Opinions in Running 31PC in 3-4' Waves


toofast

toofast

Active member
Just looking for everybodies experience, as I am still not super happy running in 3-4' Chop.

I think I have not figured out how to completely run in rough water, as I always seem to get beat up....guess I am looking to validate what everybody else experiences in 3-4' waves.

I have to make a long run, about 40 miles across open water...and if it were you, what speed would you expect to be able to maintain without beating the heck out of the boat and yourself.

I know wave direction matters, so I am looking for both thoughts, meaning heading into the waves as well waves off your beam, say coming across your stbd side.

It is not the fear of doing so, but just the nature of not having so much fun....

Thanks for your input!
 
I would not do 40 miles in 4 foot seas if I could avoid it. I would stick to 2 foot seas.

In 4 foot seas, it is really a matter of slowing down enough to avoid getting too beat up. Waves on the beam are a bad idea. I think that anything over 15MPH in true 4 foot seas will be uncomfortable.
 
I try to avoid the Bay anytime the forecast calls for 3 foot waves. With that being said, sometimes you get caught and there is nothing you can do. I simply slow way down and try to take the waves at an angle to try and soften the blow. Of course, my boat is 5000 pounds lighter than yours, so you can probably attack and run faster than I am willing too. Sorry I have no other words of wisdom. I do agree with you, I never feel uncomfortable, but it is simply not fun getting pounded.
 
I did 7 and 8 footers for about 40 miles and they were head on, white knuckles and all. Got beat up pretty good, was doing about 17mph. We ran in the ocean instead of staying inside and paid for it but the boat was as solid as can be and harm done. I knew then that I bought the right boat. :)

However, now I avoid it anytime it is over 3 feet.
 
Next time you run in 7-8 footers, take a video of that. I would love to see the 31PC ride those !

Like you said, you picked the right boat for the job even in 3-4 footers !
 
I had my son, father in law, and a captin on that trip. The thud of the hull every time we dropped ov the top of the wave was simply scarey. When I got back, there was not any open cabinets or any loose items. I was very impressed.

That was my trip getting the boat from Trenton,NJ through the Delaware river to the bay through Cape May to Long Beach Island. No one was willing to let go to take pictures. :)
 
i myself just slow down to about 15-20 mph tabs down and drive down.i know what you meen.been in 8-10 footer going to leamington canada from vermilion a couple of years ago in a 27ft i.m.p.that i had and boy that was a white knucle ride.take a bar of soap with you so you can shower also.multi-tasking
 
toofast said:
Just looking for everybodies experience, as I am still not super happy running in 3-4' Chop.

I think I have not figured out how to completely run in rough water, as I always seem to get beat up....guess I am looking to validate what everybody else experiences in 3-4' waves.

I have to make a long run, about 40 miles across open water...and if it were you, what speed would you expect to be able to maintain without beating the heck out of the boat and yourself.

I know wave direction matters, so I am looking for both thoughts, meaning heading into the waves as well waves off your beam, say coming across your stbd side.

It is not the fear of doing so, but just the nature of not having so much fun....

Thanks for your input!
Click to expand...


Is this lake chop or ocean?

I do 4 foot chop on Lake Powell with trim almost all down and tabs at 50 % running 25 to stay on plane with no trouble. However, ocean chop is alot different.
 
I ran my old 31PC in many different wave heights, the tallest was probably 8 foot. however that was in the ocean, and not chop.

Depending on how long or short the wave length is in the chop will determine how fast you can run. if they are close enough, by that i mean you bow into the 1st 4 footer and by the time you hit the next 4 footer the 1st one is still under the boat or just about to leave the boat and you can get a good speed. long enough go fast boats will skip across the tops of the waves as long as they can get one under the bow before coming off the wave under the boat. you have to be careful and keep an eye out for the change in the wave length, if you come off the wave and slamm down before cutting into the next you can stuff the bow. Hard to do in 4 foot chop but you never know.

More times than not i have to slow down to about 18-22 mph, trim up to about .5 degrees and put the tabs down enough to keep the bow from lifting too high when powering thru the 1st wave. However, if you tab down too much, when you get thru the wave you are forcing the bow down hard into the next one and that is where you get slammed!! It takes time to find the sweet spot between power, trim and tab to get it right. And then if the wave length changes you make slight changes. Sometimes if its too hard to find the sweet spot, tab down over half way, very little trim and stick that deep V thru the wave. Heres another tip, keep that fresh water tank in the bow full, this helps keep her down.

I just ran 80 miles from Atlantic City to Ocean City MD in 4 to 6 footers, took me almost 4.5 hours to get there. took about 30 minutes to get in the sweet spot. Then after that, i would have to make changes to setting as the currents and wave lenght and winds changed. its all about practice to get it right and Trim, Tab and power make the difference. There will be times when you just have to go SLOW.

PS, on the way back the ocean was flat and i did it in a little under 3 hours at a 40 MPH cruise ;D

1 pic is 3 to 4 foot chop with white caps. the boat getting swallowed is a 27 Chap, the closer boat is a 38 older heavy carver, just carving along

2 pic is the way home, flat as a pancake
 

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It is lake chop for sure...but very confused lake chop for sure. Sounds like I just need to play around more with the trim and speed to maintain a comfortable ride. But I am also glad to hear that maintaining any kind of quick pace in 3-4 footers is not a reality...just too much slamming around.

