Does size matter when it comes to boats and deeper water?

[superdave1984]

Thanks for the input folks. We wear PFDs even while fishing. I just don't want to have my son get scared due to big waves and not want to take the boat out anymore. But we do want to catch more fish, and sometimes that means getting out there where the bigger boats and bigger waves are. We don't even think about going when the weather is iffy or if the wind is 10 mph or higher. It is nearly impossible to load it on the trailer when there is wind. We got caught in a pop up storm once and that was miserable for me trying to get it on the trailer in the wind and rain.

[DockShootinJack]

Keep the bow pointed into the waves and the boat will ride out any waves you will like see in a lake or river. The Great lakes being the possible exception

[Aix]

They’ve given great advice so far, especially keeping an eye on the weather, remaining comfortable, and having PFDs. Even bays can get really rough under the right conditions. Also, on smooth days, people take inshore boats many miles out into the Gulf, but of course they pay attention to conditions.

I’ll add something that I learned many years ago the hard way that applies to all boats in rough water—make sure your bilge is in good shape. You don’t want to have to be bailing water at a time that you need to be focused on driving the boat during rough water.


Enjoy your time on the water,

[Foxy Jig]

get out before or after the big boats are put up

[skeetbum]

Foxy jig said it right too, go early and leave early works well for me. I live in FL where a lot of the lakes are very shallow. The wind whips those into a frenzy very quick. It doesn’t take depth to get you in trouble. I’ve been caught in a couple of quick, hard thundershowers that put my boat in ankle deep water in no time at all. A PROPER sized bilge pump helps when things get bad. A 500 gph pump is in a lot of boats. If you have a question if yours is enough, fill it ankle deep and put the pump on and see how long it takes to bring the level down a significant amount. This boat came with an 800 and my last one had an 1100. That one threw some water in a hurry and also had a larger hose and fitting.

[DockShootinJack]

Had a wake boat wash over the front deck of my 18ft Stratos. Took a decent minute to dewater me after that.

[Kevin22]

So I have a 14 ft v hull jon boat. 15 hp Zuke. I normally stay in what I would call medium shallow water of no more than 25 ft. I am somewhat skittish about going out to deeper water in this thing. It seems like the fish on KY lake have moved out to deeper water or I just cannot find them.
So what are y'alls thoughts on taking a boat this size out into the main lake/channel? We normally fish Jonathan Creek and don't venture out to the main lake much at all except a few times when we did but stayed near the shore because of the really large boats making wake that really rocked my boat.

I dont think water depth matters, but wave size sure does. Style of boat is more important than size. A 16' deep v will be better in big water than a 20' flat bottom because that is what it is made for. Bass boats are just as bad in rough water as flat bottoms, the long flat bow does not ride waves but instead falls down between them.

Your 14' mod V is probably better in waves than most 18' flat bottoms.

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[Yak Fish]

I was crossing a 3/4 wide stretch of local resevoir in a kayak over ~45 foot deep water when a thunderstorm blew up. Boats were racing for the bridges and not really looking out for small craft. I always keep an orange safety flag out when on the water around motorized boats and I'm sure it saved me. The lightning was frightening, especially when holding an aluminum paddle shaft, but the boats running hard through limited visibility was terrifying. A short hail storm pelted me with marble-sized hail for 1-2 minutes that seemed like a lot longer than that. The whole thing was over in 10 minutes and it drove most of the pleasure boaters off the water.

Jim

[J White]

The thing thats always in the back of my mind, is a motor quitting in a bad spot. I’m sure even a much bigger boat can get in trouble if you lose power and can’t keep bow pointed into it. But sounds like you’ve got an A1 motor, so got that going for you.


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[keeferfish]

Also waves grow BIGGER as they approach shallow water. Then you also have the backwash effect from waves hitting the bank, coming back hitting other waves that are on their way in.