Posts: 199
Location: Sandusky, OH | Well, lambeau, if you insist....LOL.
I think a good big-water muskie boat is all about compromises. A long, narrow boat with a deep V will ride great in rough water, cutting through waves and spanning across several wave peaks at the same time. But when you stop to fish, that same narrow boat will be far less stable than something with a larger beam, not tippy, but subject to more wave-induced rolling. Not great for casting or drifting. A boat with a wider beam is very stable at rest, but has more surface area on the hull bottom to impact against the next wave. So, alot of 20-21' multispecies boats on the market today have a beam around 95" as a compromise; some, a little wider (like the 100" beam on the new Starcraft boat), some smaller (like the 90" beam on the Tuffy 2060). I spend a lot of time in my buddy's Stratos 21MSX with 95" or 96" beam; I'd really like to take a ride in the Tuffy someday, because the narrower beam interests me for running on Erie.
Another thing I get uncomfortable with is the label 'deep-V' in multispecies boats. With big lake boats, anything with less than 20 degrees of deadrise isn't really considered deep. The higher the degree of deadrise, the more angle the hull has from centerline to gunnel, and the better it slices through waves, thus softening the ride. On the other end of the spectrum are boats like the Lund Alaskan or Crestliner Canadian, where the deadrise is closer to 10 degrees. (Well, I guess the real opposite end would be a true flatbottom boat with zero deadrise, but these aren't really considered big water boats anyway.) Most of the typical multispecies boats come in around 15-17 degrees, again, another nice compromise. Some hulls, like the big Yar-Crafts and Tuffy Rampage, use sponsons on the edges of the hull to create stability at rest with a deeper V.
And there must be many more factors involved in big water ride. I've been using a new 30' boat with an 8.5' beam on the lake lately; its a welded aluminum hull with 20+ degree hull, twin mercruisers, a really nice work platform. This vessel is phenominal in a trailing sea (ie running with the waves); even in 4-5' waves it is very comfortable. But it really slams when running into waves over 2', to the point of headaches and aching muscles after any kind of a run, and that is with spring-suspension seats. Our old boat was a 25' Boston Whaler; that heavy glass ride was much softer heading into the waves, and it helped to have to stand or lean at the seat to drive, where your legs could absorb a lot of the impact. But it was not comfortable to work off of, and the twin 150s weighed the rear down enough to take water over the stern; self-bailing hulls are great, but it is discomforting to see 6" of water in the rear of the boat.
I've probably rambled on too much, so thanks to anyone who stuck with me this long. I clearly have a preference to glass boats, but realize aluminum has it's advantages in certain environments. Maybe someday, we all can have one of each!
Eric |
