V boats - rough water handling

B

bgreene

Banned
Interested in feedback from guys who have ocean fished, and had to run seas - 3' -5' chop, and bigger swells.

Knowing these boats weren't really meant for offshore work, I have run in 3' - 4' white cap chop on the ocean and at about 4' was getting a few splashing over the bow a bit. I know it's a wet ride from spray, and I use the tabs just a touch to avoid excessive plowing into waves.

Who has some detailed experiences to share - plus ride comparison to other boats if you've had others in same size category.

Thanks
 
Fished several times with a buddy boat that was a 2003 Proline 20 or 21 Center Console. Everybody in my boat always walked off dry, everybody on the ProLine were soaked. My V20 took the rough water better, only dipped water once. We have run 8-10' seas once. We ran out 30 miles to the pipeline, about an hour and a half ride. Dropped anchor, and when i turned around to head back a wave rolled over the open cuddy and into the boat. I dont know what the hell happened to the water, flat calm seas had turned into six foot seas. Pulled anchor and headed in, it took us four hours to get in, and the swells finally got to a point where i thought they were ten foot tall.

I have fished in the above mentioned ProLine several times. Anytime we got in rough water, my back would hurt me for a week or so. Its a rough ride.
 
jasoncooperpcola said:
Fished several times with a buddy boat that was a 2003 Proline 20 or 21 Center Console. Everybody in my boat always walked off dry, everybody on the ProLine were soaked. My V20 took the rough water better, only dipped water once. We have run 8-10' seas once. We ran out 30 miles to the pipeline, about an hour and a half ride. Dropped anchor, and when i turned around to head back a wave rolled over the open cuddy and into the boat. I dont know what the hell happened to the water, flat calm seas had turned into six foot seas. Pulled anchor and headed in, it took us four hours to get in, and the swells finally got to a point where i thought they were ten foot tall.

I have fished in the above mentioned ProLine several times. Anytime we got in rough water, my back would hurt me for a week or so. Its a rough ride.
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That's very interesting, thanks for the details.
 
I often catch rides in a 23' seapro, a 21' seapro, and an older 23' hydrasport (all center consoles). Id say it the 23s handle seas only a bit better than my V20, but the V is much drier than all three. I don't have trim tabs, and we push fairly slowly through anything 3-4 or bigger. I used to be gung-ho, but now that I'm a boat owner, I choose not to go if the forecast is 3-5 or worse.
 
awthacker said:
I often catch rides in a 23' seapro, a 21' seapro, and an older 23' hydrasport (all center consoles). Id say it the 23s handle seas only a bit better than my V20, but the V is much drier than all three. I don't have trim tabs, and we push fairly slowly through anything 3-4 or bigger. I used to be gung-ho, but now that I'm a boat owner, I choose not to go if the forecast is 3-5 or worse.
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Tabs made a big....make that huge difference with my V21. Just a little tab brings the sharp bow entry into the waves and cuts rather than the hull lifting and coming down flat.
I can now run 20 + mph through 2' + chop without pounding - at all.

I'm not one for pounding a boat so this is great now.
The watch out is not too much tab or it will dig too much, become a wet ride, and risk plowing the bow right in and through waves - especially running with the seas.

I had a 94' Mako prior to this boat. The ride was different, rode more " bow proud" preferring to rise up and over rather than tending to dig through waves. It would pound, even with tabs down, but was built like a tank. Overall a good rough water boat as I never took a wave over the bow.

Keep the stories coming.
 
All in all, I think the V20 runs very well in a lot of ugly conditions. The key is picking the right speed for the period of the waves. Sometimes faster is better.

If there is one sea condition that sucks in the V20 cuddy its a 3-4ft wind blown chop that is 2 feet shorter than the boat.
If you are going slow and don't pay attention and stay quartered, that big wide bow will dip in and shovel 30 gallons of water into the air, it will land on the bow and in a slight delay, ride up the windshield back into the air and drench the captain who's brother complains about not having an eisenglass enclosure....
 
I don't have tabs but typically have at least 20 gallons of extra gas in the bow when I head way out. I've been in 6-8 and building...not by plan. Mine is a center console. I've never taken one over the bow underway; ever. I rarely come home without a water-logged sack. Dry ride my boat is not.

When the seas get rough my primary concern is a following sea going through the inlet. I've had the boat surf down a wave face, that big flare dig in and spin me around like a top. I find taking a transverse course tacking through the inlet greatly reduces the chances of that occuring.

