how fast is to fast

[Anthony of the ARK]

i am as big of a speed demon as anyone when it come to being on a boat. but with mid sized center consoles being built with triple and quad 300hp motors that push them along at 60mph and some big custom sportfishers cruising topping out at almost 50 knots. how many boats are actually built to with stand the abuse of running at speed like that for extended periods time.

i mean people slow down when it gets rough but, what happens on those beautiful calm days when you can run at 40 knots on a big sportfisher and much fast on those rocket ships. submerged objects come up pretty fast at these speeds

the fastest ive been is 39 knots on a 56 viking. and i was thinking what it we hit a submerged log, rope, net etc. ive heard of struts being ripped out of the bottom of boats. remember the dream catcher during the WMO a few years back. and its happend to alot of people.

i guess im asking how much more risk are we taking running at higher speeds?

do builders, owners, captains take a hitting or running over something when buying a boat.

im not bashing or anything if i had a boat id push it as much as possible, but im young and dumb and like to go fast

[joeksr]

Had a 25' foot boat that would run over 40 knots.
On the rare occasion that I could run full out offshore I did.
Loved it.
Watch for what you can see and hope there aint nothin in your way that you cant see.
Can't leave the house afraid of whats out there.
So in answer to your question, Run as fast as the seas will allow. Its not nice to fool with Mother nature.
Just my .02.

[Deep C]

Speed does play hell with boats... Our one contender is a quick boat. Not lightning but quick. Fishing the Bacardir last year we had 75 miles of rough each way for four days of fishing and a traveling day... The hull stayed sound but the "stuff" all came un done. A coffee can full of screws and a couple tubes of 5200 to get her right... Oh yeah and some new electronics...
Worse than that though was the physical toll it took on us... Launching off 6 foot crap twice a day for 2 and a half solid hours each way left us so battered we could barely move... I was on the wheel for the trip and I was done at the end of each day. I couldn't even talk I was so hurt...

Actually ran over stuff at speed over the years and really wasn't much of an issue on most cases... Others ... Welll... I had a shackle bust once and I creamed my own anchor at 26 knots... You couldn't tell it was a prop back there on that side anymore...
A buddy nailed a 55 gallon drum of something and tore his wheel off... The previous year he tore a wheel off on a section of railroad tie...
Eyes open and screw the autopilot is my suggestion to those that want to go fast...

[Fritz]

I really don't get the need for speed. I mean come on-isn't the whole point of boating to relax, enjoy being on the water, enjoy the sights, etc. And I just hate it when I have some young guy that is under the new marriage contract watching his watch and trying to hint that we need to get home at a decent hour so his bride won't be mad.

And then there is the issue of the prop burn problem with the bigger boats caused by excess speed. Man those wheels aren't cheap.

Not me, unless its tournament time 25-30 kts is just fine. When I am out there, I am in no rush to do anything except catch.

[Spearfisher3122]

We run pretty fast when we are heading offshore to fish, especially in tournaments. The only time I want to sight see is when we are out cruising with the family. If we are fishing its balls to the wall until we get ot our first spot. The sooner you get there the sooner you get the first fish in the boat. Having that said I do agree that high speeds can get dangerous. We have had our boat up to 65 and that is fast. We usually run 50 or 55 unless we are in a tournament and in that case its wide open.

[DEEP DEFIANCE]

Speed does play hell with boats... Our one contender is a quick boat. Not lightning but quick. Fishing the Bacardir last year we had 75 miles of rough each way for four days of fishing and a traveling day... The hull stayed sound but the "stuff" all came un done. A coffee can full of screws and a couple tubes of 5200 to get her right... Oh yeah and some new electronics...
Worse than that though was the physical toll it took on us... Launching off 6 foot crap twice a day for 2 and a half solid hours each way left us so battered we could barely move... I was on the wheel for the trip and I was done at the end of each day. I couldn't even talk I was so hurt...

Actually ran over stuff at speed over the years and really wasn't much of an issue on most cases... Others ... Welll... I had a shackle bust once and I creamed my own anchor at 26 knots... You couldn't tell it was a prop back there on that side anymore...
A buddy nailed a 55 gallon drum of something and tore his wheel off... The previous year he tore a wheel off on a section of railroad tie...
Eyes open and screw the autopilot is my suggestion to those that want to go fast...

DEEP Cyou outta know better there are some serious contender owners on this site and they wont appreciate you selling your/there contenders short!!!ONLY wellcrafts should have to carry that 5200 around!!!!!LOL HAHAHA!

[FASTWATER]

I have seen what happens when your flying along in Fiberglass, a piece of plywood tore the bottom of a mako next to me clean off at the water line catapulted 2 guys abour 40 ft. out of the boat and sunk in about 5 seconds slowed me down for the rest of my life my bay boat does about 40 but I don't see anything over 30 period now! When I was young and foolish 50 was standard procedure but now my moto is "The faster you go The faster you go"!!!PEACE

[ncbillfisher]

Spencer yachts can take it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I worked on the MIMI and she is as fast as they get for a big rig. I have never seen anything faster Or better built (period!!!!!)!

[zar2754]

my nieghbor has the 38 jup with twin 350f's.

doing 45knts in an open boat is quite an experience, ill tell you that much.

wearing his pirate com headsets is pretty neat though!


the boat i usually fish on is a 33' blackfin flybridge, the cruise is 20knts, but it will do 20knts in almost anything

ill take comfort over speed any day !

[MoneyBiscuits]

One thing I kinda noticed about these threads, it all depends on the age. A kid with a boat is gonna run the shit out of it till he busts his ankles. Or untill he gets a very unwanted wake up call. We all slow down mostly as we get older

And you cant forget about money. Im sure you wouldnt mind breaking your arm for a few mil on that early bite or last minute marlin.. Right?