Surfing-trawlerability

The recent discussions about "TRAWLERABILITY" Range/fuel/displacent etc. Is worthy of comment.

Beyond a boat looking YAR-in that being right is in the eyes of the beholder-it needs also to touch the soul-engineering and balance of the craft.

In a situation-say Barrnagat or Shinecock inlets in the mid atlantic--going in with the tide-but breaking rollers from astern-6-8 footers.

or long rollers 15 footers astern on a Bimini to Lake Worth run-surfing every third wave.

A vintage Grand Banks with 2X120 Fords-flat stern-small rudders--or

something with a rounds stern, big rudder and modest engine.-Willard 30?

Basically, try as best we can to not get into difficult situation-stuff happens-and seaworthy is not reserved for -fair weather only

I would say the the ability to surf waves without broaching-and be in control is a basic to "Venture out into the open seas and look into the bright eyes of danger" Lewis Mumford.

Lesser boats limited to lesser environmental challenges. In the hope of safe boating.

Wintering Baltimore-waiting for spring

Welcome aboard

Our concerns are similar except we are on, and like to explore, loooong mountain lined inlets on Canada's BC coast where inflow (summer) and outflow (winter) winds can really whip things up with tall, steep, overfalling, short period waves.

Have not ordered this device yet, so cannot say whether it works as advertised, but it seems to be designed perfectly for controlling broaching in a following sea...and much more elegant than an old tire or bucket. Not a drouge, but a Seabrake; Seabrake

Me-thinks any vessel will broach if it starts to surf, because the rudder becomes useless when it's travelling the same speed as the wave. Surfing in a sea kayak is fun (to a point) but I sure wouldn't want to do it in a trawler

Hard chine boats are challenged

Hard chines definitely make broaching more likely. Especially with boats that don't have the speed to stay on the back of the wave. Stabilizers help as they keep the boat from healing and reduce or eliminate tendency to broach. I think this is one the limiting factors that flat hull shapes have in the ocean. Round hull shapes like the Kadey Krogan and Nordhavn track much better.

With following waves the ability to surf is a plus for SD and planing hulls.

The need to surf w a FD hull is almost nonexistent as the FD boat is much easier to control w it's big rudder and pointed stern.

Surfing is fun though w planing hull, kayak or other small boats.

While hull shape makes a difference in a following sea, I hold more value in a big rudder and wheel. Keeping the pointy end going in the right direction as opposed to going broad side in spite of everthing you are trying to do, is most of the battle. High bows and transoms are also at the top of my list.

Ted

A true canoe stern is a very big advantage in a following sea. The skill to control your throttles (and the necessary power) and how is another. Got both? Excellent! On a big fat butted boat like mine, throttles were the whole game, one which was played with a built in handicap. Fortunately we had the boat to overcome that handicap.

My FD hull shape is somewhat similar to a Willard 30. It handles beautifilly in a following sea. I have yet to have any hint of loss of control in a surf, although I haven't tested it is really serious conditions; maximum 2 metre (6-7 foot) following breakers. The limited 36 hp doesn't give me a big excess of power to play with, but I haven't yet had the need more in following sea conditions.

I still would like to make a few changes to prepare for bigger surf conditions; the most important being bigger scuppers to handle the risk of being pooped.

canoe

I think my stern is about as canoe as you get and have found it does pretty well in seas that are straight on to the stern but has quite a bit of roll and no fun to steer if the seas are a bit quartered to stern. The AP (admittedly an older Decca) has struggled it has seemed to me. I don't expect I will be taking up 'surfing' until I have many more hours under my belt at least.

Cool discussion, and I get what you are saying, but man, you have made a really error in judgment if you are going into Lake Worth inlet in a trawler in 15 footers on a return trip from Bimini. I don't care about the interval, 15' is big for the straits and unsafe in boats like most of us run.

Zero reason to make a run across in those conditions. I make that run pretty often and I can't imagine a scenario where I'd go with a 15 in the forecast. Just my .02 cents.