Chris Z
Well-Known Member
Over stayed our welcome out at a favorite beach this past Saturday afternoon on the eastern shore of Lake Ontario as the wind and seas built. When we finally pulled anchor there were 2 to 3's with an occasional four rolling out in the deeper water.
Anyway, moving too slowly while getting the anchor up and stowed I took a couple of very green ones over the bow at about a 45 degree angle. Washed the carpets and left a medium sized dent in the starboard bow panel. Looks almost like you pushed it in a bit with your hand.
Once we got the boat out into open water and got the bow in the air the ride was not nearly as exciting as we worked our way back to the inlet to Sandy Pond but after we were tied to my dock I had to do a lot of drying and deal with some learned lessons.
First, the boat did very well in the slop considering where we were and I was idling out of a beach area. Definitely not the most seaworthy position for any limited freeboard boat to be in. Yes, we scooped some green water but it flowed straight through and out the back gate. Hooray for the straight-thru layout.
Second, once I could get on the throttle and get the bow in the air it became a different boat. I ran back to the inlet at about 15 mph basically slipping from wave top to wave top taking full advantage of those big, fat pontoons and lifting strakes. I was very glad it wasn't any rougher than it had gotten but did not feel that we were having any problems. However... I would not have wanted to stop for any reason in that building mess.
And finally, and this is still a lesson unfolding, I have to fix that front panel. The boat is still too new to be wearing that kind of badge of honor. Talked with a couple of neighbors and we're going to try to gently pull the dent out with a suction cup meant for bodywork. If that doesn't quite work I'll have to pull the lounge and see what we can do from behind. (Anyone ever pull these lounges out? Is it straightforward?)
I've looked through pictures others have posted and thankfully my damage is nowhere near that bad. I'll post a couple of snaps when I get get back to camp and open the boat back up later in the week.
Anyway, moving too slowly while getting the anchor up and stowed I took a couple of very green ones over the bow at about a 45 degree angle. Washed the carpets and left a medium sized dent in the starboard bow panel. Looks almost like you pushed it in a bit with your hand.
Once we got the boat out into open water and got the bow in the air the ride was not nearly as exciting as we worked our way back to the inlet to Sandy Pond but after we were tied to my dock I had to do a lot of drying and deal with some learned lessons.
First, the boat did very well in the slop considering where we were and I was idling out of a beach area. Definitely not the most seaworthy position for any limited freeboard boat to be in. Yes, we scooped some green water but it flowed straight through and out the back gate. Hooray for the straight-thru layout.
Second, once I could get on the throttle and get the bow in the air it became a different boat. I ran back to the inlet at about 15 mph basically slipping from wave top to wave top taking full advantage of those big, fat pontoons and lifting strakes. I was very glad it wasn't any rougher than it had gotten but did not feel that we were having any problems. However... I would not have wanted to stop for any reason in that building mess.
And finally, and this is still a lesson unfolding, I have to fix that front panel. The boat is still too new to be wearing that kind of badge of honor. Talked with a couple of neighbors and we're going to try to gently pull the dent out with a suction cup meant for bodywork. If that doesn't quite work I'll have to pull the lounge and see what we can do from behind. (Anyone ever pull these lounges out? Is it straightforward?)
I've looked through pictures others have posted and thankfully my damage is nowhere near that bad. I'll post a couple of snaps when I get get back to camp and open the boat back up later in the week.