Duane writes: "I've let a ship pass as close as 100 yards. I never found the wakes of ships to be any worse that a swell and never bothered to try to surf them. Maybe someday I'll surf a bow wave like the dolphins do--just kidding!" I once tried surfing the propwash-stern wake of a tugboat pushing a heavy barge, but cant say it was much fun. The waves were certainly tall enough, but they seemed not to be going anywhere so I just toppled off of them or kind of broached without getting much of a ride. At least directly behind the tug I know I am not going to get run over! There's not much else to surf on windless days on the Hudson. Anyone else tried to surf tugboat propwash? --Karl Coplan *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
>Anyone else tried to surf tugboat propwash? >--Karl Coplan The best I've had was running up Tory Channel one afternoon, returning from a visit to the abandoned whaling station at the entrance. We noted one of the ferries approaching from behind us and sprinted to clear the point we were rounding and to give us some sea room to surf in. As it is a narrow channel we were moderately close, hard to tell how close to a 200(?) foot vessel (car/train ferry). The double took off nicely and Andy in an Arluk 3 did even better. The next day (still in Tory Channel) our group were discussing whether it would be possible to run down the middle of the fast ferry, a catamaran (we were joking weren't we?) when it appeared round the point in the distance. As we were to pass down the starboard side, the appearance, as it turned, of the port side, had us changing course a bit to port (OK we should have been on the other side of the channel to be "correct"). As the ferry approached she swung for the next bend in the channel and passed us probably a good 100 metres or more away. The wake which has been a great concern to residents due to the damage it has been causing for the last few years, rolled towards us as a long lazy swell, totally unsuitable for surfing on. It should be noted that at all times we were well clear of commercial traffic. Also just recently there has a been a bylaw passed which restricts fast ferries to a maximum of 18 knots in the Marlborough Sounds. Once clear and in Cook Strait speed is unlimited. The wake from the catamaran ferries does more damage than a normal single hulled ferries, possibly because there's a low/deeper "pressure" wave which, once it hits the shore causes havoc. Alex *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Alex Ferguson wrote: > [snip] The wake from the catamaran ferries > does more damage than a normal single hulled ferries, possibly because > there's a low/deeper "pressure" wave which, once it hits the shore causes > havoc. I've noticed that on the Columbia, also. There is a *small* tour boat (200-300 tons?) which runs the stretch from Portland, OR to the mouth of the River (ca. 150 km) that puts out more wake (sometimes) than large freighters. Watched some friends get swamped over a shallow bar one day. Pumped waves into their open cockpits and just sunk 'em. Funnier than hell! Maybe Winters understands this ... ? -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Dave wrote; > > I've noticed that on the Columbia, also. There is a *small* tour boat (200-300 > tons?) which runs the stretch from Portland, OR to the mouth of the River (ca. > 150 km) that puts out more wake (sometimes) than large freighters. Watched > some friends get swamped over a shallow bar one day. Pumped waves into their > open cockpits and just sunk 'em. Funnier than hell! > > Maybe Winters understands this ... ? Small ships operating at or near Froude number 0.40 can raise larger waves than larger ships operating at well below 0.40. (0.40 = S/L 1.34 in feet and knots). I prefer Froude number as it doesn't matter what dimensional system I use I always get the same number.) Tugs do this since they seem to operate at only two speeds - very slow and wide open. :-) Also cats seem to build up interference waves between the hulls. It seems to me that this would increase resistance but maybe I don't understand everything I know about it. I have seen some cats throw huge waves way out of proportion to their size and maybe it has to do with the boat operating at an inefficient speed range. Getting swamped on the shallow bar may have more to do with the depth than anything else. Waves really start to pile up and become more vertical as the water gets shallower than the critical depth and small waves get become gnarly and steep. Cheers, J. Winters *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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