- Joined
- Aug 11, 2020
- Messages
- 576
- Reaction score
- 188
- Points
- 43
- Age
- 39
- Location
- Mid Atlantic
- Model
- Chase
not much of a point to this thread other than to share some fun times on the Grady
a couple weeks ago i took the family from North East, MD down to Baltimore. It was a bit choppy on the way down, but not bad. once in the Patapsco it flattened out pretty good since there is almost no fetch for a S or SW wind. it was cool to come into Baltimore for the first time in 20 years. my dad and i would do annual cruises for my birthday and Baltimore was always the first stop. we could walk to Camden Yards to catch an Oriels game, go to the MD science center, and eat at any of the open-air restaurants. there is also a nice observatory on the 28th (i think) floor of a Baltimore world trade center building and the aquarium. for this ride we never docked, just went in, looked around, and headed out. it was a cool experience for my wife to be in that built up of an area since most of the boating we do is just wooded shoreline. definitely a different feel and experience
coming out mid-afternoon, the wind had really picked up, probably a bit over 20 kts. for anyone that is familiar with the upper Chesapeake, they know this makes for a very short period wind wave. at the mouth of the Patapsco and just into the bay there was the worst with solid 3 footers at 4 seconds. coming out were right behind a WC that i would guess was around 29 to 32 ft. i got up on plane and passed him when the no-wake zone ended. not long after, he passed me back, still in the river. it was a bit rougher there and he passed me very slowly which really gave me a chance to watch how it handled the chop there (maybe 2ft at that point). he did have people in the front, but i could tell that they were getting bounced around a bit and were likely having to hold on. still impressive to have people riding in the front. as it got rougher still (getting int the 3 footers), he slowed and i was able to keep my speed and i passed him. the wife and little one were in the back on an ocean tamer (definitely a must have for rough water) and my older one was on the leaning post with me (facing rearward holding on to the rod holders, her favorite spot). we were taking a good bit of spray with the quartering sea and wind off the starboard side. it was kind of fun going back and forth with another boat in rough conditions (something my previous boat wouldnt go out in), and "beating" the other boat. that being said, im sure the WC could have walked away from me if he really wanted to.
even though we had a lot of up and down movement, we never really pounded much at all, maybe 5 or 6 times in the hour + period of rough conditions. im learning that this hull is very responsive to the engine trim and can get the bow down and soften the ride pretty easily just with trim. we were definitely getting soaked (no canvas) running in a following quartering sea with a stiff wind off the starboard stern (waves running N, wind out of S, and NE heading). decided to try to run through the trough and take the waves straight on the beam to avoid throwing spray. this worked great and i made it to the east side of the bay, then turned N and had the wind at my back. with the straight following sea and wind, we had lots of spray and but stayed dry. it was a lot of fun
the more i learn this boat in rougher conditions, the more i am impressed with it. i know it will not run 40+ skipping on top of 4 footers like a big contender. thats not what i need. i need to be able to run comfortably and safely with my family between 20 and 30 in 3 footers and thats exactly what it did for me. i also learned that fuel usage goes way up when running in rough conditions, which makes sense. time for another 130 gallons to go in.
pic of the family in the Inner Harbor
a couple weeks ago i took the family from North East, MD down to Baltimore. It was a bit choppy on the way down, but not bad. once in the Patapsco it flattened out pretty good since there is almost no fetch for a S or SW wind. it was cool to come into Baltimore for the first time in 20 years. my dad and i would do annual cruises for my birthday and Baltimore was always the first stop. we could walk to Camden Yards to catch an Oriels game, go to the MD science center, and eat at any of the open-air restaurants. there is also a nice observatory on the 28th (i think) floor of a Baltimore world trade center building and the aquarium. for this ride we never docked, just went in, looked around, and headed out. it was a cool experience for my wife to be in that built up of an area since most of the boating we do is just wooded shoreline. definitely a different feel and experience
coming out mid-afternoon, the wind had really picked up, probably a bit over 20 kts. for anyone that is familiar with the upper Chesapeake, they know this makes for a very short period wind wave. at the mouth of the Patapsco and just into the bay there was the worst with solid 3 footers at 4 seconds. coming out were right behind a WC that i would guess was around 29 to 32 ft. i got up on plane and passed him when the no-wake zone ended. not long after, he passed me back, still in the river. it was a bit rougher there and he passed me very slowly which really gave me a chance to watch how it handled the chop there (maybe 2ft at that point). he did have people in the front, but i could tell that they were getting bounced around a bit and were likely having to hold on. still impressive to have people riding in the front. as it got rougher still (getting int the 3 footers), he slowed and i was able to keep my speed and i passed him. the wife and little one were in the back on an ocean tamer (definitely a must have for rough water) and my older one was on the leaning post with me (facing rearward holding on to the rod holders, her favorite spot). we were taking a good bit of spray with the quartering sea and wind off the starboard side. it was kind of fun going back and forth with another boat in rough conditions (something my previous boat wouldnt go out in), and "beating" the other boat. that being said, im sure the WC could have walked away from me if he really wanted to.
even though we had a lot of up and down movement, we never really pounded much at all, maybe 5 or 6 times in the hour + period of rough conditions. im learning that this hull is very responsive to the engine trim and can get the bow down and soften the ride pretty easily just with trim. we were definitely getting soaked (no canvas) running in a following quartering sea with a stiff wind off the starboard stern (waves running N, wind out of S, and NE heading). decided to try to run through the trough and take the waves straight on the beam to avoid throwing spray. this worked great and i made it to the east side of the bay, then turned N and had the wind at my back. with the straight following sea and wind, we had lots of spray and but stayed dry. it was a lot of fun
the more i learn this boat in rougher conditions, the more i am impressed with it. i know it will not run 40+ skipping on top of 4 footers like a big contender. thats not what i need. i need to be able to run comfortably and safely with my family between 20 and 30 in 3 footers and thats exactly what it did for me. i also learned that fuel usage goes way up when running in rough conditions, which makes sense. time for another 130 gallons to go in.
pic of the family in the Inner Harbor
