Tiny boat on Lake Erie, Unsafe?
 

My little boat is only a 15ft 4Winns open bow Catalina (Like the
current Horizon models). I would like to do some 'near shore' diving
on Lake Erie, no more than perhaps 1 mile off shore. Is this boat
just to damn small? Off course I am sensible enough to only go out
on a calm day.

I am thinking back all those years ago when I was only about 12,
and my family had a 22ft Trojan cabin cruiser at Conneaut Harbour,
and I felt that even the 22 footer was 'challenged' once off shore
a distance. I think I have seen bigger waves on Erie in a storm, than
I have at Virginia Beach.

"gudmundur" wrote
My little boat is only a 15ft 4Winns open bow Catalina (Like the
current Horizon models). I would like to do some 'near shore' diving
on Lake Erie, no more than perhaps 1 mile off shore. Is this boat
just to damn small? Off course I am sensible enough to only go out
on a calm day.

I am thinking back all those years ago when I was only about 12,
and my family had a 22ft Trojan cabin cruiser at Conneaut Harbour,
and I felt that even the 22 footer was 'challenged' once off shore
a distance. I think I have seen bigger waves on Erie in a storm, than
I have at Virginia Beach.


I grew up boating and sailing in Erie, PA, and I was in the North Atlantic
above 60 degrees in winter storms before I ever felt waves worse than Lake
Erie's. Erie's waves are so steep, that they can swamp or capsize almost any
small boat. More than a few times a year, boaters vacationing from
Pittsburgh bring their neat bass boats and other calm water fishing rigs up
to Walnut Creek (West of Erie), and die there. They fail to realize that
even if the rapidly changing conditions on Lake Erie don't take advantage of
their poor judgment, even the river and creek inlets just yards offshore can
become just as deadly in as little as an hours time. Diving alone from a
small boat is suicide anywhere, but just because there are no sharks G
doesn't make it a safe place to work alone. Many summer days Lake Erie can
be flat calm at 6am, uncomfortably choppy at 10am, have a line squall make
frightening wave heights from 1-2pm, and be nearly calm again by sunset.
Wave heights at the Mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia Beach by
comparison, rarely exceed 10' even in hurricanes, but it also rarely calms
from the sloppiest disturbed tidal current/wind patterns I have ever seen.
It just doesn't freeze-over here :-)

Jack
Virginia Beach

"gudmundur" wrote in message
...
My little boat is only a 15ft 4Winns open bow Catalina (Like the
current Horizon models). I would like to do some 'near shore' diving
on Lake Erie, no more than perhaps 1 mile off shore. Is this boat
just to damn small? Off course I am sensible enough to only go out
on a calm day.

I am thinking back all those years ago when I was only about 12,
and my family had a 22ft Trojan cabin cruiser at Conneaut Harbour,
and I felt that even the 22 footer was 'challenged' once off shore
a distance. I think I have seen bigger waves on Erie in a storm, than
I have at Virginia Beach.


Be aware of the weather and you will be fine.

gudmundur wrote:
My little boat is only a 15ft 4Winns open bow Catalina (Like the
current Horizon models). I would like to do some 'near shore' diving
on Lake Erie, no more than perhaps 1 mile off shore. Is this boat
just to damn small? Off course I am sensible enough to only go out
on a calm day.

I am thinking back all those years ago when I was only about 12,
and my family had a 22ft Trojan cabin cruiser at Conneaut Harbour,
and I felt that even the 22 footer was 'challenged' once off shore
a distance. I think I have seen bigger waves on Erie in a storm, than
I have at Virginia Beach.

We took our 24' Baja out on Lake Erie twice last year and had ZERO
problems and TONS O' FUN. Maybe we got lucky - both were excellent
weather days, minimal chop, and great tubing action.

We launched at Geneva On The Lake (Geneva, OH), never got out of sight
of the boat launch area, were consistently in 25+ feet of water, and had
two wonderful days with my brother's family.

As another poster said, keep your eyes on the weather and be prepared
for a quick getaway and you should be fine.


--
G.D.Smith
Harpers Ferry, WV

FOR SALE: 2003 Swee****er 22' Pontoon Boat
http://icanhelp56.homestead.com/gs_pontoon01.html

FOR SALE: 1999 Fleetwood Mallard 37' Travel Trailer
http://icanhelp56.homestead.com/Mallard001.html

Open bows any size are in trouble on Lake Erie, but a 15 ft. open bow
can't even take the wakes on the big lake, let alone the weather. A mile
out is open water, big boats will be at speed, throwng 3 and 4 ft.
wakes. Wear your swim suit and PFD if you go, you will need them.

"Jim P." wrote in message
...
Open bows any size are in trouble on Lake Erie, but a 15 ft. open bow
can't even take the wakes on the big lake, let alone the weather. A mile
out is open water, big boats will be at speed, throwng 3 and 4 ft.
wakes.

And those boats should not be passing so close to a stopped boat or one at
anchor to cause a 3 or 4 foot wake breaking into the boat.



Wear your swim suit and PFD if you go, you will need them.


You are exaggerating. You can see plenty of 15 and 16 foot boats out on the
Lake on any nice day, even ones with open bows.

"Jack Painter" wrote in message
news:zCr3e.73542$7z6.6962@lakeread04...

. Diving alone from a
small boat is suicide anywhere, but just because there are no sharks G
doesn't make it a safe place to work alone.

Probably a good point of view & experience for the original poster.

But I don't think he said anything about that he was going to go alone.

