How close is too close?

psneeld said:

For as long as I know, the New River Ft Lauderdale traffic is on ch 9.

Unfortunately some of the unprofessional professional captains only use local points instead of markers or relation to charted features when querying them on Ch 9

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I guess they monitor 16 too.
9 is for bridge traffic. SHRUG.

The worst most recent case for us was when we were leaving Prince Rupert Harbour southbound. We were passed by the Pilot Boat, travelling at 20 kts and throwing a mountain. I courteously contacted him on the VTS channel and suggested he be more considerate next time.

Ok I have a question and a comment.
Last week when we were traveling we were coming up on the Clearwater bridge. We were in the channel...not in a no wake zone. There were two of those tourist boats well outside of the channel doing their thing. There was a boat a good bit ahead of us going pretty fast. They didn’t slow down and we heard the tourist boat in the rear radio to the one in the front saying, watch out there’s an idiot coming up behind you. We slowed down, because David slows down for anybody and everybody.
What is the proper etiquette there when these boats are well outside of the channel? Was the other boat “required” to slow down?

Shortly after that, just as we passed under that bridge, we were going just a tick above idle because it was pretty rough and super windy. The seas were way bigger than any wake we might have been throwing. There’s a marina right there on the right and this guy on the pier was gesturing and yelling at us to slow down. Dropping down completely to idle wouldn’t have changed the swirling mess of water behind the boat much at all. I felt bad that we upset him, but I don’t know what we could have done differently.

http://www.jordanyachts.com/archives/352

"Always monitor Channel 9 for traffic reports from vessels headed up or down the river."

https://nauticnomad.com/blog/newrivernavigation/

"This is also the time that you should be monitoring VHF CH 09 for outbound traffic especially the JUNGLE QUEEN."


while the expression "you are always responsible for your wake" is a weak and overused expression when compared to "always responsible for the practice of responsiible seamanship".... well both the wakers and the wakees both have responsibilities.

courtesies extend both ways....those tourist boats have no problem waking you in other situations, yet if they are close enough to the channel whete your wake would make a standing person stagger, thats a little fast.

Passing docks, heck most complain of ripples and this issue has many varied posibilities. Again, you dont want to hurt anyone or break anything. but a foot or less wake when more than 100 feet away is hardly an isdue most of the time.

You must go fast enough to maintain your steerage.

psneeld said:

http://www.jordanyachts.com/archives/352

"Always monitor Channel 9 for traffic reports from vessels headed up or down the river."

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Thanks. I monitor 16 and 9
I have 2 handheld VHF and the main VHF

Star0210 said:

... There’s a marina right there on the right and this guy on the pier was gesturing and yelling at us to slow down. Dropping down completely to idle wouldn’t have changed the swirling mess of water behind the boat much at all. I felt bad that we upset him, but I don’t know what we could have done differently.

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In our case, it's not unusual for people to mistakenly conclude the froth at the bow means a substantial wake.

Wow, good point Mark. Your bow wake looks big. What was your approximate speed in that pic??

BandB said:

But then you're also being done with encouraging others to be considerate, because by choosing to travel down the middle of the channel you're encouraging others to wake you. Much of the ICW is too narrow to comfortably pass with only half the channel available. The passing boat isn't going to ride the edge to an extent that puts them at risk.

I understand your decision but it would seem to me that does increase your probability of being waked excessively.

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B,
Let me explain to you how I see it from the slow lane on the AICW. Most of us are traveling at 6 to 10 knots in displacement. It's rare to see boats traveling over 10 knots in displacement. If I'm traveling at 7 knots and a boat coming up behind me is traveling 10 knots, when he is 1/2 mile behind me, it will take him 10 minutes to reach me. That gives him plenty of time to figure out what he's going to do, call me on the radio, or go hit the head.

Then there are those that travel on plane. Let's assume for the sake of the discussion that Mr. sport fish is traveling at 20 knots. From a 1/2 mile behind me till he's on top of me will be less than 2.5 minutes. By the time he can read the name on my stern, if he hasn't already started slowing down, it probably won't matter. So, if he's not slowing down he's probably not going to hail me to setup passing arrangements. If he slows down (comes off plane) and hails me when he can read the boat name, I'll be to the edge of the channel well before he reaches me. So what effect does this have. The guy in the sport fish has to decide how close he wants to get to shoal water, me, or slow down. The burden and the pressure are on him. I maintain course and speed without having to worry about depth.

As for us in the slow lane, nothing has changed. Most call and setup a pass well in advance. I throttle back to 4 knots and move to the side of the channel. For those that don't want to call, the pressure is on them to stay clear of me and the shoal water. Last month, going from Stuart to Fort Pierce, every boat that passed me in displacement called.

Ted

I have witnessed boats coming off plane, nose in the air and double or tripling their wake. They just dont want to slow down enough.

