Small boat handling characteristics

[Paul]

i think high sides are the way to go in small boats, that'll keep a lower center of gravity

High sides, means more metal higher up = higher COG.

I'd suspect rollover stability is probably a lot more about beam-to-freeboard ratio, hull-V angle, and number of strakes (if any).
I'd guess you want a high ratio, low 'V' and no strakes to reduce rollover.

[Brizz]

As a matter of interest did the offending hull have slipcoat or plastic?

[roland]

slipcoat

[V6]

I'm not qualified to comment on small boats, other than wishing I had one the many times I'v been stuck. However I have had a wee bit of experience with roll-overs:
On possibly my first Club run on the Ashburton River we had two boats roll - both full size boats & very experienced drivers too. When I flipped my own boat coming out of Lady Lake Stream, it happened just as fast as in that vid, with no warning.  The common theme seems to be alloy keel impact when turning in shallows & no sideways slide - the riverbed just grabs ya.
So regardless of hull size, I appeal for everyone to be careful out there and manage your risks - an embarrassing push is a lot less painful than a roll-over!

[iceman]

so in the interest of enlightening people of how quickly things go wrong in small boats, heres the accident video.
low speed,approx 40-50kmh,mistakes in judgment were made and ive learnt from them,kinda hard not to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_E-WAGgkPAU&feature=youtu.be

Bloody hell, that happened  quick   and it didnt look as you were that far off from hitting straight on.  I think im going to stick to deep lakes and wide deep rivers for the 1st decade or so.

[roland]

in a blink of an eye.

for a bit more reference this is the boat. see how low it sits in the water but how high out the boat we are.

[jetdesign]

Do you have the major dimensions??

[CBBR]

for a bit more reference this is the boat. see how low it sits in the water but how high out the boat we are.

i wouldn't think a bench seat would be the best idea for a adventure boat either

[roland]

Do you have the major dimensions??

sorry,dont have the boat anymore but it was a 3m.

[Eddie]

Is this the exact same boat?

http://www.nzjetboating.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=24247.msg177732#msg177732

Report from Karl's post attached.

[roland]

Is this the exact same boat?

http://www.nzjetboating.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=24247.msg177732#msg177732

Report from Karl's post attached.

yes,exact same boat. Ginxd or what!

[goatracing]

Seeing as how my names been mentioned here's some of my thoughts on small boat handling/driving

-bad boat design ,most of the small boats that are being built are to stumpy across the front and all the weight is to far forward , make the hull between 8 -12 degrees if you want to boat the shallow stuff - if there is not enough room in the hull for you and the motor/unit build a tunnel out the back to keep the weight as far back as possible

-the whole idea of a small boat is to have a SLOW PLANING SPEED and to be able to STEER QUICKLY as you pick your way through the small creek/rocks

-Where is the balance/turning point on your boat?-if you can turn your boat around in its own length from full noise its set up just right-if you are going up a creek and it starts to go nowhere you have to be able to flick it around in a very small area

-scale your boat down - it is a small boat after all ,keep it light weight and easy to push around ,keep the power of the motor in proportion to the size - do you really need a 300hp jetski motor for a 10 foot boat ? - I cant talk Ive just brought a GP1200 jetski as a doner for the next boat

-if you are going to boat shallow stuff all the time put PLASTIC on the bottom

-its no use building a small boat if it doesn't handle

-its not about how fast the boat goes ,speed wont help you pick you way through a rocky section but a slow planing speed and quick steering will - but you will need some power for the rapids

Like any type of boating in a constantly changing river whether you are in a big boat or a small one you really have to be looking well ahead and be on the ball all the time. -.There is a big difference between big and small boat mishaps-small boats just bounce over rocks but the river barges with all the extra weight just plough into things

its all about practice  - get the small boat and take it up the shallows,get stuck and have a push ,find out what it and you can do ,have a crack at some skinny stuff,try to go as slow as your boat will plane.

 accidents will always happen ,its just the luck of the draw -  we could be like the other 99.9 % of the population and sit in front of the TV and wander aimlessly around the shopping malls

 

[stu#71]

If you watch the video at 00:10secs you'll see the river has actually "run dry".  The physics of friction.

Hope no-one was hurt

[roland]

well said goat,im gonna stick to big boats for a while now.

[Dicko]

Well said Goat, exactly the type of info I was looking for, I think there is a real difference between Rolands boat and Goats.
Goats is definitely set up for what I call adventure boating, the green boat has a lovely paint job, not something you would want to take for a run up the Cascade river.
It's interesting to note that Rolands boat appears to be alot narrower than a 3.3m Attack Marine, I can sit three adults in mine on as bench seat and I also sit alot lower, my boat is about 1.5m wide.