Another boat wreck

[Brian Ruthman]

I was talking to my friend and he was fishing a tourney this last Sunday 100% bass and he told me he wrecked his boat !! I was kind of shocked when he told me that , he has a Bass Cat that is only a couple of years old , apparently he was making a turn and hit a wake (nothing he would be concerned about) , next thing he knew the boat made a 90 turn instatantly from the middle of the channel straight toward the bank , he had no control or way to stop the boat it happened so fast . The boat hit a big rock shot into the air and threw his partner out of the boat and filled the boat with water . He has been driving boats for a long time and is a very safe person , and isnt the type of person who runs wide open and thrashes on his equipment .
They didnt get hurt much and had all their PFD's and kill switch on and such . They were very lucky it could have been way worse if they would have hit one of the cliff rock banks .
It seems to me that this is the same sort of thing that happened to Gary minus the hitting of the rock .
I know my friend has one of those jack plates that raise the motor up and down , could this have been a factor if it was raised too high ? He thought the prop came out of the water slightly while going over the wake and because of the motor height it caused the boat back end to walk across the water as the prop came back into contact with the water causing the boat to make a vilolent turn toward the bank . Is this possible ?
Just looking for some answers so maybe it doesnt happen to anyone else in the future , there has to be some sort of explanation .

[Slippy]

i put my boat on the rock about 3 years ago doing the same thing.

[CN]

And all three were on the Delta?

[Josh St.John]

The further out of the water your prop is the more unstable it is, This is even greater if your turning at high speeds, I use my trim a lot through out a run, If I am makeing a hard turn I trim down, If I am heading towards a wake, I trim down. Think of what fins do for a surfboard without them It would not work, the board would slide out from under you, Your boat is really just surfing a wake when you are parallel to it. The faster boats get the more aware we need to be. How much time are you really going to save by going that extra 5 to 10 miles per hour? Is it worth it? I like going 70 in my boat just as much as everyone else does, just be smart about it.My 2 sense
Josh
http://wiredangler.typepad.com/wiredangler/

[Josh St.John]

One thing I forgot to mention that happens on the Delta specificaly is that once the wake hits the rip rap they bounce back and hit each other, this can cause an uprising that could lift your boat higher out of the water even at slow speeds

[TonyL]

I bought my boat from The Wolfeman , knowing this was my first
"bassboat" he took me out ta the Delta , gave me a short / sweet lesson on everything from trailering to manuevering the boat , lucky for me everything stuck , he's a good teacher I guess.One of the simple points was "goin straight,no issues trim up , find the sweet spot , gonna turn , trim all the way down before going into the turn thats your anchor on the turn".This short / sweet lesson has kept my son/I safe ever since, it seems I reference some part of that lesson on every outting.For this I'm thankful.
What's up Rick!!!!!

[Mike]

i put my boat on the rock about 3 years ago doing the same thing.

And you want me to fish with you!!

[Brian Ruthman]

No my friend wasnt at the delta he going throught the narrow canyon section at Don Pedro .

[Josh St.John]

( he was making a turn and hit a wake (nothing he would be concerned about) ) ?
I think a lot of people should re examin what there concerns are as far as safety on the water. And if you F#%^ up, man up to it.
I am not trying to start a fight just proove a point, Maybee some people are not as safe as they think they are.
Josh
http://wiredangler.typepad.com/wiredangler/

[Brian Ruthman]

The wake he said was no different than any other wake he has went over thousands of times . I have ridden with him and he is a very good boat operator , someone i have always felt safe riding with . I mainly was asking about the boat motor height if that is what might be causing the boats to do this ? Is there a max height the motor should be raised up to when running ? My boat has a fixed height with a 4" setback plate so nothing like this has ever happend to me , raising the motor up and down sounds like a good idea but maybe it isnt .

[longshot]

I had asked the ? about this exact thing acouple months ago and got hammered like i was an idiot!!!
I took allot of guys advise and have done allot of solo trips during all types of weather and conditions. The more you trim the faster you go (duh) but the less control of the boat you have.
I only trim when going straight and always trim down to take turns ect.
We like to go fast thats fun but maybe taking for granite that these are dangerous high performance machines.
Be safe first!!!! L.S.

[LEN B]

No my friend wasnt at the delta he going throught the narrow canyon section at Don Pedro .

Last month I hit something same place 55 mph, cost me a new prop. Sat I talked to someone that said he hit a piece of plywood, almost did a end over same place, You never know.

[catn2004]

It sounds as if too much of the prop came out of the water. Similar thing happen to me twice. First time by myself run north above Tower Park around 65 going around a turn when the back end sudden fishtailed. The 2nd time was Clear Lake when I cross another bass boat's wake. Until it happens to you it's hard to believe the g-forces that are generated. The 1st time it threw me out of the seat across the boat until I hit the other side. I seriously thought I was going overboard. The 2nd time my passenger ended up in my lap.

I called the manufacturer to find out what I did wrong. I have basscat with a 250 and a hydralic jackplate. They knew exactly, I had the engine to high. Going into a turn or across a wake the boat slows dropping the front and too much of the prop comes out of the water and the backend begins to walk across the water causing abrupt changes in direction.

To this day I still have difficulty believing the g-forces generated.

[optichamp]

And even without a lot of wind, you can suddenly hit a big wave at anytime.

If you'ever been to Clementine, near Auburn, it's quite small, I think they only allow 25 boats at a time on the water. I was out with friends in their Ski Centurion, stopped and getting ready to drop one kid in the water to wakeboard, when two other boats made slow turns nearby. Their wakes merged, and I look up to see a wave that's coming at us broadside, maybe a foot above the gunwhales. It breaks over the side, and we have water pouring in the boat as we frantically cover up cameras and cell phones. No one hurt or damage done, but three or four inches of water are standing in the boat. Luckily the bilge pump worked fine, so we were ready to ski again in a few minutes. No one could believe it happened on such a small lake.

I can guarantee you, if a bass boat on plane were to hit that mini-rogue wave it would have been launched, and maybe flipped.

I love that "Magic carpet ride" feeling where a good boat is just loafing along at 55-60 mph, just eating up water. Have no illusions, however, you better not try that if there are big wakes around