[EarToTheWater]

Originally Posted by McGillicuddy

Out west (CA)I feel pretty comfortable in a 20 Seafari with a 300 lb 20" motor. An extra 100 lbs not so sure....But a 25" transom is a no brainer and a splash wall around the splashwell is a definite plus. My Seafari 20 handles 2-4' mixed-up slop fine, and even better if the if the form is consistent. But come 3' at 18 knots in mixed up seas, and you're doing X-Games tricks. And while she lands pretty softly, and you don't always know if you'll land in the same direction you were going. I call that enrolling with nature. In a CC these same conditions would definitely give a bit more pucker factor.

Not sure if this is what Beaver was thinking of but, here you go:

Thanks for hunting that photo down! 3' didn't sound like a big difference but judging from that photo it's a big 3'!

Originally Posted by 76Red18

I think the t top on my 18 is it's most limiting attribute. In a windy enough situation and caught in a trough, she would broach for sure. An 18 or a 20 with no top, an enclosed transom or splash board, properly designed scuppers, a light motor and load would be hard to stop.
You can't push the open transom issue enough...probably the factor that led to the recent tragedy. That 18 had an open transom with no board.

Thanks! Those TUUCI umbrellas seem like a very nice compromise! The light motor seems like it would be second in priority only to fully enclosed transom. Ability to plane at low speeds 12-13 adds alot in terms of seaworthiness imho.

Originally Posted by cdavisdb

Low transum is a major factor I wasn't thinking about, CC too. I guess it depends on the individual twenty. A Seafari with a full transum or good transum box is pretty hard to stop. I would not have hesitated to go offshore in a 4 ft forecast(when I had younger kidneys), unless I was forced to run a long way straight into it. Thats not a seaworthy issue, much more my kidneys.

I guess the real danger is either sticking the nose into a sea( in a CC) or taking a big one over the stern in any 20. Seems like either is unlikely for a competent skipper, at least in wave heights (face height) of 8 ft or less. But Moose has a point. It can change real fast, especially on the Florida west coast. Big afternoon boomers can generate some incredible steep waves in very shallow water, and very fast.

Steepness matters much more than wave height. I took a big one all the way over the stern of my 25 I/0 in an inlet, but I was doing something really stupid. The same height wave offshore would have been a non-issue.

Thanks! West coast Florida drives me crazy its like driving in a shook up soup bowl! For some reason I keep going back though must be Boca's blue waters! If I ever have kidney stones I'll make the run in those kinda seas seems cheaper than payin a doctor to break'em up with ultrasonic waves

Originally Posted by bumpdraft

Agree, steepness and interval mean more to me than wave height. Now, I generally wait for 1-2 feet. I didn't use to worry about going out in 6 ft seas in my 18' and sometimes higher when I was younger. I got to the inlet one time in my 23' cc when it was only 2-3 feet offshore and there were standing waves in the middle of an outgoing tide, full moon. The waves were a good six ft from top to bottom and the bow was into one wave before the stern was off the other one. About two feet of the wave came in, hitting the console and putting a good deal of water on the deck. It may have been better in that instance to not have a splash well door. I think, with enough power, I could have got the 18's bow up enough to go over, instead of through the second wave.

Thanks! Did that happen heading out of Sebastian?