Question about highest wind in M/S, with GB32

I am just wondering, what would be the highest wind in M/S one can safely travel with GB 32, woodie with 120 hp Lehman.
Any ideas and what are the hoghest winds you guys have trawelled with your GB`s
Any answers would be highly appreciated
Br Jere

Open water or protected waters?

The highest winds you can handle will depend on wind direction relative to your direction of travel and what land is around you to provide protection and avoid building large seas. It'll also depend on your comfort level and skill level at the helm.

An example:

Travelling around the coast of NJ you will be fine in most high winds if they are out of the west because if you hug the shore you will be protected. But east winds of 20 kts will make that trip tough for almost any trawler.

So my criteria is sea state, not winds. When we lived in California and regularly made the trip offshore to Catalina Island, 5-6 feet of seas was my limit.

We made one trip in 6-7' seas and it was uncomfortable but not unsafe. Anything above 8' I would consider unsafe for most medium sized trawlers.

David

And don't forget the currents and their direction of travel in relation to the winds! And what you and your passengers can take will probably be less than the GB32 can handle.

Tator

The shape and steepness of landforms can also factor into things.

If you have a mid channel island that is an elongated oval shape with its long axis laying in the same direction of the wind, at its downwind end the waves will cross creating two waves sets crossing at an angle.

If there is a steep sided shore perpendicular to the wind within a mile or so downwind, those two sets of waves become four sets all traveling in different directions.

If the wind is strong enough and the landforms just right (or wrong) these conditions can create a chaotic area of steep sided pyramid shaped waves which can only go so high after which their tops explode in spray.

Windy days are shore exploration days

We had never boated until getting Badger, so traveling downwind was a very uncomfortable ride until we followed a commercial fishing boat of about our size one day in the first summer we had our boat.

Learned a lot that day, which made traveling downwind much more comfortable!