Yotties...a moan

[mrplastic]

How is it possible for yotties to measure the speed of a power cruiser whilst bouncing up and down in a small wooden beer crate alongside their boat which they attempting to paint whilst on a mooring because they are too tight/lazy to take it out of the water to do the job properly?? Yesterday I was subjected to a major yottie tantrum complete with hand signs and fingers in the air telling me I was in an 8 knot limit....hmmmm

I look at my speed log and lo and behold....8.2 knots

Christ I'm speeding..that 0.2 knots must have really been noticeable to provoke such a reaction. I wasn't even close, at least 100 yards away. Oh and I didn't see any such gestures from anyone when a HM Customs boat passed me doing at least 12 knots. I AM a considerate helmsman, I slow down where required, I get out of the way if I need to, I don't play loud music in the marinas and I keep a look out for occupied boats when passing moorings so as not to 'disturb' them too much, oh and I got me some qualifications too.

Some of them seem to be able to measure speed to within fractions of a knot, yet it they are clearly incapable of telling port from starboard when it comes to 'lane' discipline or even giving way when it would be a clearly safer for them to do so. No it's OK I'll just keep swerving out of the way through all the other yachts just so you can continue blindly on your route on the wrong side of the channel..... Maybe they all have radar guns who knows.

I have met many polite yachtsman out there in open sea and they respond to a friendly wave even though out there I may be doing 25/30 knots. Maybe it's because those particular people have actually sailed their boats somewhere and experienced a bit of 'chop' so can cope with an 8.2 knot wake.

I can only assume my friend in the beer crate only sails inland on sunny days and wouldn't know a choppy sea if he fell in it.

Moan over, I'll probably get flamed. But hell I'm a powerboater and I've got lots of fire extinguishers.





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[leamans]

Couldn't agree more! the 'lane discipline' has been driving me mad of late, loosing count of the number of times I've almost been forced onto the mud at low tide by a yottie charging down the Port Side of the channel, and they always seem to come at you in formation, overtaking each other on the wrong side too??? maybe they're getting confused with their cars? Although to be fair there are plenty of Powerboaters who seem to be using the highway code recently, but the ratio so far has been about 10/1 to the yotties.... I mistakenly assumed that the aforementioned would be the sticklers for the rule book... (how wrong I was!)

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[wakeup]

Hmm...One way to assess your wake is ......

look over your shoulder, have a look at the wake, and consider this.

Would the wake be a hazard to someone down below that couldn't see the wash coming. E.g. someone boiling a kettle. People up top can brace themselves cos they can see the wash coming, now imagine someone below boiling a kettle or cooking, now add some kids with them, would you be a happy punter if all of a sudden you were hit by 8 knots of wash? I doubt it.

I guess you wash must have been a problem to provoke such a response, I'm sure even raggies don't go out of their way to hurl abuse at stinkies for no real reason!!

<hr width=100% size=1>...but then I would say that wouldn't I.....

 

[mrplastic]

Re: Hmm...One way to assess your wake is ......

I agree with you, which is why I keep a look out when passing moorings. My wake really wasn't that big. The big ships that pass continuously through the channel leave much bigger wakes than my little 30 footer.....maybe the guy had been passed dozen times already by bigger/faster boats and had had enough........doesn't excuse it though.

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[wakeup]

Re: Hmm...One way to assess your wake is ......

The other observation I would make is that I was under the impression that for best control with a twin engine set up steering under 5 knots is best done with the wheel mid ships and using the throttles to drive the boat bull dozer style, I am told you are then afforded loads of control. But then again I'm single engined so what would I know..

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[Guest]

Re: Hmm...One way to assess your wake is ......

Not really. Great control like that when mooring, but not much use underway.

Mr Plastic must have a very odd Doral if it runs level at 8 knots. At that speed, every other planing 30 footer I've seen is nose in the air, and pushing a mountain of water out of the way.

To make 8 knots for us involves pulling better than 2500 rpm, which is hideously uneconomical, AFAIK.

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[wakeup]

Re: Hmm...One way to assess your wake is ......

I defer to your experience of twins here.

I would agree about the unusual nature of the Doral. My little boat 22footer chucks up its biggest wake at around 8 knots and is very nose in air. Is he using full flaps or summat?



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[mrplastic]

Re: Hmm...One way to assess your wake is ......

Just the legs trimmed into -4 or -5. Engines run at around 1400 rpm. Flaps have very little effect below 10 knots. A thought has occured to me though....if my boat is 'in' the water as opposed to bow up will I be making a big bow wave as opposed to a wake? Is that in fact a possible cause of consternation?

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[wakeup]

Re: Hmm...One way to assess your wake is ......

I suppose a bow wave might give the impression to the distraught yottie that you were going faster than it seemed.

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[martynwhiteley]

Re: Hmm...One way to assess your wake is ......

Considering Comercial Traffic is perhaps quite a good way to try and put a different slant on this issue.

Look at those recent deaths up at Stranraer, and the possibility of ferry wake causing a capsize.

