wrote:

I have a low transom on my work skiff, and it is wide too. That's
helps when bobbing in the surf for sure. For those of you who have not
seen it, here are some pics.
www.yaimkool.com
I have been watching my transom a lot since all of these discussions
and with all the wakes and such, the wide transom keeps it floating
pretty high, even in a following sea. The only water I take in is
splash off the bow, square chines, and slight rake make this a wet
boat going into the wind and sea, it would take something to take
water over the sides though.



It's really only an issue for inexperienced boaters and the usual snots
here trying to get the kind of rise from the newsgroup they can't get
from their own equipment.

When I was a little kid I used to go out fishing several mornings a week
in the summer with an old man who lived in the cottage next to ours at
the beach. He had a 12' skiff with a 15" transom and a 3 hp Evinrude.
We'd go four or five miles out into Long Island Sound to one of his
"spots," where we'd haul in a bunch of porgies and the occasional
striper. Sometimes the Sound was flat as a pancake and sometimes it was
choppy to rough. I don't recall ever seeing water come in over the
transom. Like your boat, though, it was a wet ride.

Some of the most common boats in Florida are Carolina Skiffs. They're
everywhere. Low transoms, low sides, wet rides, but perfectly safe, even
offshore, in the hands of experienced boaters.

On Wed, 05 Sep 2007 10:06:16 -0400, HK wrote:

Low transoms, low sides, wet rides, but perfectly safe, even
offshore, in the hands of experienced boaters.

I'd modify that statement to read "lucky boaters" rather than
"experienced boaters". The people who get into trouble are those
unfortunate enough to find themselves stern to a breaking wave. That
could happen from inexperience but more often from bad luck: The
engine fails at an inopportune time; the boat gets snagged on a
lobster pot or crab trap in the middle of a tide rip; a large wake
comes in from a different angle than the swell; etc., etc. These
things can and do happen to anyone. It is true that an experienced
boater is more likely to recognize a dangerous situation and avoid it.
After that it's luck.

Wayne.B wrote:
On Wed, 05 Sep 2007 10:06:16 -0400, HK wrote:

Low transoms, low sides, wet rides, but perfectly safe, even
offshore, in the hands of experienced boaters.

I'd modify that statement to read "lucky boaters" rather than
"experienced boaters". The people who get into trouble are those
unfortunate enough to find themselves stern to a breaking wave. That
could happen from inexperience but more often from bad luck: The
engine fails at an inopportune time; the boat gets snagged on a
lobster pot or crab trap in the middle of a tide rip; a large wake
comes in from a different angle than the swell; etc., etc. These
things can and do happen to anyone. It is true that an experienced
boater is more likely to recognize a dangerous situation and avoid it.
After that it's luck.


Gee, whiz. I've been "stern to" to breaking waves in small boats for
decades. Typically, the breaking wave lifts the transom of the boat then
sets it down. Under some circumstances, and not often, I've gotten a
bit of water over the transom and on the deck that drained right out.

I've seen more slow-moving trawlerbarges and sailboats get into serious
trouble trying to run inlets than I have small, low-transomed boats get
pooped. I've seen more trawlerbarges and sailboats run aground and holed
than I have seen or heard of small, low-transomed boats get pooped.

Sorry, it's simply not something I or any other experienced boat
operator worries about very much.

Wayne.B wrote:
On Wed, 05 Sep 2007 10:06:16 -0400, HK wrote:

Low transoms, low sides, wet rides, but perfectly safe, even
offshore, in the hands of experienced boaters.

I'd modify that statement to read "lucky boaters" rather than
"experienced boaters". The people who get into trouble are those
unfortunate enough to find themselves stern to a breaking wave. That
could happen from inexperience but more often from bad luck: The
engine fails at an inopportune time; the boat gets snagged on a
lobster pot or crab trap in the middle of a tide rip; a large wake
comes in from a different angle than the swell; etc., etc. These
things can and do happen to anyone. It is true that an experienced
boater is more likely to recognize a dangerous situation and avoid it.
After that it's luck.

Based upon the amount of time Harry has spent boating in the last 15
yrs, I would not consider Harry experienced.