Wind speed cut off

[Two killicks]

Good evening, for those of you that own a 21 and 21 ec, what is your trip planning in regards to wind in knots? Is it fare to say that going on a lake with 15 knots wind would be the maximum for planning for a smooth ride? We are going out for the first time on the great Rideau Lake this week to get used with the tug and fishing as well. So far, the winds are expected to be averaging 11 kts with peaks of 16 knots at night. This is our first trip with the tug, we will be all over the lake during the day and in a sheltered bay at night on the hook? Your feedback is appreciated! 😀

 

[tlkenyon]

I think it depends on the fetch....the distance the wind travels over the water and , consequently, the larger the waves. A 30-knot wind over a small distance is certainly a lot different that a 30-knot wind over many miles. I like to start out on the upwind shore and work my way out into the waves, turning around when my limit is reached.

Brisk breezes and gentle swells,

TK

 

[steven_ickman]

Pat, I'm not anywhere close to the most experienced person on here but as TK says it's all as much about the distance the wind travels over the water (the fetch) as it is the speed. We came back from the Rendezvous today and had a 5 hour cruise with anywhere from 5 - 15 knot winds. We ended up taking a less protected route that had us going through various straits and inlets where the wind can travel over the water for potentially a long time. We were going with the wind so had a following sea and as expected the closer we'd get to the end of a strait or inlet the bigger the waves got. It would go from being essentially flat when after we'd round a bend to 1 - 2ft waves by the end of an inlet. I never felt uncomfortable though or like I was in over my head. You just have to pay attention.

Those with more expertise can weigh in here but what I'm finding is the #1 rule is you never want to let a wave hit you on your side. Heading into waves seems easiest and what makes a following sea tricky (waves coming at you from behind) is that they have a natural tendency to want to turn you sideways which violates rule #1. Going over the top of a wave in a following sea is where you get in trouble as it's going to try and turn your boat when you're coming down the face of the wave. If the waves are big you can hopefully adjust your speed to match the speed of the waves. If they're too fast (or you just want to get there) try to take them at gentle angle (15 - 30 degrees is what I did today) in the direction you want to go. You may have to tack some (zig zag) to get where you're going as again you don't want to violate rule #1. The important thing is if you're dealing with waves you want to pay attention. I'm looking at every individual wave and making a decision about how I want to cross it.

Steve

 

[steven_ickman]

One other tip I'd give is don't be religious about following the pink route line on your chart plotter. Today I'd often go a half mile past the point where the garmin told me turn so that I could turn completely around and then quarter the waves to get back to my route. How far out of the way do you need to go? It depends. Today I was in the middle of a strait and dealing with 2ft following waves. I knew it would be calm after the turn on the chart plotter because there were trees & cliffs that would act as a wind break so I went past the turn far enough that when I turned around I could get back to the route where it should be calm by quartering the waves head on at a 45 degree angle. It's just simple angles and it worked perfectly.