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Max Wind Speed

kaydano

kaydano

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At what wind speed will you not go boating?


For me it's 17 mph. Anything over that is pretty miserable. Rough water. Hard docking.  Loose stuff blows out of the boat all day. Hard to hear people talk.  Anchor slips.  Etc.


Just curious what people use as a cutoff to call it a day.
 
Are you referring to the hot wind coming from your fishing buddies and their fishing tales?


I've never really paid close enough attention to the actual wind speed on our lake. For me it depends a lot on direction more than speed. If it's out of the north, east or south it really doesn't impact docking. A hard west wind and I turn into a cursing sailor.
 
As long as it's warm enough, wind doesn't matter. Matter of fact, we love when it's windy as we get nice waves going down wind and cruise back, and forth just rocking away. I LOVE rough water. I laugh when we go out on the bay on rough water days, and I'm having a blast. Others, well they are chumming ..... lol!!!
 
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Wind speed is really not an issue for us. Our lake is fairly shallow so waves typically don't get over 2-3' and it is large enough to find somewhere that is calm, no matter the direction of the wind. Docking is fairly protected so that has not been an issue either. And finally, with a 28 ft. tri-toon, it handles pretty much anything our lake can throw at it.


Bonus: windy days keep many other boaters off the lake! Just have to skip the grilled meal. 
 
If it's windy at the beach,then it's time to jump onto the boat. And if it gets really rough,there's always a bar to go too. Boating is sooooo tough!
 
Wave heights are +5' in the Gulf of Mexico here today, with ~6 second period, wind speeds 15-20, so a good time to stay home and watch  ;)
 
If there are white caps on our lake or if we're anchored in a No Wake zone cove trying to eat and the wind is blowing our plates, napkins, food, etc etc.......There's always tomorrow brotha!!! Or if it calms down later we'll go back out......
 
The Potomac gets pretty choppy on windy days, and while there are protected bays we can get to they require a ride of 10 minutes or so.  We've come to not want to take guests out with us if the winds are over 15 mph, and we generally don't go ourselves if it tops 20.
 
We have many great coves on our lake and the lake is very large with high cliffs. You can always find a spot that is protected from the winds. If it is warm out and I can swim, I never let the wind deter me.
 
Also not a big fan of big waves, like Big Kahuna I'll just go out later
 
We live on the lake so if there are white caps I'll wait awhile.
 
BigKahuna said:
If there are white caps on our lake or if we're anchored in a No Wake zone cove trying to eat and the wind is blowing our plates, napkins, food, etc etc.......There's always tomorrow brotha!!! Or if it calms down later we'll go back out......
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Here in Michigan we obviously have a very short boating season so unless the weather makes it unsafe, we're going to take every opportunity to get out on the boat. I have to admit that a windy day can be somewhat annoying, but I soon get over it! :)
 
LC has some many creeks and high walls that wind is easy to get away from.  The thing that happens is a good nap on the boat is interrupted by the thunderstorm you did not know was coming.  There is no place to hide on a pontoon in 30 mph winds and driving rain.  
 
Remediation said:
LC has some many creeks and high walls that wind is easy to get away from.  The thing that happens is a good nap on the boat is interrupted by the thunderstorm you did not know was coming.  There is no place to hide on a pontoon in 30 mph winds and driving rain.  
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You just reminded me of a time on Lake Anna in Virginia. My wife and I were knocked out on the sunpad napping after lunch. Woke up and the approaching sky was black and you could see the rain coming. We made the command decision to just run away from it and luckily it turned before we ran out of lake!


We just went to a seminar at the local Benny dealership with Captain Gus, a local fishing guide on .......How to navigate Lake Norman. He told us if we were ever caught in a storm don't try  to outrun it! Storms usually last only a good 10-15 minutes. Tie up to someone's dock and wait it out! 
 
I'm going to tuck that one away in the back of my mind.   Thanks for posting. Great emergency plan.  Especially if the tornado sirens are going off.  We got caught in a storm once on the water.  It was one of my first times out too.  Not fun. 
 
If the water is white capping on our reservoir main lake, then it's too windy for me. Now, on those days, if I want to take the boat out, we just tow the boat about 15 miles and put in on the upper lake/river, then we are good to go with ripply to smooth surface. 
 
SEMPERFI8387 said:
As long as it's warm enough, wind doesn't matter. Matter of fact, we love when it's windy as we get nice waves going down wind and cruise back, and forth just rocking away. I LOVE rough water. I laugh when we go out on the bay on rough water days, and I'm having a blast. Others, well they are chumming ..... lol!!!
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You're a different breed that I. We've been caught in a storm where half of the boat must have been lifted out of the water at each beating of the wave. The bow would dip down and the waves would come across the deck 3 - 5" deep, washing everything to the stern, luckily being caught by the fence. I do not enjoy that type of weather on the boat. All I could think about was, this is how Gilligan got stuck on that damned island!
 
Like this .....  :)

 
Caught in a storm is something that (knock on wood) I've never experienced. Thankfully, our lake is generally large enough that we can dodge a rainstorm by heading to a different part. And when there is no escaping, we've been able to get off before it hits.


I think the reason a rough day doesn't have much effect is the ESP. I've got a friend with a regular toon that has to stay off the lake when it starts to blow. However, mine rides high off the water and I've never been close to having a wave wash over the bow. I can tell you that the first time that happens, I'm in big trouble with the admiral.
 
As long as it doesn't cause me to spill my beer I'm good.   ^_^   ;)   :D
 
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