One of the biggest problems many boaters face is wake management. Admittedly this is a very sensitive subject about which most boaters have their own opinion. Some boats traveling through a ‘No Wake Area’ merely reduce speed. This may work for some boats, but for others it appears to actually increase the amplitude of the wake. Why is this so? To begin with let us first look at the three basic types of boats when discussing wake or wave wash.
Full Displacement Hulls: This type of boat never climbs up out of the water no matter how fast it goes. This is usually a heavy large boat with minimum horsepower, (think Trawler). The faster it goes the more water it pushes out of the way and the bigger the wake it leaves.
Semi-displacement Hull, (also called semi-planing): These boats have hull designs and enough power to lift some of the boat above the water in order to go faster, (think Cabin Cruiser, or Sport Fisher, and some Houseboats. This usually reduces the first wake or Bow wake, but leaves a propulsion wake that can be quite excessive and frequently so far behind the boat that the operator is completely unaware of the wake he is leaving.
Planing Hulls: These boats at cruising speed frequently have 75% or more of the waterline above the water, ( think Bass boat), and leave a very small wake, at least when traveling in a straight line, although tight turns immerse the waterline and increase the wave wash.
Although all three types of hull can produce a damaging wake, it is usually the Semi-displacement hull type that most people associate with big waves.
How fast is too fast? A good general guideline for maximum speed with minimum wake is: Take the square root of the length of the waterline of the vessel at rest and multiply that by 1.2. The result is the speed in knots that most hull shapes should be able to move through the water with minimal disturbance as well as maximum energy and fuel efficiency. Multiply that by 1.15 to get the speed in MPH.
Example: A 25 foot waterline has a square root of 5, which when multiplied by 1.2 yields a 6 knot speed that this boat should be able to manage without creating havoc. Multiply this again by 1.15 yields 6.9 MPH. A 36 foot waterline yields 7.2 knots or 8.3 MPH. A 49 foot waterline yields 8.4 knots or 9.66 MPH.
ALL conventional boats, regardless of type, leave the smallest wake when cruising at full displacement, at speeds less than or equal too the above formula. That is the simple physics of hydrodynamics. Any more speed produces more wash, period!
Note: Catamarans and hydrofoils fall into another category.
Now the above formula applies only to perfect design and lines, for most boats, true no wake speed will be slightly less, with performance being adversely affected by load, draft, wind and sea conditions turning choppy.
Smaller boats that plane will leave a bigger wake at high speed than at displacement speed, however even then the wake can be much less than a full displacement or semi-displacement boat trying to full power above the waterline hull speed.
Bottom line, this is only a guideline, although usually pretty accurate, a boat operator needs to pay careful attention to the wake his boat actually produces. The best way to learn your boats wake signature is have someone else operate the vessel at different speeds while you stand on the shore or another boat at rest and watch your boat go by. Try different combinations to get the best idea.
All this not withstanding, while the rules state a boat operator is responsible for his wake, nowhere do the rules exonerate a vessel owner or a dock owner from being responsible for having a seaworthy vessel, or from building a dock or other waterside facility that is not appropriately suited for the particular environment. Along commercial waterways it is more common than not for dock permits issued by the U.S.A.C.E. to specifically state that it is the dock owner who is responsible for securing his dock and vessels moored there in such a way as not to be vulnerable to wakes from passing boats. In almost all scenarios there is at least a shared responsibility. Example: a canoeist who gets swamped on the Mississippi River by an up bound towboat is a victim of his own lack of experience and has little if any recourse through law.
However, remember being legally correct is not always good enough. The rules require a boater to depart from the rules if compliance will not avoid a collision or accident. When all is said and done, if you are in a hurry, take a plane or drive a car. Despite the rules, a lot of people on the waterway are recreational users that simply do not have enough experience to always be where they should be when they should be. When in doubt slow down to displacement speed, everyone can live with that.
Captain Mike Hosemann has been a licensed Master for 29 years during which time he has traversed most of the Mississippi system repeatably, most of the East Coast, Gulf Coast and parts of the Northwest Coast. He also spent several years as head supervisor at J&B Packet Company overseeing the construction of two 150 passenger boats as well as a 500 passenger boat. He is a qualified marine surveyor as well as a Class II audio gauge technician certified to do ABS hull examination. Together with his brother, he operates Hosemann Marine, a crewing, delivery and consulting firm that also conducts draft surveys for the towing industry. Hosemann Marine has operated a wide variety of boat designs, including paddle wheelers, cruisers, towboats, sport fishers and luxury Yachts. For the best care for your boat, call Hosemann Marine. For general marine services go to http://www.Hosemannmarine.com.
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