- Joined
- Oct 22, 2009
- Location
- lawrenceburg ky.
Rapid Transit
Ways to gain more control of your fishing boat and increase safety.
At dusk we decided to head back to our campsite across the lake. As we pulled out of the tributary into the main lake, I knew we were in trouble. The sky was almost black, a fierce wind sprayed us, and the almost black water was topped with whitecaps. Young and inexperienced, I pointed the 14-foot Sears Gamefisher boat directly into the waves straight at our destination. The 18-horse McCulloch motor valiantly pushed the boat through the malevolent waves.
To this day, I don't know how we survived the trip. I knew absolutely nothing about boat control and did everything wrong!
The first rule of boating safety is, don't go if the weather is threatening. Unfortunately, tournament bass and walleye anglers are often in a "must go" situation. Very rarely is a tournament held up due to rough water.
It's very important to choose your boat design based on your needs and the type of water you'll be fishing. Most newer bass boats are designed to take rough water and abuse, although they can be swamped by such actions as "sticking a wave." Walleye boats are designed specifically for rough water. However, they still can be swamped due to careless boat handling.
Many bass pros are switching to the bigger 19- and 20-foot boats because they handle rough water better and provide a faster but easier ride in medium to rough water. The hull design is extremely important. Fast, pad-type boats provide the least boat control in rough water, while the deep-V boats provide the most control.
Not all boat-control problems are related to rough seas. Speed can also cause problems, as can the simple act of getting up on plane. Many bass boats have rear livewells. With two hefty anglers, full livewells and gas tanks, some bass boats have less control on the take-off and trouble getting on plane.
Add-on accessories can answer several control problems. A hydrofoil, or "stabilizer," can be bolted to the motor's cavitation plate. The stabilizer virtually becomes a part of the lower unit. It acts on the pressure created by the prop, providing maximum lift on the stern with very little bow rise. This allows a boater to plane at a quarter to half throttle, increasing safety while saving fuel. The nose-down, out-of-the hole shot also provides a safety margin. An additional benefit is the boat will stay up on plane at slower speeds
"It is a very important add-on for performance boats," says pro angler Ken Cook. "I use a Cook Machine Co. (CMC) setback plate. The boat does well without it, but the hydraulic up and down is what I particularly like. The setback plate gives me options I don't have with a fixed motor position."
One of those benefits is taking off in shallow water without plowing into the bottom with the skeg and prop. Once the boat comes up on pad, you can lower the jack plate and maintain the boat on plane.
Hydraulic jack plates are particulaly useful on larger bass boats, says bass pro Walt Reynolds.
A Hot Foot, a spring-loaded foot accelerator that returns to idle once foot pressure is removed, is another item favored by bass pros for the added safety it provides, especially in rough water conditions.
The type prop you use can also make a big difference, says Reynolds.
"In shallow and rough water I use a five-bladed prop. Granted, it has smaller blade area than some four-bladed props. You might suffer from 1 to 3 miles per hour loss in top-end speed with heavy loads because the smaller surface area doesn't give as much lift. The advantage of the five-bladed prop is little cavitation on acceleration, and very little prop blow-out in rough water.
Control at top end also is extremely important. Both oscillation and chine walk can occur during high-speed runs with instantaneous and disastrous results. Powering down or lowering the motor is usually the answer to gaining more boat control.
The third high-speed problem occurs in heavy seas. When attempting to speed across heavy waves, it's easy to "stuff" the bow of the boat into a wave, driving the bow down under the wave and swamping the boat. Maintain just enough speed to stay on top of the waves, but don't leap-frog over a wave into the next. The tactic is to power up going up the wave and power down on the down side.
Regardless of whether you're driving a bass or walleye boat, proper control is essential to safe, comfortable boating, especially during rapid transit.
Ways to gain more control of your fishing boat and increase safety.
The first rule of boating safety is, don't go if the weather is threatening.
