Trawler in beam seas

[Discoverer]

When a trawler in beam seas do you zigzagging to avoid taking waves directly on the beam similar to how sailboats tack or jibe to manage wind direction? If so, are there specific angles or techniques that work best for these conditions ?

 

[High Wire]

We prefer to not travel in big seas if we can help it. Easy to do on the East Coast. Probably not on the West Coast. Bottom line on tacking/jibe is you gotta do what you gotta do. Every boat is different and there is no way to know in advance other than being there on the boat in question unless STABILIZED.

 

[firehoser75]

Beam seas are uncomfortable on a trawler. If the boat is stabilized (usually only 40 plus feet in length) often both the boat and the occupants can tolerate larger beam seas much better. Without stabilization, it is best to avoid beam seas by: 1) stay in port or at anchor; 2) experiment with course and speed to find the most comfortable ride, often "tacking or jibing" like a sailboat would. It is supposed to be "pleasure boating", so #1 is often the best choice.

 

[ranger58sb]

Beam seas suck in our not-a-trawler.

Plan A: Scrub the mission, stay in port, smell some more coffee...

Plan B: Tack. Specific angles need experimentation.

Plan C: Get up on plane. Specific speeds need experimentation.

Plan D: If caught out in it... get off the water earlier than planned, even if it means arriving at a different port or anchorage than was the original target.

Plans B, C, and D are sometimes, concurrent with each other... to one degree or another.

-Chris

 

[heysteve]

Certainly changing the angle you take on the waves can help. I usually just make small changes (like 10 degrees or so) and see if things improve. Also adding speed can help in some situations. I usually find that the lazier I am about stowing things pre-passage is proportional to the size of the unexpected beam seas!

 

[Stone]

Wish I could add info but we are stabilized and ride is quite comfortable, at least in up to 3' short steep Chesapeake bay seas. Refer to Chris's post above.

See this post..

Bilge Keels - A real life evaluation of their effectivness

In 2023 I completed the Baja Bash in my Bayliner 4788. After that journey I had bilge keels installed. I just completed the exact same journey yesterday. Here's what I found. The area north of Cedros Island on the Baja Peninsula is one of those areas in the world that is always windy. The...

www.trawlerforum.com

 

[ranger58sb]

Wish I could add info but we are stabilized and ride is quite comfortable, at least in up to 3' short steep Chesapeake bay seas. Refer to Chris's post above

 

[Jeff F]

Speed is always my first defense. After that it depends...

 

[Mainship Pilot]

If you have the ability to speed up, it's a great option, burn more fuel but get there quicker and without beating yourself up. In our last boat, 43' Bluesea, cruised at 8.8 knots, and Max speed was 11. We just rode it out at cruise and put the mama's and babys in the aft bunk with a good movie! Now smaller and faster, hammer down and get there!

 

[BruceK]

We got caught in up to 2M waves on the beam. When they were smaller I headed down towards destination, taking them on the beam. And up, taking them more on the bow when they were bigger/more ferocious. It was like sailing, when we could lay the bay entrance I altered course taking it on the aft quarter. Not a fun experience.

 

[ksanders]

We used to tack back and forth.

Then two years ago we added these.

Now we can comfortably go in a straight line, not that we like rough seas. The best advice is to stay in port.

 

[Discoverer]

We used to tack back and forth.

Then two years ago we added these.

Now we can comfortably go in a straight line, not that we like rough seas. The best advice is to stay in port.


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View attachment 162503

Very interesting. Can you share the details of these wings design ? I imagine they experience significant forces, what kind of reinforcement or structural modifications are needed to handle the stress?

 

[Lepke]

Besides taking you miles out of the way, changing course doesn't compare to paravanes or flopper stoppers.
My 55' commercial boat in seas rougher than most yachts will tolerate, when putting out the floppers made it easy to walk along the deck without hand holds. In a big beam sea it seemed to have almost no roll.
It's well worth the effort to rig for paravanes if it means using your boat more.

 

[Maravilla]

Beam seas are uncomfortable on a trawler. If the boat is stabilized (usually only 40 plus feet in length) often both the boat and the occupants can tolerate larger beam seas much better. Without stabilization, it is best to avoid beam seas by: 1) stay in port or at anchor; 2) experiment with course and speed to find the most comfortable ride, often "tacking or jibing" like a sailboat would. It is supposed to be "pleasure boating", so #1 is often the best choice.

Returning from Catalina, our favorite destination, we often get caught in beam seas when our departure is delayed and westerlies fill in. I do tack heading up into the seas at about a 45 degree angle so when they build more I can tack be
Down wind. and they smooth out or get confused as I approach the mainland or night falls.