I used to run a 31' Fountain and never had that problem but it did beat me.
 
we must measure waves different, because a 10 ft wave would be all over my boat, a 10 ft swell is something else. mines no fun in 3-5.
 
tartuffe said:
I don't have tabs but typically have at least 20 gallons of extra gas in the bow when I head way out. I've been in 6-8 and building...not by plan. Mine is a center console. I've never taken one over the bow underway; ever. I rarely come home without a water-logged sack. Dry ride my boat is not.

When the seas get rough my primary concern is a following sea going through the inlet. I've had the boat surf down a wave face, that big flare dig in and spin me around like a top. I find taking a transverse course tacking through the inlet greatly reduces the chances of that occuring.

I used to run a 31' Fountain and never had that problem but it did beat me.
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That spin must have been intense.
 
Well my opinion on 5' plus seas on a 20 foot boat is that your gonna get wet. I fish my 24 albemarle in some pretty snotty weather and if it weren't for curtains you would be wet. I don't believe in a 20 or 24 foot "dry" boat. I remember our v20 when coming in from bluefin fishing being in 4 to 7 foot and being complety soaked, the entry on the other hand was soft and comfy,but with a quartering sea if you weren't hanging on she would just about throw ya overboard followed by about 10 gallons of water. This was also on a v20 with no tabs. I've been wet way to many times making that run in from offshore in all conditions . But once again the ride on a v20 is impecable,soft gentle entry yet wet. That's why my t-top with be surrounded with curtains. I have also fished on a 50 foot Paul Mann white marlin fishing in 10 to 12 foot slop and it was all you wanted, I shurely would hate to be on a v20 in those conditions. A lot of people do measure waves different.
 
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With a bad back I don't push it too hard anymore. Ride quality on my 20 beats the 23' Whaler in the wind chop. The Whaler would wallow, I think the term used a while back was like riding atop meat loaf. Not a bad boat, just not as crisp in the tracking department. To the 20, I wet Reelapealin & CO. in the wind chop in Charleston harbor. LOL. Spareparts stayed completely dry that day in his Mckee Craft as I recall. If your patient you tend to stay dry. Never been in anything worse than 3 to 4. I stay away from inlets. LOL. Don't need to carry a change of drawers that way.
 
More interesting reading, thanks for the posts.

We're not talking about deliberately taking these boats out in rough conditions.........it's when you wind up in choppy seas. Sooner or later in the ocean it's nearly impossible to avoid encountering 2'-4' conditions.

Last friday the marine forecast for W 5-10 turned to S/ SE at 10-15-20 in the afternoon and seas built to 2's 3's and 4' whitecapped chop.

I had to quarter in some, and got wet. No big deal but at the time I was thinking how nice curtains would have been. Thing with curtains is, if you don't keep em' on all the time, I've found they tend to shrink.......just enough so snapping back in place can become a struggle. That plus in the summer - it gets hot in there ! That's another discussion.

Back to rough seas - also interesting that some of you guys fish these boats deep for tuna and such. I'm impressed. I'm about to invest in a PLB to enhanse my safety gear, but I fish mostly within 5 miles of shore......... I may run 20 miles south or north but still typically inshore.

Could rip across 2'-4' to an extent, but I won't beat the boat up that way.

Anyone have any other stories ? Always interesting reading.
 
barnegatV20 said:
No kidding, fresh underwear might have been needed
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Seriously speaking............... in worst case scenario......... pitch poling the boat, but let's say getting spun AND rolled over / swamped / boat upside down.
1. You're either thrown clear of the boat and in the water.
2. You wind up under the boat - hopefully with air pocket to breathe before dive under to come up to the surface.

Talking safety gear......... in example # 2......got to wonder if the life jacket would keep a person from being able to dive back under and come up to the surface. I don't know...... might have to remove the jacket, push it under and up, then swim up and try to put it back on. All that in rough seas.

Option # 1 while wearing life jacket would be the best outcome.

I now keep my type 1 lifejacket ( the offshore serious model) on the passenger seat in case I need to put it on. It's equiped with a sports whissle, and waterproof light.
I don't like wearing a preserver on calm days, summer heat but at least it's very close by.
 
bgreene said:
Seriously speaking............... in worst case scenario......... pitch poling the boat, but let's say getting spun AND rolled over / swamped / boat upside down.
1. You're either thrown clear of the boat and in the water.
2. You wind up under the boat - hopefully with air pocket to breathe before dive under to come up to the surface.