South of Heaven said:

Wow, good point Mark. Your bow wake looks big. What was your approximate speed in that pic??

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About five knots.

AlaskaProf said:

Man. I just gotta get out of the Pacific Northwest more often!

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Lol, that was my thought as well. However, I think I would stick to the alcohol while watching others rock the bikinis.

Star0210 said:

Ok I have a question and a comment.
Last week when we were traveling we were coming up on the Clearwater bridge. We were in the channel...not in a no wake zone. There were two of those tourist boats well outside of the channel doing their thing. There was a boat a good bit ahead of us going pretty fast. They didn’t slow down and we heard the tourist boat in the rear radio to the one in the front saying, watch out there’s an idiot coming up behind you. We slowed down, because David slows down for anybody and everybody.
What is the proper etiquette there when these boats are well outside of the channel? Was the other boat “required” to slow down?

Shortly after that, just as we passed under that bridge, we were going just a tick above idle because it was pretty rough and super windy. The seas were way bigger than any wake we might have been throwing. There’s a marina right there on the right and this guy on the pier was gesturing and yelling at us to slow down. Dropping down completely to idle wouldn’t have changed the swirling mess of water behind the boat much at all. I felt bad that we upset him, but I don’t know what we could have done differently.

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Somewhere I read the legal definition of "no wake" (as opposed to "idle speed") was level trim in displacement mode. In other words, if you slow down further and your bow drops, you weren't in no wake speed. The other part of no wake is whether or not your wake resembles a breaking wave or more a swell.

When passing small boats, I simply try to decide how much roll would be reasonable if I were in their boat. Most people appreciate my slow pass. As I don't travel on plane, throttling back and resuming normal cruising speed is no big deal.

As for the guy on the dock, keep your wake from being a breaking wave, and there shouldn't be anything to complain about.

Ted

So now I have another question.
I’m thinking about our river here at home where we do most of our boating.
There aren’t very many big go fast boats. Theres mostly ski boats and center consoles and jet skis....and none of them ever slow down. I imagine on busy weekends we’ll never really have the opportunity to get our boat up on a plane. We’ll have to go out to the lake occasionally just to run the engines good.

In Florida, there was one place when I saw biggish and big boats going fast up on a plane both coming and going. That was when we were leaving Cape Coral. As soon as boats got out of the no wake zone up they went.

I guess I don’t really have a question. Just random musings. Lol

Star, sometimes it is best to avoid boating close to shore on the weekends. Lots of drunk boaters and crazy boater.
Of course if you are escaping to the Gulf, consider leaving early and watch for small fishing boats outside. Your RADAR may fail to pick them up. I have yet to see a small fishing boat hanging a RADAR reflector.

Star0210 said:

So now I have another question.
I’m thinking about our river here at home where we do most of our boating.
There aren’t very many big go fast boats. Theres mostly ski boats and center consoles and jet skis....and none of them ever slow down. I imagine on busy weekends we’ll never really have the opportunity to get our boat up on a plane. We’ll have to go out to the lake occasionally just to run the engines good.

In Florida, there was one place when I saw biggish and big boats going fast up on a plane both coming and going. That was when we were leaving Cape Coral. As soon as boats got out of the no wake zone up they went.

I guess I don’t really have a question. Just random musings. Lol

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I know where you are talking about near Cape Coral. Lots of people visit that area on vacation or as "Snow Birds". People sometimes forget their manners when they're away from home.

Ted

Star0210 said:

Shortly after that, just as we passed under that bridge, we were going just a tick above idle because it was pretty rough and super windy. The seas were way bigger than any wake we might have been throwing. There’s a marina right there on the right and this guy on the pier was gesturing and yelling at us to slow down. Dropping down completely to idle wouldn’t have changed the swirling mess of water behind the boat much at all. I felt bad that we upset him, but I don’t know what we could have done differently.

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Every marina has the busy body that has nothing better to do than stand on the pier trying to get everyone to slow down, even if you aren't really making a wake.

Mrwesson said:

I like 7 knots but I can make a wake too.

If a large boat approaches closely I tab up and give her hell.. They send me a 7' wake but my 5' wake rattles their cages @ 20 knots..

I've dealt with them in all types of boats and if legal i'd f-em with a rusty rake.

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Goose the throttles quickly, enough to shoot the bow up, but not enough to get her going. Then lazily nudge the power up to about three quarters, but never enough to jet over the bow wave and level out. Tabs fully retracted, bow pointed in the sky.

Don’t do it much, but yeah, I know how. 48 feet and soft chined, I can plow a hole at 14 knots if I want to. At 8 knots I don’t even get nasty looks from Kayaks and that is my usual speed and preference.

Like every trawler, at 3.5 knots we make hardly a ripple.