Running up the east coast of Florida

[kerslaks]

When we ran the 280DA offshore anything over 2 to 3 feet was going to be at hull speed. Or it was going to be very exciting.

I am looking at the marine forecast for our run up from St Lucie to Jacksonville and wondering what sort of wave height will put me on the inside with the 390.

At what point do you think the waves offshore will make it too slow and too unpleasant for the 390 to avoid the Massive Manatee Migration. (the no wake zones :grin

 

[jff]

I'm sure this is very subjective, but having taken my 2005 390 around various parts of Florida personally my answer would be 4 feet max. Certainly not 6 feet. In fact I use the general rule of thumb that if the two numbers add up to more than 6 I avoid the outside. So 2-3 is okay, 1-4 is okay but 3-4 is not okay (adds up to 7 and means there could easily be some 5's or 6's). Even in my 48DA I don't go out in 6's - we have before (by accident) and everything was fine but a couple people got sea sick and a bottle burst out of our kitchen cabinet and cracked a piece of granite. Not worth it. To each his (or her) own but that's my take on it.

Regards,
Jason

 

[kerslaks]

That sounds about right to me. I like the >6 rule. Do you ever take the period into consideration?

 

[jff]

Yes, I think you need to take everything into consideration, not just the wave heights. Certainly other factors such as weather, period, overall conditions, tides, distance/fuel requirements, etc. need to be taken into consideration.

Regards,
Jason

 

[sprink56]

To me the go/no go is wind direction. If The wind is out of the NW as it is this time of year as a front passes or SW as it approaches...you are OK at 2'~4' out about 3~4 miles because the peninsula breaks the wind. If were getting it directly from the north or NE beyond 15 kts stay in.

Watch the weather and if it's good...head outside at PSL. If it is too uncomfortable you can duck back in at Sebastien Inlet or turn around and go back in at PSL.

I have made that run at 3~5 in my 390 with no problem at 18~20 kts.

Good Luck.:thumbsup:

John F