Surfing in cruisers

[Guest]

You hear that a particular boat can both ' plane and surf '.

I can understanding the planing aspect but I thought all boats would be able to surf in the right conditions. I would be grateful for any illumination on this point.

Also, is there a particular technque to use when surfing, other than the normal heavy weather stuff ? My only experience so far is to carry extra pairs of Y Fronts.

Lastly, the limiting factor on small cruisers is the waterline length. Apart from the fact that crew and their gear weigh more pro rata than on a bigger boat, can anyone recommend small cruisers that have the potential to get up on the plane ?

Many Thanks

 

[Johnjo]

Remember when I was fishing full time out of Hayle on the north coast
of Cornwall, you could go out in the morning, sea pretty calm to return
later in the day to find a large ground sea had come up,
Hayle is protected by a sandbar which is constantly on the move,shallow
water to boot, adds a whole new meaning to surfing! going in through a
huge surf, what we would do is to approach slowly watching the sea behind
you,when a large wave started to pick you up and surf you in trick was to
give the engine the gun, hopefully to keep some control until the wave had
passed, then slow up again and repeat the performance on the next wave,
greatest fear was broaching,remember one day coming over the bar in heavy
fog,big sea running, once you have commited yourself there is no turning back,
thought we heard voices somewhere ahead, but not really sure as people can
walk out to the bar when the tide is lowish, going in picked up on a big wave
gave the engine the gun,going like the clappers only to pass through a group
of very surprised surf canoers, yes we was giving the appropriate sound signals
on the approach,but as I said once commited last thing you can do is to take
avoiding action, one thing which was a regular occurrence was to go down the wave so fast that the bow would bounce off the sandy bottom,time then to squeeze
the cheeks of your arse tight!
Sadly lost three friends on Hayle Bar drowned in the surf, just after that I
retired from fishing for a living,
all the best
mike

 

[chippie]

I remember surfing my 34' trimaran on its delivery voyage several years ago.
My sole crewman was a surfer and as we were sailing wing on wing with the swell ,he suggested that my efforts to surf would work better if we went across the swell and turned with it just as it approached. This was very successful and we surfed on some swells for a couple of minutes at a time.
A couple of years later I found myself in similar conditions on the same stretch of water helming a mate's 40' davidson monohull on its delivery trip.The owner was leaning over the bow watching how it cleft through the water when I managed to catch a wave . He got a hell of a shock to suddenly see about 10' of his new pride and joy sticking out in front of the wave.

One thing to remember is that it can go pear shaped fast if the swells are big and you get it wrong. I tend to do it only in moderate conditions. It is exhilirating sailing.

Mid 20 degrees here in NZ and a nice breeze, but you didnt want to know that did you?

Seasons Greetings

 

[Twister_Ken]

I've done it in a 12 ton S&S leadmine, one of the least likely boats to surf, so I guess it all depends on wind angles and speeds and wave height and shape. Most likely to happen when you are broad reaching with a big following sea. Your trimming needs to be on the ball because the apparent wind goes well forwards when you start to surf (which gives the helm the chance to bear away and maintain the wind angle if that's possible with the course you want to steer.)

 

[bedouin]

I think almost any boat can surf in the right conditions, certainly our heavy, short LWL, narrow beam boat does regularly - but probably slower and for less long than a lighter weight design.

For planing, boats tend to be light and wide with flat bottoms and wide sterns. I think many modern light production boats can begin to plane, but the only ones I have ever seen doing it properly are proper racing designs carrying a serious amount of sail.

 

[Danthegorrila]

Any boat will surf; when pushed by a wave at faster than its normal speed when driven by the sails. Planing is differnt this is a state when the speed creates enough lift to get most of the hull clear of the water and reducing the wet surface and enabling it to go faster.

When 'riding' my windsurfer in waves i sheet the sail to the apparent wind, which is almost dead ahead and depower the sail to ride the wave, normally on a diagonal traverse, going straight down in difficult and dangerous. Then you can sheet in to get the extra speed to get off the wave.

On a cruiser I try to get the maximum speed I can until its too scary- the danger is lthe rudder lossing its grip and allowing the boat to broach.
Hope this helps

PB

 

[Bergman]

Dunno about planing, certainly most boats can exceed normal waterline length limiting speed, given sufficient power from wind. Not sure whether this is true planing or not.

Surfing is different, extra power comes from gravity as boat sails down front of wave. It can be great fun but tends to become hard work after a while, Dont go straight down wave, go across it a bit, turning to lee if possible to match apparent wind.

The hard bit comes when blunt end tries to overtake pointy end. Not too sure what will happen if this is not prevented but suspect it will be a bit messy. I have always chickened out and slowed down before this happens.

Try it, but perhaps good idea to hang on to spare Y fronts.

 

[Peppermint]

Don\'t

catch up with the wave in front. It's like having a car crash. It's well worth finding a bit of surf and practising where you can just dabble until you get the hang of it

I don't recommend surfing with a preventer either as you can pretty swiftly end up broached and then depowered across the surf and it's just another thing to worry about. I do recommend closing all hatches ports and other appertures, kitting the crew up and hooking them on, before giving surfing a try.

Surfing is within the capability of most cruisers and gives a much better ride than just letting the waves overtake you. I can't think of a monohull cruiser capable of planing, you need so much power to get over the hump.