Are you an all Weather Trawler?

[DCDC]

A bit of topic drift but I'll drift along. We went from Stuart to Mobile this summer and were surprised at the lack of commercial traffic on the waterway. Okeechobee-Ft. Meyers-Tampa-Apalachicola-Panama City: only activity was dredging, no shipping. The first barges we saw were west of Pensacola. A 2015 report by the USCoE states that there was 2.6 million tons between VA and Jacksonville, practically nothing between Jacksonville and Miami and 110 million tons on the Gulf waterway. Commercial fishing seemed to go in/out of their harbors to open water but not much along the ICW. It seems like a lot of infrastructure and maintenance for what looks like little utility.

 

[AKFish]

It's been said...depends on crew and equipment. It's always nice to have the option of go-no-go and not get backed into a forced move. I think it's about risk management and this is where experience offers the advantage.


Ride along...anchor is 8' from the water surface. This sunny day had increasing wind as we made S towards the Gulf of Alaska. By the time we looked beyond the headland seen to the SE, we decided to hold up for several hours. Seas at that point were about 18' and steady 35kts wind. However, we have gone across with more wind. Even with the nice sunshine urging us on, a short break make the 24NM crossing with beam seas easier on the crew and was the right move.

https://www.facebook.com/1315126551924030/videos/1315128251923860/


This year, we were picking up pot gear with sustained 40kts and gusts to 50kts with about 5-6' chop, but the crew is OK on deck in that. The largest seas have been about 20' or maybe a little larger, but nice and long without much wind. Some of the worst has been storm force with about 8' wind waves. That was nasty, watching water spouts spin up. About 6-8' above the water was thick blowing water mist. Wild stuff.


A boat is generally able to take more severe weather than the crew, from what I have seen. There's something wild about hanging on the hook when it's nasty out and watching the weather.


Be safe, brothers! (and sisters) And, every now and again, relish in the fact that you have seen the edge of your comfort zone and have lived through it. That being said, i'm inside where it's warm and dry.

 

[GFC]

Be safe, brothers! (and sisters) And, every now and again, relish in the fact that you have seen the edge of your comfort zone and have lived through it. That being said, i'm inside where it's warm and dry.

Seeing the edge of one's comfort zones usually involves pushing the boundary a bit further so that the next time you approach the edge you will be more confident because you know you've been there and survived.

Great video AKFish. I don't mind at all running in seas like that. In fact, I get a big of enjoyment from pushing the boundaries of my comfort zone. My wife....not so much, but she tolerates me when I'm pushing boundaries.

 

[BandB]

Seeing the edge of one's comfort zones usually involves pushing the boundary a bit further so that the next time you approach the edge you will be more confident because you know you've been there and survived.

Great video AKFish. I don't mind at all running in seas like that. In fact, I get a big of enjoyment from pushing the boundaries of my comfort zone. My wife....not so much, but she tolerates me when I'm pushing boundaries.

Wifey B: That's just a little chop. Now, if he had a little more speed, he could smooth that out a bit.

Especially if taking novices with me, I'd try to adjust the speed at the beginning a bit up or down. We do consider who is with us, but mostly it's experienced offshore boaters.

Even if smooth close to shore, that would not be an unusual day at all for the gulf stream and one must cross it regularly with the Bahamas close.

I'd be interested in how many feet people think that video shows from beginning to end. I'd expect to read numbers all over the place.

 

[Ventana]

Will keep an eye open for you as you pass Pond Reef, North of Ketchikan. Have those large Chinese benocks, so don't be pissing overboard on the SB side!!!

Have a safe trip Stripper, if you need anything in K-Town, give me a shout
907-225-8287

Al

Thanks.

 

[OldDan1943]

AKFish, great video and accented with the comforting sound of a reliable diesel.
One nice thing about a trawler.... go inside, close the pilot house doors, turn on the heat and enjoy a strong cup of coffee, staying dry.
Far better than an open cockpit of a sailboat, wind and spray in your face, adjusting sails, wet and chilled to the bones. Cant find the coffee cup let alone the coffee that used to be in that cup.

 

[OldDan1943]

BandB, 1ft to the occasional 3ft wave.

