Newbie question on navigating chop in Chesapeake Bay

[pres2028]

Hey folks, hope everyone is well. I have a new 252SD, launching out of Deale, MD into the Chesapeake Bay by way of a small tributary. I'm a completely new boat owner with zero prior experience - so these are going to be some really basic questions.

Was out today for the 2nd time, with my son. The good news is that navigating around the dock and in the no-wake zone went really well. I had more challenges on the open Bay. I took her from 6-7pm in the no-wake zone up to around 15-18 in the Bay and it just felt a bit unstable so I would slow back down. Had a light wind - maybe 8-10PM - and about a foot or less of chop. Traveling perpendicular to the waves was even worse so I made sure to go parallel.

My (again, very basic) questions:

--should I have pushed it above 20mph? would that feel more stable?
--Is it a normal when slowing down from 15mph back to 6/7mph that the bow feels like it's going to point directly into the water? The dip in the bow feels pretty dramatic.

Overall it was fine - but I sure rushed out of the Bay and back into the tributary and was way more comfortable cruising there. Just trying to learn a bit more about how I should handle this in the future. Thank you.

 

[fatboyroy]

You need to speed up so you go into plane, that will bring bow back down slightly and you will feel more stable. Do not go over break-in RPM in you still in break-in period.

 

[AZMark]

You say zero experience, have you ridden on a boat like that? If you haven’t you should try and find someone who has to go out with you

Agree that you need to go a little faster just to get on plane. The boat will level out then.

That’s a big boat and it should be very stable. My 21’ can handle 1-2 foot chop at speed relatively smoothly.

 

[motomandan]

Trim tabs!

 

[VitaminSea]

As @AZMark suggested, you should seek an outing or two with someone who’s seasoned in the area. I have seen some dealerships offer classes, or offer time with their Captain to orient one with their new vessel and the waterways they will be frequenting. Might be as easy as asking your sale’s person what they can suggest if you do not have other nautical friends (besides the crew here on the forum).

As for your boat, not many on the forum have the new “25 hull”, so its hard to suggested planing speed/optimum speed for the conditions you were in, but I would image 22-25mph should ride just fine. In the interim, check out YouTube for some videos about navigating the waterways, and how to address different conditions. “Gail Force Twins” have a channel and their videos are pretty informative (they are licensed Captains) - granted they have a different style boat, but much of what they share still applies.

You’re doing the right thing - asking questions, and sticking to conditions that you are comfortable with!

 

[Elliott]

I have a 19 ft., and 1-2 chop is not a problem. As the others have noted, go faster to get on plane, and everything will smooth out. My boat planes at about 20, and we typically run at 28-32 mph. (I hold 6500 RPMs, and weight and conditions decide where in the 28-32 range where we are).

From your description, you were wallowing through the chop (high bow meeting the chop with a flatter part of the hull versus bow down riding on top while cutting through with the sharper part of the bow). Trim tabs can help, but you need to properly control your boat to determine if you need them. I do not have them, and I have not had a situation where they would have improved the ride.

I am sure your next outing will be more rewarding.

 

[Babin Farms]

Once you get on plane your boat should be able to handle chop like you described at any angle with no problem. Trim tabs will help possibly but if this is your first boat and your just figuring out the basics I would practice without them and wait to see if they are even needed. The other issue you had was when your slowing down, the bow dips. Try slowing down gradually, it helps a LOT. Imagine hammering the brakes on your car, the nose dips hard. The same thing happens on your boat when you go from cruising to hardly any throttle. The water acts as a brake for the boat, thus dipping the front end down.
My advise is to go out and just try different things with your boat and practice what works for you.

 

[TimW451]

@pres2028 Beside speed up the boat to get on plane (you sounded too slow), also hit the chop at a 45 degree angle. Nothing wrong with learning the boat in the tributary.

If you haven’t taken the boater safety course do that too. It has good info for new boaters. This is my third year with a boat. All I know is from that course, this forum, YouTube, and Google.

Trim tabs will probably help, and more so in higher seas, but learn with what you got for now.

 

[Julian]

Waves are described by height and frequency, and both factors play an important part in how your boat will ride and you and your passengers will feel. Download an app to your phone like "Windy" or "Sailflow" and check it out. It will give you wind, wave height, frequency (and a lot more). You will learn to depend on it if you are going anywhere with waves.

