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Best Settings for Choppy Waters


cmargosi

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Hi All,

I boat regularly on Lake Geneva in Wisconsin and when the wind whips up and there's a lot of boat traffic, the chop can get kind of nasty.  I have been playing with settings on the boat to try and combat the chop including moving the wedge and putting some ballast in the tanks.  What do you guys find work best.  I have a 2019 23 LSV, for reference.

I know the obvious answer is to upgrade to a 2022 25 LSV or M220, but let's assume that we aren't going to that extreme...yet.  If new boats were more available, that might be an option, but not ready to trade what I've got without an immediate replacement.

Thanks in advance for the help!!

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I also boat on a lake that can get pretty whipped up.  I fill the center tank and use the lift mode on the wedge, seems to work pretty well.

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I usually fill the bow tank full and the center about 1/2 and we rarely cruise more than about 18 mph when it's rough... (I am in an 07 21' VLX) our lake can get pretty rough too on the big water, so we just go slow... 

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I find that just using wedge in lift mode helps quite a bit, when boating in choppy water. I created a preset  with wedge in lift and cruise set at 20. When water is rough with rollers and wind chop, I will use lift and no cruise control and keep speed under 20mph. I have been using lift more frequently as I find I really like the way it practically eliminates bow rise. 

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6 hours ago, TaylorM said:

I have been using lift more frequently as I find I really like the way it practically eliminates bow rise. 

Same

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This is helpful for me.  We typically just run slower as we are on a big choppy lake as well.  I typically just set the cruise at 18 and roll through them.  

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12 minutes ago, Five Cent Worth said:

This is helpful for me.  We typically just run slower as we are on a big choppy lake as well.  I typically just set the cruise at 18 and roll through them.  

Me as well.  I do have a cruise setting that I saved which keeps speed around 26 MPH with full bow ballast and it helps tremendously.  This is great for moderate chop.  In heavier chop, I'm going to try the using the wedge in lift mode as suggested prior in this thread.  Seems like a great idea.

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57 minutes ago, Slayer said:

Me as well.  I do have a cruise setting that I saved which keeps speed around 26 MPH with full bow ballast and it helps tremendously.  This is great for moderate chop.  In heavier chop, I'm going to try the using the wedge in lift mode as suggested prior in this thread.  Seems like a great idea.

In my 25 it helps very little and adds a few hundred rpm to cruise speed.

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13 minutes ago, Sparky450 said:

In my 25 it helps very little and adds a few hundred rpm to cruise speed.

Good info.  

On our '17 VLX I found the best cruising to be about 26-28 with bow ballast full in moderate chop.  The new 23LSV is so much better in the chop than our VLX was.  When I was at Norris a few weeks ago, in the areas where there's a lot of traffic I was running about 26 with full bow ballast in moderate chop and it was pretty smooth considering the conditions.  There were a few rollers where I had to drop to 20, but it was good.  I'm digging the 2805 prop on the 23 though!!  It's $$$!!  Best thing I've done to the boat yet.  

 

 

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My concern about filling bow ballast is that when we get near to where we dock, we often have to sit idle while waiting for the area to clear.  And that big chop over the slammed bow can spell water in the boat.  Maybe if I try half full on bow and center.  Even when I fill just the center the bow sits pretty low....

But thanks all for the good advice.

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11 hours ago, TaylorM said:

I find that just using wedge in lift mode helps quite a bit, when boating in choppy water. I created a preset  with wedge in lift and cruise set at 20. When water is rough with rollers and wind chop, I will use lift and no cruise control and keep speed under 20mph. I have been using lift more frequently as I find I really like the way it practically eliminates bow rise. 

bow rise is my protector in rough water!! 16-18 mph

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4 hours ago, Slayer said:

Me as well.  I do have a cruise setting that I saved which keeps speed around 26 MPH with full bow ballast and it helps tremendously.  This is great for moderate chop.  In heavier chop, I'm going to try the using the wedge in lift mode as suggested prior in this thread.  Seems like a great idea.

I have experimented with both scenarios, bow ballast filled, no wedge versus no bow ballast, wedge in lift only. Both conditions aim to do the same thing, which is get the V of the bow into the water to cut through the chop. Some will argue that having added ballast, in rough conditions, helps dampen the impacts from the waves in the chop. I don't dispute this theory, I used to run this way. However, more recently, I find that wedge in lift achieves the desired effect of getting the V of the bow to do the work. The added benefit, when you come off power, to maneuver around, you don't have a bow heavy boat. I have not noticed an appreciable higher rpm, when running at 19 to 20mph, with wedge in lift. I will pay more attention to rpm this weekend.

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