When you are doing 8 knots in a trawler, going faster may not be an option. (quick, hand me the bucket ..... too late, hand me the hose.)

 

[BandB]

BandB, 1ft to the occasional 3ft wave.

When you are doing 8 knots in a trawler, going faster may not be an option. (quick, hand me the bucket ..... too late, hand me the hose.)

Wifey B: I say bigger than that, 1' is little more than a ripple. Anxious to hear others weigh in. Oh, and the video wasn't a trawler.

 

[dhays]

I think it is really hard to judge wave height from a video taken over the bow. It is easier for me to judge height by looking out the PH window to the side. Even then, it is hard from a 2D video to get a sense of the size of the waves.

 

[Rufus]

Every Spring I pray for rain, sleet snow....anything but more fog during the annual solo ferry across Lake Michigan. This year it was six hours of...dense fog. Not a big deal until I was on final approach to a port that I had not previously visited via boat. The ~ 75' wide channel has a long rip rap jetty jutting into Lake Michigan. The south side has an elevated marker light/tower at the approach end. I was on the flybridge where there's a very good chart plotter, but no radar. The lower station has radar and a very basic GPS display. Field of view is better from the flybridge. I had a waypoint marking the center of the channel entry and just short of the light/jetty. The approach was on one engine...just enough speed to maintain rudder effectiveness. I had not acquired the light tower when I was at the waypoint. Fortunately, I looked up at about a 45* angle and spotted the red and white striping peaking out of the murk. The concrete and steel foundation was about 30 feet directly ahead. I slammed both transmissions in reverse and backed into the murk. Stopped, applied hard left rudder and inched back forward. Reacquired the top of the light at about 45* off the starboard bow and then spotted the rip rap of the jetty about 20 feet away. Creeped down the channel and never did see the north side wall.

Next year I'll have a decent chart plotter at the lower helm, as radar plus plotter would have been the best equipment for close-in IFR . This routine is getting old.

 

[O C Diver]

A 2015 report by the USCoE states that there was 2.6 million tons between VA and Jacksonville, practically nothing between Jacksonville and Miami and 110 million tons on the Gulf waterway. Commercial fishing seemed to go in/out of their harbors to open water but not much along the ICW. It seems like a lot of infrastructure and maintenance for what looks like little utility.

Traveling the ICW South of Stuart you come to bridgeville and recreational boater congestion. The waterway is likely too slow for most commercial traffic. Between the multitude of bridges they would have to slow down for, the recreational boaters they would likely reduce speed because of, and the reduced widths in many areas, it's likely not economical.

BTW, regarding cost of maintenance and utility, recreational boaters have an exponential greater presence in FL on the ICW than most other areas, and the private sector probably pays a much higher percentage of the cost to maintain all of the ICW through our taxes.

Ted

 

[GFC]

WifeyB, most were in the 3'-5' range with a few larger ones. Those were the ones that washed down the pilothouse windows.


When we're in stuff like that we're usually around 9-9.5kts. That's our hull speed and she seems to like running in that range.

 

[BandB]

I think it is really hard to judge wave height from a video taken over the bow. It is easier for me to judge height by looking out the PH window to the side. Even then, it is hard from a 2D video to get a sense of the size of the waves.

Wifey B: Agree. But I think a lot of people have a problem judging anyway. A few judge like they do fish and something else I won't mention and everything is bigger in their minds than reality. But then others think of just height and don't think of depth and the fact wave height is from crest to trough. I'm thinking perhaps some of those leery of 2' waves are doing that.

 

[OldDan1943]

Or the wind was blowing the tops off the smaller waves.

 

[BandB]

WifeyB, most were in the 3'-5' range with a few larger ones. Those were the ones that washed down the pilothouse windows.


When we're in stuff like that we're usually around 9-9.5kts. That's our hull speed and she seems to like running in that range.

Wifey B: That's close to what I would have guessed. I was 4-6' at the outset and down to about 3' by the end of the video.

 

[OldDan1943]

The wind blowing the tops off the waves make the wave look bigger.

Hey, let's ask the person who posted the video!!!

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
After 106 posts (now 107) I don't think anyone has asked the OP (Mr. at) why he was asking. I suspect curiosity but maybe not.

