50' Post in Rough Water - Lake Huron

JRP

Classic head sea ride for a Post. Not enough bow flare to knock down the spray, but a hugh forward stateroom. What rpm were you turning?

Im with you Beau, that looks like a typical day when we see 4/5 plus. I run a 46 and if I cant get 18/20 knots I push water 30 feet in all directions!! haha but I wouldn't trade that boat for anything but a bigger Post!!!

The 50' Post likes to run with the FWD tank empty as quick as possible.......meaning transfer it to the main aft tank as quick as possible, especially with the weight of a dinghy.....but the 50' post does usually ride pretty decent in a head sea, but is a wet boat also.....

its really hard to tell from the video, but that is about how my 46 would ride at the same speed in the same conditions.

I think I was probably traveling from Harrison township around the same time on a 56 Hatteras. We had those conditions on Huron the whole way.

RB Just curious, did your Hatt also have white water up on the bridge?

We did for sure!

Gotta remember that 5-7's on the Great Lakes are nastier than the same on the the ocean.

I don't understand that, Maybe;

Folks on the lakes can not measure feet and it's really 7 to 9?

Ah, the lake effect and there is an undertow of current?

Water temp is lower and it is more dense water (than salt water?).

When predicting the weather, the forecaster really types A after every sentence?

Or, your really surprised when the forecast is for smooth seas and it turns to mush.

I was really enjoying another fine Post thread. I love you guys and enjoy every Post, post. Until this one... WTF?

I agree that 5-7' on the Great Lakes are rougher than on the ocean. You have less floatation because freshwater is less bouyant (which is a smaller effect). But the waves are always short and steep. They are never spaced far apart or swells...... it's like being in a nasty chop, but just bigger.

Give me a break. There is no nasty chop in the oceans. It's bigger in the lakes. Less buoyant water makes it worse.

Stuff happens everywhere. It gets ugly anywhere. When it breaks loose and your not prepared, well then it's the worst.

I'm comparing it to a 1-2' nasty chop in an ocean. Not one that is unsafe, but one where you're in a 30' CC and get your teeth jarred. The 5-7's in the Great Lakes are never swells, they are also very short spaced and uncomfortable. All I am saying is 5-7' in the Great Lakes is more uncomfortable than most 5-7's in the ocean, not comparing them to 20' seas.

You are absolutely correct. We rarely get swells. They are always very close together, and steep (no matter the wave height). I was caught in a storm years back on Lake Huron that produced 15-20's that were breaking.

A little confused here

As I live in Curaçao and maybe we have different weather conditions, I'm a little confused here, so please help me out...

I'm reading '1-2' nasty chop', for me that's 30-60 cm and we don't even call that a wave, it's just a wrinkle in the water...

I prefer not to go out with waves over 2-2.5 meter (6-8 feet), just for comfort, not because my 46 Post can't handle it.

For our weather and sea conditions, you can look at:
WindGURU: Curaçao - Curacao

I hate days like that, very tiring after a while. When I am getting 3 waves in a row on the bridge I usually pull back to ten knots to keep the spray lower so I can see lobster traps. It would be impossible to clear one off the props in those conditions. I once picked up a loose piece of fishing net in the Gulf Stream coming back from the Bahamas in 4 to 6 feet. Luckily it only caught one prop, had to run on one engine right up to the beach off Ft Lauderdale and go under to cut it off. It took about 50 dives to get it off, after that I bought a Brownies hooka system and permanently mounted it in the engine room with a fresh air pickup in the saloon behind the couch. Clearing lines from the props is much easier now if the waves permit going under the boat.