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Old 10-30-2017, 10:24 AM   #28
Dougcole
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City: Carrabelle, FL
Vessel Name: Morgan
Vessel Model: '05 Mainship 40T
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 2,162
Quote:
Originally Posted by twistedtree View Post
I think you are probably right. I'll bet he took a smaller wave earlier and got a big, but non-fatal slug of water in the boat. then as the bow went down on the final wave, all that water sloshed forward, and down she went.

The big difference with a Whaler is all the inherent buoyancy. The boat in the video sank like a rock where the whaler would just swamp and at least have a chance to keep going.
Very true.

I was a salt water fly fishing guide for 12 years, so I've got a lot of hours at the wheel of inshore boats, specifically flats skiffs. Something just seems off the boat in the video is too sluggish.

I would not want to be in that inlet in those conditions in my skiff, but the one advantage a skiff has in that situation is that it responds very quickly to throttle changes. You can "drive the boat" going slowly when needed then popping if from one wave to the next with a quick burst of throttle, tabs up and motor slight trimmed up, which would raise the bow even if only for a key second. The increased maneuverability also allows you to pick the best line through the inlet, sort of like a surfer. Heck, they run in 6 inches of water, sometimes it's even possible, depending on location, to run the super shallow edges of the inlet and miss the big breaking waves altogether. I've done that on the Gulf coast passes, though I doubt it would work in Jupiter inlet.

If the boat was overweighted and sluggish it would negate those advantages, making it just a trawler with low sides and an open cockpit.
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