What are boaters great challenges? Narrow inlets with tides, sandbars, & ocean waves.

[Lake X Kid]

And Florida is prime proving grounds for all driver skill levels and equipment handling.

Haulover Inlet is not the only challenging passage in Florida.


https://youtu.be/LMHJKM60n2I

[Lake X Kid]

Another Florida inlet.

One moment your enjoying yourself, and then a skipper error turns into ...


https://youtu.be/SpSkWd_nRlo

[Lake X Kid]

https://youtu.be/d_Hdkt1_ivo

[Lake X Kid]

I will not be surprised if this skipper gets ticketed for not having enough life jackets on board, after being rescued.


https://youtu.be/TcnWi0l3afA

[Lake X Kid]

Sebastian Inlet a passage closer to my earlier Florida playground.


https://youtu.be/7GkE84aqYn4

[transomstand]

A little bit of seamanship would go a long way here.

Biggest boating challenge for me was trying to get my wife out of bed.:D

[Lake X Kid]

Florida keeps on delivering ... Boca Raton Inlet.


https://youtu.be/FEkWVX7jzbE

[XstreamVking]

Biggest risk factor/challenge I ever see is the sea fog. Some people just can't understand the reality of closing speed and reaction time not being on your side with very low visibility. Fast idle is as fast as I will go in the daylight hours. And preferably away from the channel. Fog at night, and forgetaboutit....I'm sleeping in the boat in very shallow water if possible for safety.
One example.....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STg90FnyVuc

[David]

How does one learn to drive a boat in those inlets? Spend time with someone who knows? Trial and error would be a hard way to learn.

[XstreamVking]

As a captain, I could maneuver my boat thru those inlets. Also as a captain, I would know when the risk is too great. Now if your outside the inlet and HAVE to return thru it then you prove your ability on that day. No guarantee you will make it if the waves catch you in the wrong position. To learn you have to do it. Having an experienced teacher would help but the whole game is reading the waves and water. No one can teach you that, it's intuitive. Split second decisions the whole way thru. Faster, slower, overtake the wave or ride it? Watch the charter operators, they can do it and make it look easy. their boats are going to be built to take waves and be safe.

[transomstand]

As a captain, I could maneuver my boat thru those inlets. Also as a captain, I would know when the risk is too great. Now if your outside the inlet and HAVE to return thru it then you prove your ability on that day. No guarantee you will make it if the waves catch you in the wrong position.

:iagree: Many of those people should have stayed at the dock.

[FUJIMO]

...big difference in water conditions on east coast of florida versus west coast of florida.

[mragu]

Biggest challenge for this boater is finding a fiberglass shop that can get the glasswork I need done��

[JBS]

One of the big factors we have up here in coastal Georgia is a 7-ft tide every 6 hours. Sometimes we have to run three or four miles out the channel before we make the cut to go into the ocean. Sandbars are everywhere around the river mouth. Makes for great fishing but unwise moves and get a boat grounded quick and then swamped

[TooStroked]

I work at a marina with almost 150 docks. Based on what I've seen over the past 30 years, docking is the biggest challenge for most of our customers.

[Lake X Kid]

I work at a marina with almost 150 docks. Based on what I've seen over the past 30 years, docking is the biggest challenge for most of our customers.

I have been at boat ramps from Florida to Tennessee, and Delaware to California.

Therefore I would suggest boat ramps would rival docking. At the ramps everyone starts out as a beginner, and it sometimes it shows humorously. And at the ramp it might be the first time they tired to backup a trailer.

[Scream And Fly]

I remember when I was growing up on Long Island all I would hear about is the horrors of the Jones Beach Inlet and how dangerous it is, so by the time I was old enough to go boating on my own I just had to see what this was all about. I remember so cautiously approaching the drawbridge to the inlet and on that particular day and time, it was slack-tide and the inlet was extremely calm. So I thought to myself, “THIS is that thing that every boater is supposed to be scared of??” Of course subsequent visits made me realize that it is definitely dangerous, especially in a 13-foot Boston Whaler :D

[Forkin' Crazy]

Yep, dangerous for sure. I remember a guy that got tossed off the flying bridge when it broached killing him. Jupiter I think where it happened.

