How Do You Like Being Overtaken by a Power Boat ?

[hummingway]

To honest, if it's Trincomali and the winds are light and the water smooth slowing down probably isn't going to improve the experience of the sharing the channel with you. When it's really windy the power boats don't seem to be out. If it's Swanson Channel the 20,000 tons of Spirit of Vancouver Island is pushing more water then you anyway, as will be the freighter or military vessel etc. These are big channels and in the Strait of Georgia just give me lots of distance.

In the passes however it can be downright dangerous when a motor vessel goes screaming through. What's often left behind are standing waves that can be quite dangerous for others.

[Vasco]

Originally Posted by Alecadi

The Miami way:

In the Dinner Key Channel (quite narrow in some place) power boat in general have a very peculiar way of passing you.
More than once I have seen a power boat arriving full speed.... and a few yards behind my stern dropping her speed and coming along very slowly.. and then , just when they are at my bow level: full speed again !!! With nice hellos and smiles.............!!!

I would have rather the contrary

That's the proper way to pass. You should stop your engine when the power boat is on your transom.

[boasun]

From the Gist of this thread, there appears to be quite a few people out there who do not understand what the word "Consideration" means.
When you are offshore in higher than moderate winds, you have to take it in stride and ride it out. But when you are in protected waters, there shouldn't be any reason for that pot of soup and other stuff on the stove to go flying because some stupid idiot wants to violate "Consideration of others", Plus the Good seamanship rule and the General purdence rule... Your insurance company will love you as they have to pay for your wake damages to other vessels. Yes a lack of consideration & poor seamanship will fill your life with Lawyers and higher Insurance premiums.
Isn't life wonderful....
And I know that here in the southland if you pull stupid stunts like that, the locals here will shoot at you, more than once. There have been a few boats that have ended up with bullet holes in them... So be considerate down here, the people are friendly until you piss them off.

[psneeld]

Originally Posted by boasun

From the Gist of this thread, there appears to be quite a few people out there who do not understand what the word "Consideration" means.
When you are offshore in higher than moderate winds, you have to take it in stride and ride it out. But when you are in protected waters, there shouldn't be any reason for that pot of soup and other stuff on the stove to go flying because some stupid idiot wants to violate "Consideration of others", Plus the Good seamanship rule and the General purdence rule... Your insurance company will love you as they have to pay for your wake damages to other vessels. Yes a lack of consideration & poor seamanship will fill your life with Lawyers and higher Insurance premiums.
Isn't life wonderful....
And I know that here in the southland if you pull stupid stunts like that, the locals here will shoot at you, more than once. There have been a few boats that have ended up with bullet holes in them... So be considerate down here, the people are friendly until you piss them off.

Consideration? I guess like you mean not hogging the middle of the channel and refusing to answer/listen on the radio, and not making a reasonaqble pass with minimal wake possible...well then I agree totally ...sailors are ALWAYS in the right...just because of condsideration of who ACTUALLY is in charge of the ICW....

[lorenzo b]

No one ever took a pot shot at me in the two years I spent in Louisiana, and I went out of my way to piss off just about every dumbass I met.
Most fun I had down there was going door to door campaigning for Obama in white trash trailer parks.
You can take the boy out of NYC, but

[senormechanico]

Originally Posted by captain58sailin

All due respect Gord, the overtaken vessel is supposed to maintain course and speed, the overtaking vessel is supposed to keep clear until well past. With regards to the wake, be courteous and reduce your wake when overtaking, you know your vessel and what kind of a wake you throw at what speed, so do your best to not bounce people around too much, if you can.

And if you can't overtake without making a big wake, maybe you shouldn't overtake in the first place !

[Cheechako]

On the more open, higher speed parts of the IC waterway I repeatedly had fast powerboats come up astern on a plane, then just as they reached my stern they tried to be polite by killing the throttle and idling past. I appreciated their effort and politeness, but frankly if they would have just continued at speed they wouldnt have effected me much at all. As it was, i was rolling severly from them stopping to idle past sending a big wave forward from a fast stop. Sometimes I think it's just too hard for everyone to predict what other's desire. I say just carry on at your pace and keep as much distance as is possible. Someone is always going to complain anyway.

