Etiquette

Beam is, as always the worst place, a boat wake is usually two very steep waves following each other very closely. So, when the first wake hits beam, the second wake will hit before you have righted. Thus pushing you further over, if the boat is a high sided flybridge with a lot of weight up top (dinghy, people) it will get very scary.
So turn into a wake, not square onto it, but take the wake on the port (or starboard) bow is preferable
 
Okay, but to take the wake of an overtaking boat on the bows, you've got to turn through nearly 180 degrees! This is the bit I don't get. If you were on a slow boat in a busy area, you'd be swerving about all over the place.

Surely the best way to tackle the wake of an overtaking boat is to turn slightly so that your stern is to the wake?

I cannot imagine a boat overtaking me, and deciding to swing the boat right round till it's pointing not far from the direction I was coming from in order to hit the wash directly bow on.
 
I can honestly say in 6 seasons I have never been overtaken .Bit like an eager virgin I,am waiting :)
C3B0857B-B515-4AC3-85E8-03391F408E4B.jpeg
I even crept up on this , gave it a wider birth and slid by . :) :),
He started to speed up to 30:knots was cruising at 28 , so I called him out and eased up to 34 , he folded and sat in my wake .
Probably $hat himself when he glanced at his L/ Hrs exceeding 1000 trying to keep up .
Get a boat that cruises at 30 knots …end of problem .
 
ari said:
So every time a faster boat overtakes you, you turn around almost 180 degrees and head off in a totally different direction just to take it bow on, then turn all the way back around to get back on track? I hope you don't boat on the Solent, it must be like being a pinball!
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90deg not 180. And yes I boat on the solent, and yes it is like being a pin ball, especially when then big boys blast past.
 
While bows are generally better for the job sterns should be capable of taking a sea, otherwise they belong on a canal. There's also the safety issue of turning into the track of another vessel in close proximity; it's not a case of don't do it, but definitely don't do it if you don't need to.
Bouba said:
The difference is that the pointy end is designed to hit the waves and the stern isn’t. Many boats get steered by a following sea
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penfold said:
Which is quicker and safer?
View attachment 119453
or
View attachment 119456
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This is exactly my point, thank you! I can't believe people are basically turning around to take the wake bow on (as per the second diagram)! Even turning through 90 degrees is excessive (and won't leave you properly bow on to the wake, so you'll still roll). Imagine trying to do this in the Solent on a busy day, you'd never get to where you were going! :D

As per the first diagram, just bear away a little and take it on the stern if it's that much of an issue. You can get the wake at properly 90 degrees to the boat without swerving madly about.
 
Bouba said:
The difference is that the pointy end is designed to hit the waves and the stern isn’t. Many boats get steered by a following sea
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If the stern of a boat can't take the wash of a passing planing boat (they're not Point Break high, and neither are they breaking waves!) whilst under way itself, it probably shouldn't be at sea.
 
ari said:
If the stern of a boat can't take the wash of a passing planing boat (they're not Point Break high, and neither are they breaking waves!) whilst under way itself, it probably shouldn't be at sea.
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It depends on the size of your boat and the size of the wake. A superyacht at speed can put up a terrific wake
 
Martxer said:
This weekend we were on our way back to our home birth after a great day out at anchor, we were doing 24 knots minding our buisness when we were passed by a much larger vessel . The boat passed us at approximately 15m on our port side 2 female guests waved as the passed and I returned with a middle finger salute.
The wake from the other vessel was enough that we had to stop to pick stuff up off the floor and put back in cupboards.
We are new to boating and the wife is still a bit uneasy on a choppy sea so this really upset her and it wound me up enough to want to chase him down and knock 7 bells out of him.

What is the etiquette on passing other boats out at sea?
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To go along with your salute you need a loud hailer and to shout some obscenities at them ... actually the correct etiquette is to mouth the words silently and see if they can lip read.
 
Portofino said:
I can honestly say in 6 seasons I have never been overtaken .Bit like an eager virgin I,am waiting :)

I even crept up on this , gave it a wider birth and slid by . :) :),
He started to speed up to 30:knots was cruising at 28 , so I called him out and eased up to 34 , he folded and sat in my wake .
Probably $hat himself when he glanced at his L/ Hrs exceeding 1000 trying to keep up .
Get a boat that cruises at 30 knots …end of problem .
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When owned my Last boat We would cruise anywhere between 30-40 knots but would still look behind every minute or so and especially when going to make a marked change in direction. knew there we not many faster boats in the Solent but there are a few,
Got told off by QHM in Portsmouth harbour once, I knew the speed limit and was concentrating on that but failed to see the size of wake I was leaving behind going at that speed against the tide,
 
Portofino said:
I can honestly say in 6 seasons I have never been overtaken .Bit like an eager virgin I,am waiting :)

I even crept up on this , gave it a wider birth and slid by . :) :),
He started to speed up to 30:knots was cruising at 28 , so I called him out and eased up to 34 , he folded and sat in my wake .
Probably $hat himself when he glanced at his L/ Hrs exceeding 1000 trying to keep up .
Get a boat that cruises at 30 knots …end of problem .
Click to expand...

Gravity appears to be helping your progress quite a bit...
 
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