Height is clearly important for obvious reasons.
Frequency almost more important. Think of it this way - if there are 4 foot waves at a 15 second frequency, you will be on larger rolling waves. If they are at 3 second intervals, you are going to get SLAMMED.

For smaller waves you can hit them any way you want. As they get bigger (like wakes for example), you want to quarter them - hit them at a 45% angle.

And as others have said.....go out with someone who knows the ropes (they will literally be able to teach you about ropes too!).

 

[Skyhawk223]

I am a new boater and new to jetboating as well.
As others have said, get on plane so your bow can slice through the waves. I took my boat out into the Atlantic last week with about 2 ft waves. Amazing the difference being on plane vs not. Much more rocking at slower speeds.
As for slowing down, slow down gradually so your bow does not drop. Don't just chop the throttles. Remember that with no thrust, you also have no steering. Gradually reducing thrust to slow down maintains a level of steering.

 

[pres2028]

Super helpful folks - thank you. I'm going back out into the Bay this Friday morning if the weather holds, to test without a lot of boats around.

There's a longtime deckhand at my marina who has offered to go out with me - he's not familiar with jetboats specifically but I imagine his knowledge will be helpful overall. @TimW451 I took the boat safety course, it's required here in Maryland - but just took it online, so real-world experience is still needed.

 

[johhnyboat]

I'm on the Chesapeake bay as well. If you don't have a friend who can teach you I would recommend an on the water boating course. I know they offer them several times a year in Annapolis. After you know the "ropes", practice and hours on the water are the best way to improve your skills.
Like the other have said, getting on plane is the best way to smooth out the ride. These boats do benefit greatly from having trim tabs in choppy water. Also, the Chesapeake is very cold right now, so make sure you are wearing a life preserver when out in the spring. A guy died a few years ago with his family watching (they didn't know how to drive the boat) after he fell in while driving and because they couldn't stop the boat. He lost control of his muscles after about 10 minutes in the water.

 

[Bayou boater]

Getting experience will definitely help you more than anything. I boat on Pensacola Bay quite frequently. If the wind is around 10 miles an hour, I generally feel very comfortable (as well as my cabin mates) at around 6000 RPM which can be aproximity 30 miles an hour.

 

[Noko]

I was out on the Chesapeake the other day. It wasn't too bad.

I know, its a repost of an old video.

 

[Joshua Miller]

I’m up north from you, Middle River area, but would love to come down just to see the new boat! Same as others said: do your break in period in the tributaries and get up on plane (25-30 mph) on the bay. 1-2 ft chop is as good as the bay gets so you’ll get used to it.

 

[bigwaves]

I’m near the mouth of the Patapsco River. Bought my boat right before the covid 19 madness. Learning to operate a jet boat has been challenging but a lot of fun. I just added the CobraJetSteering AK19 fins a couple of weeks ago. Expectations are high. Going in the water this weekend depending on the weather. Maybe we need a Chesapeake Bay jet boat club??

 

[pres2028]

I’m up north from you, Middle River area, but would love to come down just to see the new boat! Same as others said: do your break in period in the tributaries and get up on plane (25-30 mph) on the bay. 1-2 ft chop is as good as the bay gets so you’ll get used to it.

Man, come on down - would love that. I launch out of Harbour Cove Marina in Deale. I probably have 2-3 more trips to break it in and based on the advice here I’ll probably stick to the tributaries, but then heading back to the Bay.

 

[pres2028]

I’m near the mouth of the Patapsco River. Bought my boat right before the covid 19 madness. Learning to operate a jet boat has been challenging but a lot of fun. I just added the CobraJetSteering AK19 fins a couple of weeks ago. Expectations are high. Going in the water this weekend depending on the weather. Maybe we need a Chesapeake Bay jet boat club??

I’m thinking about the fins too - let us know how they work out! I’d be down for Bay group or meetup.

 

[HangOutdoors]

Fins are fantastic for steering, I love mine. But we were still getting beat up on certain days in the Great Lakes. I just installed Trim Tabs, 10" x 14". They should be a game changer out on the water and make it more manageable and smoother, at least that is what was mentioned. I am hoping to be on the water the first time this weekend to test them out, weather permitting.

 

[swatski]

I was out on the Chesapeake the other day. It wasn't too bad.

I know, its a repost of an old video.

It's just amazing to see how solid these boats used to be built.

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