Can you answer me? if the tide is running at 8 knotts and I am in a QS 310 airdeck with a 6hp 2 stroke tohatsu motor,and 3 people on board, will the boat and engine cope or will it struggle to fight against the current? cheers
The answer to the question is - you wouldn't put yourself in that position to find out.
I would be dubious enough with my 380HD with 20 hp.
It won't just be the tide pushing you backwards, it will be tossing the boat all over the place. Dangerous and scary I reckon would sum it up in a small boat.
Most 8 knot tides will have whirlpools, "boiling water" possibly standing waves and other such interesting features associated with them. Spent a while a few weeks back playing in the rough stuff at the "falls of Lora" under the connel bridge and to be honest, I would not go through that in a SIB...
If your boat planes wth said people in it then I guess you will be over 8 knots but if for any reason you came off the plane (eg hitting a bit of boiling water or rough spot) you would be back to displacement speed and get punted back out the way with the tide....
If your talking about 2 other adults in the boat with you, you'd be lucky to reach planing speed in flat, still water with 6 hp. I know that with myself and my 2 (skinny) brothers in a 3.2 m zodiac, we coud not get on plane with a 9.9hp motor.
Even with just yourself in the boat, you'd be asking for serious trouble by entering any substantial currents with the boat length and motor power you have.
