Rough water advice

[Rick Fisher]

Hello

I have a Sealegs 7.7m Rhib and use it in the Georgia Straight between Vancouver island and the Canadian Coastline.

As a general rule if its windy I dont go out. I wear a life jacket all the time, use a kill cord and wear a floating VHF on my life jacket.

The other day I was at a restaurant in a small port 25km away.. the forecast was for 14km winds .. sitting on the balcony i felt a stiff wind come up and within minutes realizes the forecast was wrong.

I paid the bill and left .. drove 25km with lots of fuel, in 29km average winds. The entire trip home was in a following sea and the waves where about 1.5m and white caps.

I found it uncomfortable.. it was a really wet ride .. the bilge pump ran about a total of 12 min.. wave after wave crashed over the rear and beam loads of spray off the bow .. i was soaked head to toe.

The boat seemed fine, its heavy for a Rhib in my opinion .. about 1700kg plus a 200hp Evindude. It has a heavily reinforced aluminum hull and seems to have a low center of gravity.. but i am a moderately experience boater .. no expert at all ..

I've gone on Google and searched broaching rhibs. Nothing comes up its always sail boats and fiberglass boats.

So I wonder, how paranoid am I.. how hard is it to flip a 7.7m rhib. The boat has self draining decks and a strong bilge pump .. i don't believe it would sink, even if flooded .. but would it turn sideways and flip ? Would 1.5m waves be enough?

My boat has a 21 degree transom deadrise and doesn't pound on waves, but the tubes are low to the water so it's a wet ride in rough water . Does anyone have any wisdom compared to watching Google videos of safe ways to handle a tin boat or sail boat.

Thanks

[Peter_C]

You need a drysuit. Then you will enjoy the excited ocean. Nice boat! It can take a lot more than you are going to be willing to go out into. Just stay out of the surf zones and you will be fine. A few waves slapping it around is not an issue as you have deck drains and bilge pumps. Some days are just wet. 1.5m waves are pretty small all things considered, even if you measure them at half height.

[Rick Fisher]

Thanks Peter..

I have a Mustang floater coat that I keep on board. I will look for a dry suit or similar.

I am sure that I am a bigger danger to the boat than those waves where.. lol

My fear is turning over. Not much else ..

[Iron Dials]

Hi Rick, good to spot that the weather wasn’t agreeing
with the forecast.

I’m curious to know what speed you travelled home at?
Sometimes boats prefer to travel faster rather than slower and it can take a bit of experimentation to find what the boat likes for given conditions.

I’m also curious to know if you get strong local tidal effects? which can make things more unpleasant.

As to capsizing, while I’m no expert (never tried it!), I know it’s possible but very unlikely.
If you don’t normally operate in fresher conditions maybe travel in company for a few trips to build up your familiarity with the boat on this days?

Beautiful part of the world for boating by the way.

[Rick Fisher]

Hello Iron Dials

We get 15 foot tides here. The weather is usually predictable and the forecasts are usually good. I am willing to bet if I had checked again a few hours before the wind started it would have been upgraded.

I slowed to about 20 km/hr. In the past, when in a following sea I've driven the bow into the wave in front.

On a flat calm day I typically cruise 50km to 60 km /hr. The biggest risk in my area is logs in the water and rocks. I use a simrad GPS and keep close tabs on the rocks.

[Iron Dials]

20km/h explains the waves over the back of the boat.
Generally a rib can run faster, with some engine up trim and working the throttle to avoid stuffing the nose.

There are some good videos of downwind/sea powerboat driving, I found reading about it was of limited use.

Developing the confidence to place the boat with throttle application while running on a swell and easing forward over crests can give you faster (not crazy fast but steady progress), dryer and arguably safer progress. There’s no substitute for practice, which would have you out in weather that you wouldn’t chose to go out in.......................

We don’t have to contend with the hazard of logs so perhaps lower speed is strategic on your part.

Hope this is helpful.

[Peter_C]

Maybe this video of a dinghy in rough seas will give some consolation of how stable a inflatable boat can be. Oh, the struggle alone is worth watching.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6gMDlTTN6A

[Rick Fisher]

That video is amazing .. that water is much rougher than here at home and that boat is much smaller . Thank you

[Jung at Heart]

Originally Posted by Peter_C

Maybe this video of a dinghy in rough seas will give some consolation of how stable a inflatable boat can be. Oh, the struggle alone is worth watching.

Terrifying, reckless and fascinating all at the same time! Thanks for posting it.

[SimonCh]

Wow. I've got to score the guys a 10 for commitment, probably around 0.06 for the rest of it though.

At the start when he has the SIB sitting side on to the sea is horrifying... and its downhill from there!

[Rick Fisher]

I gotta say, me being so concerned in a 25 foot and minor seas compared to that... it does put things in perspective.

I will always be careful but ..

[Jung at Heart]

Originally Posted by Rick Fisher

I gotta say, me being so concerned in a 25 foot and minor seas compared to that... it does put things in perspective.

I will always be careful but ..

The guys in the video may not always be so fortunate.

"Better to retreat and marshal your forces than to waste a glorious death in sure defeat."

[Peter_C]

Originally Posted by Rick Fisher

I gotta say, me being so concerned in a 25 foot and minor seas compared to that... it does put things in perspective.

I will always be careful but ..

One of the most important things is to learn from other peoples mistakes, by watching Youtube vids All boats can flip in bad conditions, or even with a simple mistake. The throttle can be your friend to get out of sticky situations, and you should not be afraid to unleash "all she's got". Learning what trim level and speed brings the bow up perfectly is good to practice often, so you roughly know how many seconds to get that trim level, and by sound and feel what speed the boat is at. NEVER let a wave overtake you from the stern, as that is the most vulnerable direction for many reasons, like loss of steering, and driving the bow under the ocean. Not hitting waves head on at a straight 90* angle but off a little is important. Picking the right days is the single most important thing to do.

He's got tons of vids of Haul Over Inlet Florida. The Aussie and NZ bars are crazy to watch for sure.
https://www.youtube.com/c/BoatsvsHaulover/videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXK11QCitQo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlWpELMckLs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnqvrCrvmDs

Taking on a little water

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAPuFgl5j1U

Listen to the throttle changing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sY4geuvjWp4

Originally Posted by Jung at Heart

The guys in the video may not always be so fortunate.

"Better to retreat and marshal your forces than to waste a glorious death in sure defeat."

There would be zero hesitation to saving my own million dollar yacht in those conditions, if I owned one. Then again I can do pull ups.

[Jung at Heart]

Originally Posted by Peter_C

There would be zero hesitation to saving my own million dollar yacht in those conditions, if I owned one. Then again I can do pull ups.

🤣🤣🤣 I like your style!

Knowing ones limits is important, I cannot currently do pull-ups which is one of the many reasons I own a SIB and not a million pound yacht.

[Rick Fisher]

Thanks for the videos. Its amazing what Ribs can handle.