Talking safety gear......... in example # 2......got to wonder if the life jacket would keep a person from being able to dive back under and come up to the surface. I don't know...... might have to remove the jacket, push it under and up, then swim up and try to put it back on. All that in rough seas.

Option # 1 while wearing life jacket would be the best outcome.

I now keep my type 1 lifejacket ( the offshore serious model) on the passenger seat in case I need to put it on. It's equiped with a sports whissle, and waterproof light.
I don't like wearing a preserver on calm days, summer heat but at least it's very close by.
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I've spent alot of time thinking about that scenario during my current rebuild. Particularly in foam placement. My 81 had foam below deck. My line of thinking is that if the boat swamped, buoyancy low would cause the boat to turtle and roll. Now with the boat upside down the weight of the motor along with the lack of foam in the bilge area would cause the boat to sit not flat but at an angle. My primary concern is what would that angle be and would it be too steep to sit on top of the boat awaiting rescue.

With that in mind I wonder what I could do to make the boat less prone to that particular scenario.

Currently I keep a ditch bag equipped with a handheld waterproof GPS and a handheld waterproof VHF with 6 mile range, flares, and a strobe. The bag also acts as a flotation device.
 
bgreene said:
.

Anyone have any other stories ? Always interesting reading.
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MJ does...:)

The wife and I got pretty wet a few weeks back when it was very windy and choppy. Going at the waves at an angle, the wind picks up the spray and showers you. Big swells are swell. It's heading into a 3-5 ft chop with a strong wind that always gets me.

rkc
 
We fished our v20 as a kid with my dad in places were 20 foot boats really don't belong. We had her out fitted with twin 20 gallon acid jugs mounted to the sides of the console full of gas, along with 2 30 gallon external tanks. We would burn off the external or portable tanks first then burn the main 50 gallon tank to get home. That was back in the day when a SeaRanger LoranC and a Sea King paper bottom was top of the line!!!!!! We were also very good friends with a lot of the mates and captains with the main fleet out of Rudee Inlet,so we were always in very close distance to a charter boat. My dads major fear was always fire!!!! No smoking was allowed!!! The fleet used to call us the floating bomb. But we fished the hell out of that boat almost every weekend.
 
Kracker Jack said:
We fished our v20 as a kid with my dad in places were 20 foot boats really don't belong. We had her out fitted with twin 20 gallon acid jugs mounted to the sides of the console full of gas, along with 2 30 gallon external tanks. We would burn off the external or portable tanks first then burn the main 50 gallon tank to get home. That was back in the day when a SeaRanger LoranC and a Sea King paper bottom was top of the line!!!!!! We were also very good friends with a lot of the mates and captains with the main fleet out of Rudee Inlet,so we were always in very close distance to a charter boat. My dads major fear was always fire!!!! No smoking was allowed!!! The fleet used to call us the floating bomb. But we fished the hell out of that boat almost every weekend.
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Any rough sea condition stories to share ?
 
Really the worst one we had was coming in from tuna fishing. The blue water was laid out slick but we could see the summer storm built up on the beach. We got into the green shallow water as we hit the thunderstorm about 18 miles off the beach. We got a little further inside about 8 miles and she turned into a **** storm!!!!! The swell was fastly wind blown so the waves were just about ontop of each other. It was about consistent 6 foot with the occasional doubled up 8 footer. I will never forget it. I was 13 years old. We had one or two bow dips and loaded the boat with about 8 to 10 inches of water but it all rolled right out the back. That was the worst I've ever been in a v20
 
Kracker Jack said:
Really the worst one we had was coming in from tuna fishing. The blue water was laid out slick but we could see the summer storm built up on the beach. We got into the green shallow water as we hit the thunderstorm about 18 miles off the beach. We got a little further inside about 8 miles and she turned into a **** storm!!!!! The swell was fastly wind blown so the waves were just about ontop of each other. It was about consistent 6 foot with the occasional doubled up 8 footer. I will never forget it. I was 13 years old. We had one or two bow dips and loaded the boat with about 8 to 10 inches of water but it all rolled right out the back. That was the worst I've ever been in a v20
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Interesting, water flowed out the back.......... that is the good thing about a lower transom.
The V21 had the removable elevated transom rod holder - good thing to remove in case of really rough water on the bow.........
 
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