I was out on the Humber yesterday evening, one of the busiest commercial shipping lanes in Europe. Fortunately for the commercial traffic, there's little else on the Humber to give much grief to. But would they slow down if they saw a small boat drifting without power? I think not (always).

I had to turn sharply yesterday evening to face into the wake of a large tanker, and if I had not it would have been very uncomfortable to say the least.

The attitude (ok and even regs) is that small boats should keep as far out of the way as possible of the large commercial vessels, but would they slow down if someone did venture 'too close' or had drifted into their path?

Here we are talking 'life or death' not just red wine on the cabin carpet.

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[mrplastic]

Re: Hmm...One way to assess your wake is ......

This is what I'm beginning to think. She really does sit in the water beautifully when trimmed, I'll have to get a mate to come alongside and take a pic for me so that I can judge for myself.


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[Guest]

I always go through the moorings at 6 knots, one day a Raggie yelled the usual
!*!!** at me. What a ****** I thought and then I realised that I was going against a 2 kt tide. 6+2 = above displacement speed = lots of wash, I just hadn't noticed.

Most of us do try not to be a nuisance (unlike those countless raggies who let their halyards CLANK all night).

Presumably the ones who hate us would never ask for a tow off the mud?

Geoff

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[NorthernWave]

Re: Hmm...One way to assess your wake is ......

'Jumping onto the fence'

There are as many to##ers on powerboats out there as there on on yachts. When I'm out and about on the boat I sometimes wonder what the hell is going on in some of these peoples heads.
i.e.
Do ribs have to comply to the rules and regs?
Should yachts turn on every light they can find when the sun sets rather than the lights stated in the aforementioned regs?
Why did that guy in the Red Mariah Powerboat insist on pulling his waterskier among the anchored boats in Alum bay?

I prefer Powerboats, yachts look pretty but they don't yank my chain. Unfortunately just like when you drive to work in the morning there are alot of bad drivers out there and believe it or not they don't all drive BMW's.

Chris

I'll climb back off the fence now.


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[BarryH]

Re: Hmm...One way to assess your wake is ......

Its a perception thing. Its percieved that to be a power boat user you have to have loads of money to waste, no common sence and have a scrap metal business and an imported Shogun with all the chrome bits and have a Basildon postcode!
Sad really as we're all on the water to enjoy ourselves.

The speed;imit thing. From personal experience a 30 footer at 8 knots with the drives trimmed in will be pushin a load of water in front of it. If your viewin that wash from the flybridge it'll look a lot less than it really is. On the other hand, if your viewing it from the "beercrate" at water level, it'll look like a mountain! Maybe we should do away with speed limits and have "no wash" limits. I was quiet happily potterin across Poole at tickover, which equaites to about 3.5 knots when a dinghy came up behind and shouted for me to et out of the way! I just altered course and let them pass. No skin of my nose.
Pottering throuh the entrance that has a sign "Use engine" to be confronted by 3 Ragies all under sail expecting me to get out of their way!! It happens everywhere. Thats Life.

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[mrplastic]

Re: Hmm...One way to assess your wake is ......

Hi Barry,

I now think my Bow wave is definitely the cause of the abuse I encountered. My wake just wasn't that big even at 8 knots at that maybe a direct result of the larger Bow wave. I don't pretend to understand the maths, but I guess that a boat travelling at a given speed will move a given amount of water. Is it possible that this water was 'shared' between the bow wave and the wake? That would answer a lot of questions, specifically why I didn't consider my wake to be large.

I'm getting used to the 'raggies' and as you say it happens everywhere! I haven't yet come across any mad powerboaters but I'll treat them with equal disdain when I inevitably do so.

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[byron]

Re: Hmm...One way to assess your wake is ......

Maybe we should do away with speed limits and have "no wash" limits.

Now don't be silly Barry, that would be far too sensible for the bureaucrats.

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[BarryH]

Re: Hmm...One way to assess your wake is ......

Umm, don't want to be piccy here, but your Bow wave is part of your wash. At displacement speed you'll have a bow wave a deppresion amidship and a stern wave. Its not until you get on the plane that the bow wave dissapears or moves back to join the stern wave. If you see what I mean. Displacement is ther key word here.

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[markc]

I was pottering up the Itchen in our dingy on Saturday with SWMBO when a Sportsboat came past at what was prob 8knts...the wash swamped us and took about 10 gallons of water on - I was not too happy!!! He probably didn't mean to, just oblivious to anyone elses position!

M

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[mrplastic]

I'm sure he didn't mean it. How close was he though?

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[mrplastic]

Re: Hmm...One way to assess your wake is ......

I don't disagree.....I can't agree either though. I can't see my bow wave I can see my wake......my question is this:-

If i stick the bow in the water does my wake become smaller?

I think some further live research is required. I'll just make sure I do it in the water ski zone so as not to upset anyone else!.....except the water skiers of course....bloody boat going to slow and in the way...I guess



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