the trolling motor pedal is. It was so bad when sitting at rest without me in it the front looked lower than the rear.

About the third trip out in this boat the lake was rolling pretty bad and I couldn't get the nose to pop up for nothing. I speared more waves that day than I had in 13ish years of boat ownership combined between 4 boats before that (one of them a 1436 and I could pop the nose pretty high on it to keep me safe). My buddy was out there in his Champion and was watching me struggle. He told me to go with a 10" plate and now I'm eating crow because he knew better. I didn't want to have TOO MUCH seback because then you're just stuck. Didn't take long for me to get a 6" Bob's Action Jack for us to put on there. It helped a lot but still wasn't "right" so added a 2" spacer for a total of 8". OK, that extra 2" got me close but she wasn't quite satisfied yet. Replaced the dealer installed Powertech ptr3 with a Powertech nrs4 (similar to the Turbo everyone loves on the Xpress hulls). NOW I CAN RUN ROUGH WATER AND THROW THIS BIG HEAVY TIN AROUND. That ptr3 was 2-3mph faster but as a whole the wrong prop for my setup. I do feel like I could put a 15" plate on my hull and it would LOVE it but 8" lowered the rear and raised the front enough at rest that it isn't as good of a platform in the wind as it was bolted straight to the transom. My dealer was right about that when he said setback would hurt more than it helped but spearing waves ain't good.

So if you made it this far without saying "TLDR" you now know that setting up a boat to run like it needs to is especially important and all setups are different. And losing a couple mph in trade for gaining everywhere else in the name of handling AND SAFETY is a pretty good tradeoff as far as I'm concerned. If you want something to haul ass in pony up for a glass rig that's designed to haul ass.

[n2ratfishin]

My Rt188 does ok in rough water as long as I time the waves. If that means going 20 then you go 20 MPH. However, putting your rain gear on before making a run like that is a good idea because it's a wet ride. I've had it all over the south east on many big lakes and it's always got me back to the ramp safe.

[FloridaFlyer]

My Rt188 does ok in rough water as long as I time the waves. If that means going 20 then you go 20 MPH. However, putting your rain gear on before making a run like that is a good idea because it's a wet ride. I've had it all over the south east on many big lakes and it's always got me back to the ramp safe.

I totally agree with this 100%... In Florida, we do not have bluffs and big trees along the banks and the water is pretty open on most lakes. If the wind is up, there is nothing to stop it. You learn how to drive a boat in rough water. There is nowhere to hide. The RT188 gets a very good test there. It has held up great.

One big tip is to zigzag somewhat and do not take big waves head on. Eventually, you will spear one. Take them at an angle and slow down.... if they are bad and whitecapping, I wear my rainsuit. Many times it is not the boat hetting you sprayed. The boat hull pushes the water up and away -----then the wind blows it back on you. I also wear goggles if the wind is bad or I wear Cocoons in the Aviator model. They are huge fitovers for regular glasses and are GREAT for driving in the wind.

My RT has always gotten me back to the ramp too. It has been a pretty good boat.... no, it has been a very good boat.

[catfishjn69]

Thanks for the input. I have ran a 20 ft champion for years this was the first time I was reduced to 10ish mph into the wind. I definitely kept the nose up and zig zagged trying to quarter the waves. I just didn't want to best the hell out of my boat. Again thanks for the feedback

[Highcentered]

I totally agree with this 100%... In Florida, we do not have bluffs and big trees along the banks and the water is pretty open on most lakes. If the wind is up, there is nothing to stop it. You learn how to drive a boat in rough water. There is nowhere to hide. The RT188 gets a very good test there. It has held up great.

One big tip is to zigzag somewhat and do not take big waves head on. Eventually, you will spear one. Take them at an angle and slow down.... if they are bad and whitecapping, I wear my rainsuit. Many times it is not the boat hetting you sprayed. The boat hull pushes the water up and away -----then the wind blows it back on you. I also wear goggles if the wind is bad or I wear Cocoons in the Aviator model. They are huge fitovers for regular glasses and are GREAT for driving in the wind.

My RT has always gotten me back to the ramp too. It has been a pretty good boat.... no, it has been a very good boat.

EVERY boat is a wet ride in a stiff cross wind and big swells. When someone says their boat will never wet you I quit taking them seriously. That said, my Tracker 175txw didn't wet me nearly as bad as this Xpress does. Xpress has a harder landing also. Probably very similar to how the RT rides and handles.

[Johnnyred]

My Tracker 175txw didn't wet me nearly as bad as this Xpress does. Xpress has a harder landing also. Probably very similar to how the RT rides and handles.

Yep the Trackers have more vee and further back, more deadrise. They definitely cut thru chop better. But tip a little more on calm water with the TM down. There are no free lunches with hull designs just compromises.

[Highcentered]

Yep the Trackers have more vee and further back, more deadrise. The definitely cut thru chop better. But tip a little more on calm water with the TM down. There are no free lunches with hull designs just compromises.

You're right about that. I also get the feeling Tracker has some hull flex going on too where the Xpress is built rigid like a floating tank. There are things I love and hate about both boats but much prefer the bigger and more stable platform where I spend most of my time.