How fast is too fast?

[cyclops2]

I almost ripped the head off of a Snorkel diver in the ST. Lawrence River in the main shipping channel.  Idiot pops up right in front of me. I instantly yank the wheel hard left at just under 30 mph. I am slammed against the hull side. AAAGGGHHH I am hurting a lot on my right side. I slow way down & recover. Go back where I thought I had hit him. He pops back up AGAIN. I motor over & he starts yelling I almost killed him. I yell back he has to have a floating diver in the water flag to warn boats to stay away. I call ALL the police & USCG to come & ticket him.  They do as he argues with them.  

[Trox]

 

[TnRiver46]

38 minutes ago, TroxBox said:

 

Hahahah Yee haw!!!!! 
 

I wrecked a few times driving too fast and didn’t have a scratch. I now drive slower than molasses, I’m scared haha. I don’t know how those racers do it, especially ones that have been hurt. Nerves of steel 

[cyclops2]

Sort of very true racing proverb. I know a couple of those people.

 

"" There are old racers. There are fast racers.

 

There are no old fast racers.

 

 My boat engine mechanic is living proof of broken back pain. Idiot racing owner of a boat flipped the boat while Dave is diagnosing a engine miss . Owner is fine. Dave is Helicoptered to trauma hospital.  

[Log Catcher]

Back in the 1990s B.A.S.S. had their tournaments and then had a speed contest afterwards. They set up some kind of course on the water and they all had to see who could run it the fastest. This was absolutely stupid since it had nothing to do with finding out who the best anglers were. I was glad when they did away with it.

[gim]

19 hours ago, TroxBox said:

 

One of my friends is a down hill ski racer and this is what he says about it.  He says you have to go borderline out of control down the hill in order to get fast times and have a chance at winning.  If he's in control, he's going too slow.  This will become evident next month during the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing.

 

As far as hauling ass in a bass boat, my Ranger RT178 will only do about 35 mph.  I find that about 28 mph is a nice speed that combines a comfortable RPM and fuel mileage but still allows me to be in full control.  Thats assuming there isn't much for waves on the water of course.  Boats don't have seat belts so if you hit something, you're going out.  Better wear that PFD and kill switch.

[Bankc]

About 6 mph.  At those speeds, my arms are paddling as fast as they'll go, and I'll run out of breath in about three minutes.  

 

Now, in a strong tail wind or swift current, I can get it up a bit higher.  I've been known to risk it all and push 11 mph on occasion!  But hey, you only live once, right?!

[cyclops2]

Boats are dangerous if you get tossed out. Why ?  because the wind or current WILL WILL take the boat away from you faster than you can catch up to it wearing a life jacket.  But if you have a rope tied around your belt & a solid part of the bow area ? That just keeps your hands & feet clear of the prop ?  Interlock pulls free. Engine stops. & you are still attached to the boat. You will find a spot to climb  back into the boat. It works...........If I always remember.  Tested it at fast idle with a friend. He was head shaking as I easily climbed back in using the O B motor as a ladder.

[PressuredFishing]

I don't like anyone going 60-90 mph near me for safety reasons, no matter how expert of a driver they are, thankfully most lakes here don't allow that.

[Way2slow]

Speed is about knowing how, when and where. That's gained with years of experience, and does not come with the boat, nor is it learned from a book or overnight.  

Like I said, I've have fast boats all my life.  My first was a 16' Allison back in the late 60's with two 135BHP Mercury racing engines.  Started with one engine, several months later, added the second.  No such thing as GPS back then but it was timed at 83mph.  Was trying for the record but came up a few mph short.  Back in the mid 80's I had a 15' ProCraft rated for 85hp with and 200 on it.  I have never owned a full size bass boat that was not over powered.  I even run a 25hp Mercury on my 1436 jon boat.

I've never had but one accident, and that was with that 16', In 1969 it hit something at full speed and as far as I know of, is still in 90 feet of water today.  The reason for that track record, I knew how to drive one, when and where it was safe to go WOT.  However, it was not a common thing for me to run WOT because of the amount of gas it took, but it was nice to be able to cruise at 50-60.

 

 

[FishTank]

Usually 30-40mph is where I am comfortable.  But most of the lakes after 11am are so full of boats, skiers, and wake boarders, you can't go anywhere too fast.  

 

The fastest I have ever gone in a bass boat was on one time joyride. I went about 65-70mph in a Ranger with a 300hp Mercury. It felt like I was going to die but it was fun.  Luckily it was first thing in the morning and the lake was like glass, otherwise it would not have been possible.  

 

[Skunkmaster-k]

If I’m by myself I will go ripping around, but most of my passengers don’t feel safe at 30 - 35 mph in my junky boat. 

[volzfan59]

23 hours ago, Log Catcher said:

Back in the 1990s B.A.S.S. had their tournaments and then had a speed contest afterwards. They set up some kind of course on the water and they all had to see who could run it the fastest. This was absolutely stupid since it had nothing to do with finding out who the best anglers were. I was glad when they did away with it.

I actually enjoyed watching those guys running bass boats on a closed course. It was pretty interesting how well the boats handled and what they got out of them.

[Trox]

Speed is relative to hull design and is almost 100% dependant on what the current conditions will safely allow (unless you genuinely don't care about safety)... 
For me, 60-65mph is a super easy cruise speed in calm conditions with little to no pleasure boaters. At that speed, there is no chine walk and the steering is still very responsive. From here, the closer I get to 70, the boat may start to pick up a bit and a small chine walk will become present. 70-75+ is when the chine walk requires true time behind the wheel and experience to control. Now, the important thing to note is that THIS IS HOW MY BOAT WAS DESIGNED TO RIDE. 