As for stuffing the bow...been there done that...it happened a few weeks ago in 3-4 footers....I was running mostly a trailing sea, so I could run ok, but with constant throttle jockeying to ride and/or surf the next wave. The friend with me said hey, look at that small boat getting hammered....I took my eye off the next wave for a moment, and the next thing you know a wall of water is coming at me, and the bow is buried 1/2 way to the windshield. Formula took it like a pro, but bow was it wet and embarrasing.
 
Another problem I think I have is the ability to cruise slow...I have a good friend who has a 34 Sea Ray Amberjack...he can run 22 mph on plane and weighs about the same as me and all is good in 4' seas. At 22 mph I am so sluggish...plowing like crazy and burning a ton of gas...

I know I should be able to put tabs all the way down and not trim the drive out...but I still can't stay on plane that slow....but then again I normally run with no water at all in the tank...maybe that is what is messing me up.
 
I dont think the water will help keep you on plane. get on plane first, then slowy reduce rpm til you are just staying up. of course use the tabs to help. but formulas are made to cruise at higher speeds. so do what i do, run normal, get ahead of the pack, make a uturn and take pictures of the rest of the pack head on!! :D then make another uturn, have a sandwich and a cocktail and then catch back up to the pack.

hence the term "run circles around you"
 
too fast, keep in mind an Amberjack model has a lot more beam than a PC or a Sundancer and will be able to take a lot heavier sea. When I had the 34PC we were in seas way over 6' going to Newport, RI and I was fine keeping up with a bunch of Formulas bigger than me. the few times I have been in rough water with the 41 has been in New York Harbor and it has been fun knocking down the rough water and plowing along. Note the word usage as I am not winning any speed races with a gas powered 41, but as far as ride goes the Mrs. suffered no undue loss of comfort. These boats are definitely built to run offshore 8) :) ;D
 
Castines said:
I dont think the water will help keep you on plane. get on plane first, then slowy reduce rpm til you are just staying up. of course use the tabs to help. but formulas are made to cruise at higher speeds. so do what i do, run normal, get ahead of the pack, make a uturn and take pictures of the rest of the pack head on!! :D then make another uturn, have a sandwich and a cocktail and then catch back up to the pack.

hence the term "run circles around you"
Click to expand...

Yep, that is normally what I do. But I think the faster cruise does "hurt" me a bit in rougher water. But still I would not change what I have, just trying to understand what the best way to optimize the run for terrible conditions....
 
toofast said:
Another problem I think I have is the ability to cruise slow...I have a good friend who has a 34 Sea Ray Amberjack...he can run 22 mph on plane and weighs about the same as me and all is good in 4' seas. At 22 mph I am so sluggish...plowing like crazy and burning a ton of gas...

I know I should be able to put tabs all the way down and not trim the drive out...but I still can't stay on plane that slow....but then again I normally run with no water at all in the tank...maybe that is what is messing me up.
Click to expand...

Water helps me, I like to run with at least a half tank. If it doesn't help keep you on plane at low speeds, at least it will make the ride better.
 
this is an awesome thread and also the pics of the chap getting eating up are cool. I am in AC and want to pull the trigger badly on a new 34PC(right now I am in a 280 dancer). My question is would the ride be much different with the 34 vs the 31 in these offshore conditions? Also anyone from this area at all aware of a class or captain that gives lessons? Really want to KNOW how to take the different situations when I am offshore. Currently I am most of the time just to chicken to head out and I end up staying inside. last year coming back from Cpeak bay I was too scared to head out around Cape May and went inside on low tide and ended up beached...............I need a good deal from Trenton on a new 34 :).
 
baziado said:
this is an awesome thread and also the pics of the chap getting eating up are cool. I am in AC and want to pull the trigger badly on a new 34PC(right now I am in a 280 dancer). My question is would the ride be much different with the 34 vs the 31 in these offshore conditions? Also anyone from this area at all aware of a class or captain that gives lessons? Really want to KNOW how to take the different situations when I am offshore. Currently I am most of the time just to chicken to head out and I end up staying inside. last year coming back from Cpeak bay I was too scared to head out around Cape May and went inside on low tide and ended up beached...............I need a good deal from Trenton on a new 34 :).
Click to expand...

If you can get the right deal then the 34PC all the way, the extra 8 inches in beam and 3 in length are a huge difference. I've been on Castines 34PC and very impressed and I am sure he'll chime in. I am confident that my 31PC can handle conditions very well and it is just the right size for me right now.
 
TF,

For me, those are the days we just stay in the slip and do the social thing. Notwithstanding any stress on the boat, it's just not much fun getting beat up. To a greater degree, my wife feels the same way.

Regardless, I expect the hull would be fine with continued exposure to such conditions, although one may eventually see some stress cracks. What will be exposed first though are loose bolt ons, like cabinet doors, ect... Refrigerator shelves don't like it either. I found that out on a long run in moderate chop down the Bay from Annapolis to Virginia Beach a while back. Nothing was harmed, I just had a quagmire when I opened up the fridge.

Anyhow, 20 knots is about it for me to stay on plane. As long as I am not too heavy, I can do this at about 3K RPM, with tabs partially down. Generally speaking, this power and trim give me the best compromise of speed and bow attitude to ride out rougher conditions. The boat does very well like this. Anything where I have to regularly goose the power to stay in phase with the waves though, and it's time for this ole boy to head in.....YMMV.

Fortunately for us, where we live, we have the luxury of different size bodies of water all minutes away. On more windy days, we can stay closer to the marina on the smaller rivers. On nicer days though, the larger river (James), and the Chesapeake Bay are quickly reached.
 
Go for the 34, if not the 37. LBI is right, that extra few feet mean a lot, mainly the extra weight helps also.

But remember, big seas and recreational boats dont go well together.
 
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