Water over the bow...

[blackout00]

I know this has been discussed many times on here, but...I just had a couple of questions. We had our boat out this weekend (Jason's Old Comp) and it was quite choppy, busy memorial day weekend, and I avoided water over the bow by staying off the "crazy parts" of the lake. However, I guess my real questions is, Were these boats made to be able to take a "certain" amount of water over the bow? I mean they ride low, which I think looks great, and when on plane not an issue. However, sometimes when sitting in calm water and a larger boat comes by cruising the wake is enough to get water on the bow.

On a side note, I am loving the boat. We have put about 15 hours on it since buying it from Jason and the pictures are every bit as clean as the boat was in person. It runs great, and gets a lot of looks on the lake! We had a custom cover made for it which utilizes the original snaps, fits around the tower, and had a cover made for the speakers...Here is a pic of her at our dock :-D

3059

[ngavchris]

Looks great.... Sounds like you are having fun. I occasionally dunk the front of mine just to soak the kids. I can put alot of water in the boat really quick. I really dont like the work it creates, but it is alot of fun to watch the kids jump.
Mine never take water over the side when sitting there. If there is a large wave, the boat rides over the top. When moving the boat is plowing thru the wave. Hope this helps a little. Enjoy that boat.

[natemclain]

I have a 2002 Launch SSV and if I have 2-3 people in the play pin and the lake is choppy I will get water over the bow as well.
It scared me at first but I haven't had any issues other than everything getting wet...
I haven't had it happen just sitting in a cove with any boats cruising by, mainly while out in open water with lots of chop or white caps from the wind. And if it's windy I don't usually go out on the lake anyway.

Nate

[Fman]

If my wife is driving I can always count on water coming over the bow, especially when surfing.... you should have a front/rear bilge pump which will help get rid of the water quickly. On a hot summer day its gone in no time, but I do think the Supras front end is a little lower than some other boats. It also depends on how much ballast you are using the bow area.

These boats are also WAY overloaded when the ballast is full, I believe my 22V has a weight limit of 2,100 lbs (might even be less), I have 1900 lbs of ballast when everything is full, thats probably double the amount of weight that is supposed to have in it. I still cant figure out how they get away with selling them with a weight limit sticker when loaded up with ballast far exceed the max limit.

[blackout00]

Yea, I was thinking that was the case. I do not really have any weight yet, but I am going to add in a bit. Thanks for all the responses so far!

[KG's Supra24]

These boats are also WAY overloaded when the ballast is full, I believe my 22V has a weight limit of 2,100 lbs (might even be less), I have 1900 lbs of ballast when everything is full, thats probably double the amount of weight that is supposed to have in it. I still cant figure out how they get away with selling them with a weight limit sticker when loaded up with ballast far exceed the max limit.

I always thought that rating had to be after the factory ballast. Right? It doesn't sound right when the loaded out boats are pushing 2000 lbs and only allow weight for one person. Are the ratings done different if you have hard tanks?

I take water over the bow a couple times a day. Just lack of paying attention by driver and alot of bow weight. I just make sure I remove the bow cushions and let it completely dry out after using.

[jet]

You have to drive it like this (see link below). Always keep the nose up and you do that with the throttle. I havent had water over the bow in 4 or 5 years. If you see a ROUGE wave coming your way just turn sideways to it, and your all good. Jet

upgrade your bilge pump to a rule 1100 gpm


http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1556382128&v=app_2392950137#!/video/video.php?v=1445657032200

[natemclain]

I agree, if you pay attention you can avoid it. It usually happens to me when someone is down and I'm turning around and there are large waves around. I just have to change the way I turn around outside the larger waves and it can be minimized.
The bilge empties it pretty quick, its just annoying when it happens. :-)

Nate

[Skylar18]

My wife and I got in an argument this weekend about this as it happened twice on Sunday. It was really rough where we were and a 21 foot malibu on its maiden voyage flipped over.

With that in mind, I have been told to take waves at a 45 degree angle. However water will still come over the bow that way.

If I turn sideways, no water but am I risking flipping the boat? There is a main channel that all the big yachts and houseboats drive through and we can get really big waves.

[87SunSportMikeyD]

Okay not to sound like a know-it-all here but we have two totally different things going on here. :)

Blackout has an older Comp. No question about it, they sit lower on the water than almost any boat out there. Gotta be real careful.

