Following Seas

[chet bjerke]

We are ex-sailors who have recently sold our sailboat after 35 years of cruising in the San Juans and Gulf Islands. We chartered a Ranger 29 to see if motor boating was for us. We had another experienced sailing couple with us. Together, all four of us had problems controlling the boat in a following sea with moderate swells. The wind was also behind us blowing at 25 to 30 knots. We were cruising at 8kts.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Chet Bjerke

 

[knotflying]

I have an R-27. My experience has been to trim the bow up and choose a speed that lets the seas roll under you. I can't say that I have not been able to control the boat in trailing seas using this method.

 

[Spirit of Gratitude]

The autopilot will hold the course better then you can. I have been in 10' following seas,full gale,35kts of wind, in the Santa Barbara Channel (Southern California) in my R-29 and I can control it but why. The autopilot does a great job while I drink coffee and listen to the music. It's kind of a fun ride. I love my R-29! 🙂
Trimming the bow down and adjusting your speed to surf the swells helps also.

 

[sidetrack]

I went from 20 yrs with a full displacement troller to an R-25. The ranger tugs are semi-displacement vessels and have advantages and disadvantages compared to full displacement. I am located in the same area general area as you and can agree, with the short heavy chop that we experiance around here, handling in a large following sea is not as easy as with a full displacement vessel.... but using the trim tabs to get the bow out of the water so it does not dig in when sliding down a wave... is the trick. In those conditions...It will never match the full displacement.... but you can get used to it... and, as previously stated... there are advantages as well.