Alot of the time depending on where you are, there are so many boats
fishing that you have to take a big boat close, say 100 yards. That's
going to throw a pretty big wake at them. I've been fishing and rocked
pretty good, and I have a 36 ft. sedan.

gudmundur,
Isn't Lake Erie a bit shallow a mile off shore? What would you see,
sand, weeds? I've done a few dives in Lake Huron about a mile of
Lexington. There's a wrecked tug boat named the Sport that's at 60 feet.
Also a wrecked freighter named the Price that about the same depth.
Still found it rather boring but a good excuse to stay in practice and
wet. Crunching up zebra mussels and feeding them to the golbies was
about it. Visibility was about 20 feet, not the best.
Paul


gudmundur wrote:
My little boat is only a 15ft 4Winns open bow Catalina (Like the
current Horizon models). I would like to do some 'near shore' diving
on Lake Erie, no more than perhaps 1 mile off shore. Is this boat
just to damn small? Off course I am sensible enough to only go out
on a calm day.

I am thinking back all those years ago when I was only about 12,
and my family had a 22ft Trojan cabin cruiser at Conneaut Harbour,
and I felt that even the 22 footer was 'challenged' once off shore
a distance. I think I have seen bigger waves on Erie in a storm, than
I have at Virginia Beach.

"Paul Schilter" ""paulschilter\"@comcast dot net" wrote in message
...
gudmundur,
Isn't Lake Erie a bit shallow a mile off shore? What would you see, sand,
weeds? I've done a few dives in Lake Huron about a mile of Lexington.
There's a wrecked tug boat named the Sport that's at 60 feet. Also a
wrecked freighter named the Price that about the same depth. Still found
it rather boring but a good excuse to stay in practice and wet. Crunching
up zebra mussels and feeding them to the golbies was about it. Visibility
was about 20 feet, not the best.
Paul


Plenty of shipwrecks in Lake Erie:

http://www.alcheminc.com/shipwrck.html

Saw a lot of scuba diving on the north end of Kelley's Island over the
years, just east of the State Park campgrounds..

We are normally on Erie every other weekend or so through the summer.
You'd be out of your mind to take a 15' open bow boat out there.
The water can change in an instant from glassy smooth to swampers.

"gudmundur" wrote in message
...
My little boat is only a 15ft 4Winns open bow Catalina (Like the
current Horizon models). I would like to do some 'near shore' diving
on Lake Erie, no more than perhaps 1 mile off shore. Is this boat
just to damn small? Off course I am sensible enough to only go out
on a calm day.

I am thinking back all those years ago when I was only about 12,
and my family had a 22ft Trojan cabin cruiser at Conneaut Harbour,
and I felt that even the 22 footer was 'challenged' once off shore
a distance. I think I have seen bigger waves on Erie in a storm, than
I have at Virginia Beach.

"bomar" wrote in message
...
We are normally on Erie every other weekend or so through the summer.
You'd be out of your mind to take a 15' open bow boat out there.


Watch the weather and you will be safe. You are always provided with ample
warning (a change in clouds, wind picking up, etc) before a storm hits,
especially if you keep the weather channel on your marine radio. He is only
talking a mile or so off shore.

The water can change in an instant from glassy smooth to swampers.

More folklore than fact. Yes, the Lake can change from glass to whitecaps
in a short time, but it does not happen in an instant. There is always time
to react if you are paying attention.

I would not recommend taking that boat out, however, if there are whitecaps
or if a small craft advisory is forecast.

What can and does happen is that the lake changes so fast that the 5-10
min. trip out turns into and hour back and in an hour it can go from
glass to 3-4's. That and as I said before the wakes make it foolish to
take a 15 ft. boat out there to fish.

JimH,
Thanks, I bookmarked it.
Paul

JimH wrote:
"Paul Schilter" ""paulschilter\"@comcast dot net" wrote in message
...

gudmundur,
Isn't Lake Erie a bit shallow a mile off shore? What would you see, sand,
weeds? I've done a few dives in Lake Huron about a mile of Lexington.
There's a wrecked tug boat named the Sport that's at 60 feet. Also a
wrecked freighter named the Price that about the same depth. Still found
it rather boring but a good excuse to stay in practice and wet. Crunching
up zebra mussels and feeding them to the golbies was about it. Visibility
was about 20 feet, not the best.
Paul



Plenty of shipwrecks in Lake Erie:

http://www.alcheminc.com/shipwrck.html

Saw a lot of scuba diving on the north end of Kelley's Island over the
years, just east of the State Park campgrounds..

On Sat, 02 Apr 2005 04:21:43 -0000, (gudmundur)
wrote:

My little boat is only a 15ft 4Winns open bow Catalina (Like the
current Horizon models). I would like to do some 'near shore' diving
on Lake Erie, no more than perhaps 1 mile off shore. Is this boat
just to damn small? Off course I am sensible enough to only go out
on a calm day.

Whan I was a young boy in the Hamptons, I would take my 10' Sunfish
out in 8' breakers reguarly. Its more about the ability of the person,
than the boat.
--
Bush and the NeoConvicts who control him
are destroying the once-great United States.

Harry
Don't ever get around me. I will hurt you, ASSHOLE.

Harry Krause wrote:
Jim P. wrote:

Harry
Don't ever get around me. I will hurt your ASSHOLE.


Well, in that case, I'll keep it well covered.
You might prefer Tuuks.



Hee hee! You've got a future in 'stand up comedy' when you tire of
suffering the fools here.