Many questions.

[Manypals.]

Hello all,
I have purchased a 1975 24 foot c and c this year.Love it! Went out for a cruise to the next town for an overniter.When I got up the next morning we had 3 meter swells.Is this too much for my lil yacht? Also, about halfway up the vessel,inside the cabin,under the seat,in the floor are 2 plug looking things,they are black and have wires coming out of them. Are they bilge pumps? Does this ship have bilges? The previous owner said she has no bilge pumps but Im not too sure as he was not as experienced in sailing.(they only cruised on the motor,twice).Anything else anyone could tell me would be fantastic. Thanks so much and the best to all.

[cruise]

The only black plug I have in my hull is the transducer for the depth sounder.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Manypals.

Hello all,
I have purchased a 1975 24 foot c and c this year.Love it! Went out for a cruise to the next town for an overniter.When I got up the next morning we had 3 meter swells.Is this too much for my lil yacht? Also, about halfway up the vessel,inside the cabin,under the seat,in the floor are 2 plug looking things,they are black and have wires coming out of them. Are they bilge pumps? Does this ship have bilges? The previous owner said she has no bilge pumps but Im not too sure as he was not as experienced in sailing.(they only cruised on the motor,twice).Anything else anyone could tell me would be fantastic. Thanks so much and the best to all.

I'd guess at least one of the plugs with wires could be a transducer for your depth gauge.

People have sailed around the world on 24' boats so a 3 meter swell is doable, but it would be nice if the swells were wide apart like in the ocean. It sounds though like you don't have a lot of boating experience so you may want to take it slow at first.

I have to deal with 7' - 8' swells on the lower Chesapeake Bay on occasion but the waves are close together and steep so you do tend to get wet. My boat is 27' LOA with 20' waterline.

Plus like the guy said below, for the waves to be this big in the bay, it's usually due to a weather event (Nor'Easter up here or a post cold front strong NE Wind) and the waves have had many miles to build up before hitting the shallows of the bay...

[Oliver L.]

Hi,

seems like you like to live dangerously...

A few things to help you out: Just about every ship has a bilge, since it's just the space beneath the floorboards where the water will accumulate. A bilge pump is a different thing, it would be placed at the lowest point of the bilge and would have a discharge hose that exits the boat above the waterline.

What you are describing sounds like the depth sounder and speedo fittings. The one for measuring the speed usually has an arrow which points toward the front.

Just curious: If I get significantly less swell while sleeping I am up and about, because I will worry about the anchor and it will be too rocky for a good night's sleep. Did you really sleep through a buildup like that?

...and then, obviously, the true answer to your first question is: As is true for most of us, your boat can handle far more than you can. So if you still feel comfortable, can sail the boat back to a safe harbor then it's not too much. Needless to say this depends greatly on your location. In the Med 3 m is lousy, because usually it's been blown up by strong wind close by and the waves will be very close to each other. In the Atlantic 3 m is much less problematic - until you get close enough to the beach to where they start breaking. Different story from then on...

Oliver

[Manypals.]

When I was 14 my best buds father brought home a 12 foot dory with a mast attached and a canvas sail.He wasnt home when we decided to take a shot at it. Didnt know there was supposed to be a keel.Boat was moded with a center box and drop in keel. We did the fastest circles anyone has ever done down the river.The whole countyside watching and holding their breaths.Good times. After a lesson and some practice we spent the summer sailing. 3 years ago I purchased a 1965 Fjay. This time I had an idea what to do my first day out. Spent every day i could the last 3 years on the Fjay and Ive been at the helm on a few larger ships under supervision since.This year brought the 24 c and c.In the smaller boats the rougher the water the bigger my smiles were!!! However Im not even in the same ballpark with the new boat and once again need to be schooled.Thanks guys.hahah

[Manypals.]

Hi guys,
After some research those are the depth and speed under the seat mid cabin.The boat is not equipped with a pump. Im waiting to return home with her as soon as the seas calm,its a lil stormy this week. Its to be expected here because we are in the atlantic.Shes in a safe spot in a protected harbour til then.We were almost to the entrance to the harbour when the seas got really bad so we didnt get the full feel of it but we did sleep thru it til morning.Its never as bad in the harbour as it is outside.2-3 meters were outside the break.Thanks again.

[mr-canada]

Swell scares you and makes you sick but depending on the period probably wont hurt you or your boat. Chop can throw you off your boat and high short period chop can damage your boat. Chop on top of swells can toss you about like a rag doll, make you sick, and trash your boat.

While your stuck in harbour google these terms for some reading about wind, waves, and how they are formed:

Fetch, wave, nm, chop, current

If you search for all of them at once you should find some great articles on wave theory and how to predict nasty waves. On the atlantic with winds blowing westward you can use the figures for unlimited fetch on the tables. Sidebar reading for you would be also reading how fetch, wind, and current interact creating nasty chop under the right conditions which youd want to avoid. A set of charts and learning how to read the current markings is also helpful.

If your laid up may as well do some learning. Personally i am not a fan of big waves on the water in my 26, because i mostly did lake fishing before getting an ocean boat. So i learned all i could to be able to as best as possible predict how they form so i can avoid them if possible, or at the very least, avoid uncomfortable points of sail.