With the newer boats, they are one of the highest freeboard of any brand out there (although the nose does slope down a little). They also have one of the deepest vees. In turn this has resulted in new Supras having more weight in the bow than most other brands. My friend with an 03 SAN uses almost no bow weight.

But fun topic! In my boat I dont take many waves.

When you are crossing waves you always want to hit them straight on - that is perpendicular to the roller or 90 degrees. Anything else and you are going to bounce violently at a dangerous angle if you are at speed. Also you generally want to accelerate some when you are going up the face of the first roller.

[blackout00]

Good Thread...I have mainly been doing what has been mentioned:

1.When someone goes down take a wide turn and not go into the wall of water..

2. I also keep the nose up...this really helps.

3. Sometimes you just can't avoid it I suppose. I mean if you have to get back to a rider and the crazy people that go out once a year on a busy weekend are there on the water, it is better to get back to your rider than worry about some water on the bow. My bilge is very fast as well. Great topics / discussion. Keep em coming!

[dickboxers]

Who did you get to make your covers. How much did they cost

[batmobil]

I took water over the bow once when a Nautique and a Bu crossed in front of me. We were changing riders (so we were sitting still) I didn't realize their rollers were coming so quickly and when the rollers hit each other the waves created were HUGE. I had 9 people in an 04 Launch SS full ballast. When all was said and done there was about 6-8 inches of water in the boat above the floor. It was the scariest moment I have ever had on the water. It took forever for all the water to pump out. And that was with us moving forward to bring the bow up. Had I not hammered the throttle who knows what would have happened....

[natemclain]

Batmobil that is a scary story! Wow! I have had an inch of water or so in the boat from my careless driving. That was scary enough for me. I can't imagine what you were dealing with...

[ssmith]

We mostly surf but when a rider goes down, I just quickly cut the throttle and wait for the waves to pass (only a few seconds) and then turn to pick the rider up. Is this bad practice?

[Skylar18]

Nope,

That is the way you are supposed to do it. Boarder or surfer falls, put it in neutral, than make your turn while idling and make a strait line to the rider. Your wake is already out of your way. No power turns! That is when you get caught in your own wake.

Of course if there is another boat bearing down on your fallen rider, all rules don't apply and quickly get back there to protect the rider.

My issues with water going over the bow are not with my wake, but other boats. Unless I am tubing with the kids and I have churned up a bunch of waves.

[KG's Supra24]

We mostly surf but when a rider goes down, I just quickly cut the throttle and wait for the waves to pass (only a few seconds) and then turn to pick the rider up. Is this bad practice?

That is exactly how i turn around. When i go to neutral, though, i start to get it turned to the non surfside. it takes more work to get around thats why i start as im going to neutral, it takes a second to get the boat laid back over to the nonsurfside. I turn that way to avoid the big rollers but i essentially come right back thru where i was driving.

As mentioned earlier, if you find your self in trouble, just hammer down on the throttle to get the nose up to get over the wake. Sometimes easier said than done.

Anyone ever stopped and reversed back to the rider? We did this a couple times this weekend and we stopped because we werent really sure if it was too much pressure on the swim deck or if it would cause any mechanical issues.

[blackout00]

I agree that the best practice is to simply do the neutral trick when conditions are normal ( early morning or evening ride). However sometimes when people want to ride when it is busy that changes the game. Bottom line it sounds like is to be careful, and be sure that you are trying to avoid the water situation. This is some great info...More thoughts...

As for the cover I had it made by Deep Creek Canvas. It is a one man shop and they do awesome work. It was about $850 for everything, and it is made from Sunbrella. Should last for a while, and even if the boat sits for two weeks it is perfect when we get back...

[Fman]

I always thought that rating had to be after the factory ballast. Right? It doesn't sound right when the loaded out boats are pushing 2000 lbs and only allow weight for one person. Are the ratings done different if you have hard tanks?

I take water over the bow a couple times a day. Just lack of paying attention by driver and alot of bow weight. I just make sure I remove the bow cushions and let it completely dry out after using.

Actually the max weight rating includes ballast, gear, and persons in the boat. At least that is what is stamped on mine.

[docdrs]

best way to prevent waves coming over is a 21V :) sorry had to be a smart ass

[mapleleaf]

best way to prevent waves coming over is a 21V :) sorry had to be a smart ass

Maybe an '09 or something I'd guess??