 

[Lostsailor13]

Full time liveaboard

So far in Mass. the winter has been mild,only one snow storm brought 18 inches,other than that been in the 30-40 degrees with an occasional 50 degree day plus being a hardcore fisherman rain or shine I go,but for this winter so far get off work by 330 and 3 of the 5 days after work try to cruise,I like night cruising,the wind drops out,no one around,and run her out 3 or 4 miles past breakwater,for a total of about 10 miles or so,she's still very new to me so the excitement hasn't wore off,even just taking a little harbor cruise,plus have 250 gallons of old diesel trying to burn up by spring,and before me the previous owner didn't use her much,an occasional Sunday put,she was in the water but not used much,so its almost like rebreaking in the engine

 

[backinblue]

Do you travel in the rain?
stay home?
What are your limits[/QUOTE


If I was leaving home for a day trip, I wouldn't see the point in going out if it was to rain all day. If you are away from home and on a trip I don't unferstand the concern about rain

 

[FF]

NO , not in a motor boat , but when living aboard near NYC we would go for a sail on New Years Day , as long as the harbor was not iced in.

Since the Dickinson furnace worked fine at any angle of heel , and the H style smoke head worked fine ,
it was a great time to travel with just the storm sails , as an experiment.

 

[Pete Meisinger]

I never leave port in crummy weather. That is not to say that I never arrive in port in crummy weather, we all have.

Given the choice I stay put. Home port or a transient safe harbor.

pete

 

[FlyWright]

I'm an all weather trawler as long as the weather never gets worse than the California Delta can dish out. Any colder, rougher or wetter, I'm a wimp...thus the pink hat.

 

[Bigsfish]

In my younger years I would go out in anything, almost didn’t survive a few times. Now I prefer a more gentle trip if possible. No bruises or pulled muscles the next day.

 

[GFC]

A friend and I were taking Beachcomber to Portland a couple of years ago. Jim likes my boat a LOT because it is so stable in rough water. He found this video on his computer and sent it to me (all 158MB of it). This is in an area of the Columbia (Thirteen Mile Point) where the river narrows quite a bit because of the hills on both sides forming a natural choke point for the winds and current.

You can kind of see by his smile how much he likes driving my boat in these waters compared to his.

https://youtu.be/RbnWsiXTiLI

 

[Sailor of Fortune]

chicken of the sea here! Never go out in wx!...

 

[cardude01]

chicken of the sea here! Never go out in wx!...

I find that hard to believe knowing your job. Or are you just talking about recreational boating?

 

[psneeld]

A bit of topic drift but I'll drift along. We went from Stuart to Mobile this summer and were surprised at the lack of commercial traffic on the waterway. Okeechobee-Ft. Meyers-Tampa-Apalachicola-Panama City: only activity was dredging, no shipping. The first barges we saw were west of Pensacola. A 2015 report by the USCoE states that there was 2.6 million tons between VA and Jacksonville, practically nothing between Jacksonville and Miami and 110 million tons on the Gulf waterway. Commercial fishing seemed to go in/out of their harbors to open water but not much along the ICW. It seems like a lot of infrastructure and maintenance for what looks like little utility.

Might seem like little commercial traffic, but different organizations have shown where recreational boating has caught and passed commercial in terms of economics....thus the politicians give money to the ACOE to keep it all going. As far as bridges go, more and more high rise are built to eliminate the drawbridge. Some lock systems like the Dismal Swamp are so historic in nature, funding comes from many sources last I heard.

 

[Simi 60]

Sea conditions and wind are what stops us from leaving a decent anchorage or what makes us run for a better one.

Rain doesn't bother us even though we have no wipers.
Radar and a squeegee.
Stop if we must

 

[Iggy]

If it’s not comfortable we don’t travel. Depends on the weather and current state of mind. It’s supposed to be fun.

Yep!

 

[backinblue]

Rain is no reason to stay home if I'm going somewhere. I wouldn't go out in bad weather for a pleasure cruise. I do watch the marine forecasts and stay home if it's too rough. funny thing is how often they say "seas 1 foot or less" and I find myself in 4 footers.