Now, remove those nice, calm conditions and add a few pleasure boaters and wakes into the mix, and the 60-65 that I previously mentioned turns into 50-55 in order to maintain the same type control, and the speeds will likely top out at 65 when it is safe to do so... 

Add some more wind and even more pleasure boaters, that 50-55 turnes into 40-45 with a 50mph ceiling, and so on... All speeds can feel "fast" in each condition.

 

Lastly, 65 on my boat is not going to feel like 65 on a different hull / prop type / boat not loaded properly / etc... There are so many variables that come into play with this topic, really, but the number one variable is the driver, and whether or not he is responsible enough to adjust his/her driving to the current conditions on the water and to not overpower their vessels, etc. 

 

But, in the spirit of the post, I believe that "too fast" is faster than the operator can safely handle a specific vessel given the current conditions...

[Log Catcher]

1 hour ago, volzfan59 said:

I actually enjoyed watching those guys running bass boats on a closed course. It was pretty interesting how well the boats handled and what they got out of them.

B.A.S.S. had 16 pros come to this area one time to fish three lakes in three days. I went to one of the weigh ins. After seeing what they did I felt pretty good about my fishing. One of them even said if he had to fish this area as part of the tour he would quit. Once they started running the race course I left.

[schplurg]

I've been in boats going 100 mph twice but I am only old enough to remember one of them. Ya, screw child safety back in the day!

 

First time was in a drag boat my Dad built. Flat bottom v-drive that was clocked at 106, on The Delta of all places. Not a good place for going that fast. He held me in his lap (I was less than 5) and the owner of the boat drove. He told me about this recently.

 

He'd probably be locked up for that nowadays haha. Heck I was probably completely over the level of the gunwale. Had to be. I don't remember it.

 

The second time was Trinity Lake in my step-Dad's flat bottom v-drive. I remember seeing the tach bouncing crazy between 8 and high 9s and thinking that was mph. I was still a kid. We were flat out though and the boat could go that fast.

 

That was a thrill but it was also scary as all heck for a few seconds. I'll never forget how low we were to the water and how frickin' fast it shot by us. We were almost flying

 

These were boats where if you sat in the back seat your legs were sharing space with the nice hot headers!

 

Edit to add: moral of the story, don't go that fast!

[Deephaven]

I have 4 props for my boat.  Will do almost 55 with one and the boat near empty but I am about to sell that prop.  Boat is setup to go mid 40's now with a load.  WAY better midrange and MUCH more fun to drive.  Sure I am a little slower getting places as it means my cruise speed is near 30 but it is more enjoyable in particular when you need throttle and bite to deal with wakes and waves.  My home lake has a ton of 40-50' cruisers so that is something I need all the time.  While more than 50 is fun in a tiller it just isn't useful.  So no matter the boat you get, set it up for how YOU need it to perform not someone else.  For me that is not top speed, but midrange and side image speed.

[gim]

@Deephaven do you have hydraulic joystick steering on your outboard?  My folks have a Warrior 2090 tiller with it and it comes in handy when its choppy and rough instead of manually holding the handle of the outboard all the time.

[Deephaven]

43 minutes ago, gimruis said:

@Deephaven do you have hydraulic joystick steering on your outboard?  My folks have a Warrior 2090 tiller with it and it comes in handy when its choppy and rough instead of manually holding the handle of the outboard all the time.

Yes, I have a Merten's system and a hydraulic jackplate.  Crazy to "let go" of the tiller handle and have the boat hold course.  Quotes are because I don't actually let go, but it is crazy how well it works.

[gim]

21 minutes ago, Deephaven said:

Quotes are because I don't actually let go, but it is crazy how well it works.

Haha, yeah I thought it was a scary joke when I saw my Father let go of the handle the first time in rough waves.  Its legit though.

[WRB]

i grew up racing boats at 12 a pumpkin seed w/Merc Hurricane (KG-7)10 hp. The pumpkin seed ran about 35 mph.

My dad and older brother raced for Merc & Yellow Jacket Boats. The 14’ was powered by 2 Merc 55’s turning 8K with 25% over drive Quick Silver direct drive lower units. The boat averaged 83 mph at Salt Sea 100 in the 60’s. The next boat was 15’ Yellow Jacket with Merc 75 raced tuned by Hubble, Quick Silver lower unit direct drive at 8K on air craft fuel also ran in the 80’s and more stable then the twin engine boat. I water skied behind this boat Long Beach to Catalina Island Avalon.

Raced 150 mph flat bottom drag boats and 200 mph A fuel cars, speed was always WOT.

I owned several 70+ mph bass boats over the years and know when and where to run fast.

Public lakes with recreational boaters isn’t a safe place to drive faster then it’s safe, you going to kill someone.

Tom

PS, I believe the quote was “There are bold drivers and old drivers but no old bold drivers”.

 

[WRB]

On 1/16/2022 at 4:28 PM, Log Catcher said:

Back in the 1990s B.A.S.S. had their tournaments and then had a speed contest afterwards. They set up some kind of course on the water and they all had to see who could run it the fastest. This was absolutely stupid since it had nothing to do with finding out who the best anglers were. I was glad when they did away with it.

That is the period ESPN owned BASS and thought all red nicks liked NASCAR so why not have the red nick bass anglers race their boats. Dark period indeed.

Tom

[Captain Phil]

5 hours ago, WRB said:

That is the period ESPN owned BASS and thought all red nicks liked NASCAR so why not have the red nick bass anglers race their boats. Dark period indeed.

Tom

 

Red "nicks"?  That's funny... almost choked on my coffee!  ?

 

[schplurg]

It's California-speak for red neck, kinda like staying in a cabin with cable TV and internet is California-speak for "camping".

 

Or to use one of my current most-hated terms, "glamping". Gawd I hate that word, and everyone who does it.

[cyclops2]

O K what is glamping ?