"And if you can't overtake without making a big wake, maybe you shouldn't overtake in the first place ! " Yeah right.... I can see it now on a sunny saturday, all the nice rec boats are lined up single file heading to their marina.... all following the 20 ft sailboat at 3 knots.... uh huh... dont like waves? get a condo! Just kidding!

[psneeld]

Originally Posted by senormechanico

And if you can't overtake without making a big wake, maybe you shouldn't overtake in the first place !

While you are responsible for your wake in MOST but not ALL cases...that goes to good seamanship on BOTH parties...if you don't make a good pass possible you are just as guilty of POOR seamanship...and just as liable for any damages (50/50 rule).

[lorenzo b]

To be fair, almost all the ICW traffic in Louisiana is commercial barge traffic in narrow and shallow waters and the captains are totally professional. All other traffic gets out of their way, even if it means plowing into the soft mud bank, as they really cannot alter their course. I was tied up next to a tug boat captain for about a year as I was building my boat, and he was very helpful and a good friend. When I left I gave him a pretty J frame S&W 38 inspectors special as I did not want guns on my boat and he looked somewhat perplexed as he didn't want any guns on his. His only faults were his guitar playing and his outrageous bigotry, so I told him to give the gun to his 13 year old daughter as she would need it when she brought home her first black boyfriend.

[unbusted67]

Originally Posted by lorenzo b

To be fair, almost all the ICW traffic in Louisiana is commercial barge traffic in narrow and shallow waters and the captains are totally professional. All other traffic gets out of their way, even if it means plowing into the soft mud bank, as they really cannot alter their course. I was tied up next to a tug boat captain for about a year as I was building my boat, and he was very helpful and a good friend. When I left I gave him a pretty J frame S&W 38 inspectors special as I did not want guns on my boat and he looked somewhat perplexed as he didn't want any guns on his. His only faults were his guitar playing and his outrageous bigotry, so I told him to give the gun to his 13 year old daughter as she would need it when she brought home her first black boyfriend.

Ha ha ha that is awesome.

[Bill Lee]

I guess I was naive to think that there would be consensus on methodology. In a narrow pass I tend to slow right down to displacement speed to pass - this takes time but I think it's polite and possibly required (depending upon the wake and possible effect on other boats). A nice thank you wave from passed boats would be nice (although rare - but that's another thread). In more open areas I try and give more distance. On occasion, when a sailboat and I (heading in the same general direction) are vectoring in together, and they're NOT under sail, and they're the give way boat i look at whether they alter their course. Frankly, if they don't even alter a degree and expect me to do all the avoidance I tend to take the too bad, so sad approach and then I enjoy the rock and roll show. If they change vectors even a bit, il do what I can to avoid them. Maybe I'm not as polite as I first thought

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Bill Lee

... In a narrow pass I tend to slow right down to displacement speed to pass ...

Which is: bow down, stern up.
If you slowed as you reached my quarter, and I went to neutral; your "slow" pass would be quickly accomplished.
Thanks!

[senormechanico]

A friend of mine, a power boater recently told me of a collision course he was on with a sailboat which was motoring with no sails up.
Being on the left, the sailboat was the give way boat, but it became obvious he wasn't going to give way to my friend.
When they got within about 100 feet or so, my friend looked at the operator of the sailboat with a "what now, Captain?" look.
The sailboater pointed at his mast with a "You fricken fool, can't you see I'm a SAILBOAT??" look.
My friend decided this bozo needed a waking, so he punched it to pass the sailboats bow and let the guy rock and roll.

Good for him, and I'm a sailboater.

[sailorboy1]

I think lots of sailboats don't know the rules of the road for a power boat. I think alot of them leave their maindail u when motoring to cover for this this (if the prop is turninh you're a motor boat).

I admit to looking the rules up while underway the other day. Even though I have a never agrue with a bigger boat rule, which a good percent of time is me.

In fact I don't really think sailboaters know the rules under sail all that well. My closest calls have been standing on to another sailboat that never gave way.

[psneeld]

It is comical when fellow boaters complain about wakes that aren't much worse than what seas they would see on an open stretch of ICW...

Sure it's a little more uncomfortable when the wake is on the beam...but hardly dangerous if you have your boat reasonably secured for sea.

Yes... big powerboats should give room if staying on plane or plowing...more than a hundred feet or so and the wakes diminish substantially..... or the powerboat if passing closer should follow the neutral and go routine IF the sailboat/trawler follows the lead (which many times they don't).