[JBS]

I work at a marina with almost 150 docks. Based on what I've seen over the past 30 years, docking is the biggest challenge for most of our customers.

Along with the big tides we have in Coastal Georgia the current runs at about 5 or 6. Knots. that can't be real tricky when docking a boat. I've seen big sport fisherman get sideways and slam into boats tied up at the dock.

[LakeFever]

For the best boating experience you need:

1. An experienced captain
2. An experienced crew
3. A safe and properly rigged vessel


the combination of any two of those and your probably going to be fine. Drop to one and your in serious risk of a bad day coming out of nowhere and maybe ending your life. If you have none of those three? Make your peace with the world before you depart

[Forkin' Crazy]

Back to the question... I would say-

1. lake lice

2. wakeboard boats.

:D

[JR IN JAX]

My biggest challenges have been navigating between the giant rocks in the rapids when the water is low about 7 miles north of Branford on the Suwannee in the Aboat and the Jet Ski. We have had hulls torn open there. The next biggest is the 3' high rock shelf that runs all the way across the Santa Fe east of the Ichatucnee River during low water. The rapids keep Jack Barsh doing repairs on them every Winter.

[JR IN JAX]

One of the big factors we have up here in coastal Georgia is a 7-ft tide every 6 hours. Sometimes we have to run three or four miles out the channel before we make the cut to go into the ocean. Sandbars are everywhere around the river mouth. Makes for great fishing but unwise moves and get a boat grounded quick and then swamped

Years ago we traveled to Plum Orchard mansion on the north end of Cumberland Island. The Park Service would not let us tie up to the end of of the floating dock "just in case their ferry wanted to dock there" [it only came there every Sunday for the tour]. When we came back later my Hydrosteam Vector was sitting on a dry oyster shell bed 50' from the water. We had to wait at the mansion for hours for the tide to come back in....

[JBS]

I've seen that happen a lot Jr. Another big factor we have in Savannah is we have a very busy container port. When a container ship that is 1000 ft long comes up the river it puts out about a 10-foot bow wave. Boats that are not anchored properly will be washed up on the beach. Also meeting a big bow wave like that in a 20-foot Allison can be kinda touchy!

[JR IN JAX]

I've seen that happen a lot Jr. Another big factor we have in Savannah is we have a very busy container port. When a container ship that is 1000 ft long comes up the river it puts out about a 10-foot bow wave. Boats that are not anchored properly will be washed up on the beach. Also meeting a big bow wave like that in a 20-foot Allison can be kinda touchy!

Years ago my Wife and I each had one of my friend's pre-teen daughters on our two PWCs at Fort Clinch when one of the USN Boomer subs was coming into the channel. We hurried to get off the beach so we would not be stranded by the 8-10' wake [they had sank several bass boats with it]. We were well over 1000' feet from the sub and their MG armed escort threatened us for being too close to the sub. The escort also told us there was a Marine sniper on the sub's bridge targeting anything that close.

Several weeks later the USN Cole in the harbor to terrorist Yemen allowed a rubber raft with 1000# of high explosives up against the hull which killed 17 sailors. Isn't the Government wonderful, protecting our sailors from dangerous pre-teens/adults on distant jet skis.....

[JBS]

Here's another variable in the equation. Sometimes we have military ships and or dangerous cargo coming up the river. They are always prepared for any trouble that might come up. If you are in a fast boat you might be perceived as a threat and handled accordingly. Usually this means being pulled over by armed escorts.

[4Speed]

Other than boat insurance, people that can't back a trailer or those that feel the need to load their boat while on the ramp would be getting the wife off the pontoon boat and into the STV.

[Turtleherder]

Apparently my biggest issue in my old age is remembering to put the gd plug back in before backing the boat off the trailer and tying it to the courtesy dock. Did that twice last year with the fishing boat.

[CVX20SPRINT]

Been a long winter.Watched a lot of this on Youtube.