When you're young and having fun, danger, and especially death, seems a long ways away. It did to my wife, Joan, and I over 25 years ago, but it's one experience we'll never forget. Late one afternoon of a week-long vacation we pulled into a backwater creek and immediately began catching bass on Pomme De Terre Lake in south-central Missouri. We were having so much fun, we ignored the slowly darkening sky, and since we were away from the main lake, we didn't hear the oncoming wind.At dusk we decided to head back to our campsite across the lake. As we pulled out of the tributary into the main lake, I knew we were in trouble. The sky was almost black, a fierce wind sprayed us, and the almost black water was topped with whitecaps. Young and inexperienced, I pointed the 14-foot Sears Gamefisher boat directly into the waves straight at our destination. The 18-horse McCulloch motor valiantly pushed the boat through the malevolent waves.
To this day, I don't know how we survived the trip. I knew absolutely nothing about boat control and did everything wrong!
The first rule of boating safety is, don't go if the weather is threatening. Unfortunately, tournament bass and walleye anglers are often in a "must go" situation. Very rarely is a tournament held up due to rough water.
It's very important to choose your boat design based on your needs and the type of water you'll be fishing. Most newer bass boats are designed to take rough water and abuse, although they can be swamped by such actions as "sticking a wave." Walleye boats are designed specifically for rough water. However, they still can be swamped due to careless boat handling.
Many bass pros are switching to the bigger 19- and 20-foot boats because they handle rough water better and provide a faster but easier ride in medium to rough water. The hull design is extremely important. Fast, pad-type boats provide the least boat control in rough water, while the deep-V boats provide the most control.
Not all boat-control problems are related to rough seas. Speed can also cause problems, as can the simple act of getting up on plane. Many bass boats have rear livewells. With two hefty anglers, full livewells and gas tanks, some bass boats have less control on the take-off and trouble getting on plane.
Add-on accessories can answer several control problems. A hydrofoil, or "stabilizer," can be bolted to the motor's cavitation plate. The stabilizer virtually becomes a part of the lower unit. It acts on the pressure created by the prop, providing maximum lift on the stern with very little bow rise. This allows a boater to plane at a quarter to half throttle, increasing safety while saving fuel. The nose-down, out-of-the hole shot also provides a safety margin. An additional benefit is the boat will stay up on plane at slower speeds
A spring-loaded foot accelerator that returns to idle once foot pressure is removed, is another item favored by fishing pros.
Installing a hydraulic jack plate is another way to gain more control of your fiberglass fishing rig."It is a very important add-on for performance boats," says pro angler Ken Cook. "I use a Cook Machine Co. (CMC) setback plate. The boat does well without it, but the hydraulic up and down is what I particularly like. The setback plate gives me options I don't have with a fixed motor position."
One of those benefits is taking off in shallow water without plowing into the bottom with the skeg and prop. Once the boat comes up on pad, you can lower the jack plate and maintain the boat on plane.
Hydraulic jack plates are particulaly useful on larger bass boats, says bass pro Walt Reynolds.
A Hot Foot, a spring-loaded foot accelerator that returns to idle once foot pressure is removed, is another item favored by bass pros for the added safety it provides, especially in rough water conditions.
The type prop you use can also make a big difference, says Reynolds.
"In shallow and rough water I use a five-bladed prop. Granted, it has smaller blade area than some four-bladed props. You might suffer from 1 to 3 miles per hour loss in top-end speed with heavy loads because the smaller surface area doesn't give as much lift. The advantage of the five-bladed prop is little cavitation on acceleration, and very little prop blow-out in rough water.
Control at top end also is extremely important. Both oscillation and chine walk can occur during high-speed runs with instantaneous and disastrous results. Powering down or lowering the motor is usually the answer to gaining more boat control.
The third high-speed problem occurs in heavy seas. When attempting to speed across heavy waves, it's easy to "stuff" the bow of the boat into a wave, driving the bow down under the wave and swamping the boat. Maintain just enough speed to stay on top of the waves, but don't leap-frog over a wave into the next. The tactic is to power up going up the wave and power down on the down side.
Regardless of whether you're driving a bass or walleye boat, proper control is essential to safe, comfortable boating, especially during rapid transit.