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Jul
To determine how much wind is too much for your boat divide the length of your boat in feet by three. No fun trying to put the boat in a slip on on a trailer in high winds.
It is another hazard when boating as deaths caused by lightning can arise when you are out at sea.
How much wind is too much for boating. A gale involves a wind speed of 34 up to 47 knots. Once the wind speed goes up to 48 to 63 knots this indicates a storm. In addition to wind speed you also need to pay attention to lightning.
It is another hazard when boating as deaths caused by lightning can arise when you are out at sea. How Much Wind Is Too Much For Kayaking. Stay Safe and Prepared.
Know the wind classifications so you can determine how much wind is too much for boating. 16-25 MPH Heavy wind. 26-38 MPH Gale winds.
39-54 MPH Storm winds. Match the WX boating forecast to your vessel. Flat-bottomed boats are good in light winds but odds are theyll pound in a moderate wind.
Modified and Deep Vee hulls cut. The answer obviously depends on the size of your boat and the size of the waves but in general wind speeds over 20 knots 23 mph are too windy for boating. At this wind speed almost all size boats will be greatly affected and smaller boats may even be in danger of capsizing.
Your answer is all dependent on boat size which baytide flow and wind direction. Its a lot to take in but once you get your head around it its easy to work out. 10 knots isnt too bad.
Just take into consideration that a wind blowing against the tide will produce more. Know the wind classifications so you can determine how much wind is too much for boating. 16-25 MPH Heavy wind.
26-38 MPH Gale winds. 39-54 MPH Storm winds. Match the WX boating forecast to your vessel.
Flat-bottomed boats are good in light winds but odds are theyll pound in a moderate wind. Modified and Deep Vee hulls cut. Pleasure boat operators must learn to recognize what the following weather warnings signify.
Small Craft Warning - This is issued if winds are expected to sustain in the range of 20 to 33 knots. Gale Warning - This is issued if winds are expected to sustain in the range of 34 to 47 knots. Boat came out of storage this morning and went right back in.
Swear Its not a problem to boat in the wind but trying to chill on a beach and BBQ is complete BS. On a good note supposed to be 91 and 5-7 mph up there tomorrow so were going then. Are 20 mph winds excessive to boat in.
About 34 downwind from the shoreline in a 20 mph wind youll be in 3ft or higher waves - its murder to go upwind in a tri-hull in those conditions. If youre at a really big lake where the wind has 2 or 4 or 12 miles to get some momentum up it can get really nasty at 20mph or more wind. If you have to ask that question yes it is too strong.
20 mph is not a particularly strong wind but whether it is safe for a particular boat at a particular location depends on the experience and sometimes the physical fitness of the skipper and the size and experience of the crew. Wind Speed - 10 to 16 knots too windy for boating. Post by vinalf Tue Nov 12 2013 517 am rixter wrote.
This might come in handy for those new to boating or the term knots and comparing wind Knots to kph speeds. Depends on the size of the lake. 9mph is enough to get a good chop on some lakes I have been on yet on smaller ones not enough to do more than ripple the surface.
12mph for a small lake no problem. 12mph on the windward side of a large lake and your looking at some chop. If the wind is either forecast are actual above 25-30 mph Ill stay on the deck.
No fun trying to put the boat in a slip on on a trailer in high winds. For some reason no matter what direction you are trying to go while docking trailering the winds will ALWAYS be at a 90 degree angle. At my age I consider winds that exceed the water line length as too much to go out and enough to start getting back in.
It is not the boat but my body that cant take it for very long. So with my 24 ft lwl I find 24 knots too much for enjoyable sailing as by that time the bay water chop will have developed to about 5 feet or so. High wind here is predicable following a low pressure event high pressure creates compressional NE winds called Santa Anas with sustain wind of 40 mph with gusts to 70 mph.
Public lakes are closed during Santa Ana wind events because recovering launched boats risks everyone. I guess thats really more than 2 things but you get the idea. Some lakes we fish are no trouble until you get into the high 20s mph and some are brutal when the wind is only up to 10 mph.
It has more to do with the specific lake than the actual wind speed most times. To determine how much wind is too much for your boat divide the length of your boat in feet by three. For a 21-foot boat 21 divided by three is seven meaning two thirds of the boat is 14 feet.
If the wind is blowing at 14 knots or more and gusts are normally stronger than the stated wind speed you should avoid running the boat parallel to the wind directly to the front or back. I agree that forecasts are usually way too conservative on the Bay10-15 is probably 15-20-25 and gustslook at weather maps and isobarsif they are close where you are the winds will be strongerwatch what you eat and drinkto much cafine can generate more acid in stomachalways wear PFD especially solo and same for passangerswatch out for flying weights baits and hooks when it gets snotty too. It doesnt mean its too windy when the wind speed requires you to reef down.
Reefing is just another tactic to handle your boat comfortably and I encourage you to use it when you need to. The need to reef over 15 knots is normal. Having too much sail is always uncomfortable though many sailors are permanently overcanvassed.
Pontoon boats are not all created equal so it is really impossible to say. What I will say is on my local lake the fish bite far better with a 20 mph wind than a 5. I would just as soon stay home with a 5 mph wind.
I can remember fishing in 15-20mph winds and I did more boat controlling than fishing. In that boat now anything more than 5-10 mph and Im not going. I do most of my fishing now in a 16ft 4in Nitro anything over 15 mph is debatable.
I have a 1642 mod v and given the winds I had yesterday fishing a small lake I wouldnt want to be out on small lakes like Varner or Bear Creek let alone a big lake. Not so much out of safety concerns but at some point around the 15-20mph wind mark fishing in my boat becomes a lot less recreational and a lot more like work. A sensible skipper will always turn back if it is too windyrough rather than try to cope in deteriorating conditions.
That applies to 20 30 40 foot boats not just 18 ft ones 25Kts in an 18 ftr would - in my opinion be too much in open water hard work. Even in a Force 3 you can experience wind speeds of up to 12mph 19kmp which can produce wave heights of up to 4 feet 122 metres. In a small boat and especially with a narrow wave frequency if you are susceptible to seasickness you may find this too much.