Crusiing ICW and Minimum Wake Zones

[67hat34c]

I seem to iritate some individuals when traveling on FL ICW going through Minimum Wake Zones. The definition, and I am paraprasing it, is boat must be completely off of plane and settled into the water the wake must not be big enough to cause damage to property or harm to others. I usualy knock it down to around 14 to 1600, gas engines on a 34c, this gives us about 6 to 8kts. yes there is a wake but it would appear to meet the definition of the law.

If I am going somewhere and time is a constraint i dont want to knock down to no wake in a min wake area. I will also say that if I am comming up on an area where there are boats docked and they dont appear to be docked to take a wake, i will slow to an idle. I typicaly find that Bertram and Hatteras type owners know how to dock, bow out and suspended between dock and pilings. However alot of Carver, Searay owners dock tight to a dock , bow in etc.

Anyhow what do you all think and what do you typicaly do.

 

[MarioG]

If I'm not mistaken, "minimum wake" is the same thing as "no wake". why the difference in verbiage I don't know. your paraphrased definition is about right. but remember your minimum speed in a no wake zone is also the minimum speed required to maintain control. 6 to 8 kts is probably about as slow as you can go without slamming in and out of gear to maintain control I would guess?

 

[Pascal]

no wake means just that... no wake. or realistically, no more than a ripple.

by the official definition of Minimum wake, you can usually go 2 or 3 kts faster. it all depends on the boat... with the 53, i can bump the throttles off idle a little and move at 4 to 5kts with no wake. minimum wake woudl be aound 7kts...

personally, I'd consider anything approaching a foot to be too much, i'd think that a 34 footer at over 6tks will fall in that group.

i once had an angry broward county sherif gesturing me to slow down, in a minimum wake zone, leaving almost no wake at 6kts... i was catching up with him and although there was little traffic and plenty of room, he was afraid I'd spill his coffee and wet his donut

 

[Genesis]

My 45C idled at 6kts with both screws engaged. I was never harassed for that in "no wake" zones.....

 

[nor'easter]

The only no wake zones here in San Diego are in the sheltered areas around the marinas, no long ICW stretches. In the No wake zones, I drop to low idle and keep rpms at 425-450 for 4 knots. I idle at 6.5-7k at 565 rpms, and have a short wake in mt 39SX.

 

[67hat34c]

If I'm not mistaken, "minimum wake" is the same thing as "no wake".

In Florida we have Manatee protection areas, some are No wake and some are Minimum wake. Minimum wake is described as boat off of plane and fully settled in the water, wake must be small enough to not cause harm to property etc.

I guess I will slow a little more when others are present.

 

[Paul45c]

Yeah, "No Wake" is idle speed, safe steerageway. Like Carl said, most boats in near-idle conditions should be OK. In my same 45c, at least on the ICW, I'll venture it up to about 575-600rpm, and the law's never told me to slow down. This is a pretty heavily enforced area. When I'm going through smaller canals or by my local marina, I'll take it right down to idle out of respect for the boaters. Wish everybody on my canal did the same, especially the @#$* WaveRunner yahoos! They don't seem to feel they make any wake. Gee, it's about 2.5' wide, has a deep vee, and rides really low in the water with an extremely short waterline. Can you think of a better recipe for wake-production?

"Minimum Wake," as I've always understood it, has more to do with manatees than property damage. I'm living back in this area now after about a 15 year lapse. Most of what is now "Min Wake" used to be regular, but now I see "Manatee Zone" warnings around the "Minimum Wake" signs just about every time. And some of them are seasonal. In my 45c, I'll take it up to about 850rpms without interruption from "Johnny Law."

 

[Jaxfishgyd]

When I bought our Hatt back in 2000, one of the first things I did was ask a friend of mine who worked for the marine patrol (oops, I mean the freshwater and game commision as it's now called) here in N. Florida what the difference was between the two.
He explained that no wake was just that....Not a lot of "grey area". Either you were putting out a wake, or you were not and it didn't matter if you were only doing 400 rpm, that was not his problem.
Min. wake he said was a bit more complicated. IF (in his opinion) a boat "looked like" it could be going slower than it was going, as if the captain was pushing the limit, he would stop it. Also, a good looking female in a bikini was another "red flag" to stop you.
If nothing else, he was honest..........

 

[jim rosenthal]

Actually, I get static on this often in Annapolis Harbor...my boat makes about 5.5 kts dead slow ahead with both screws turning at minimum speed, just above stalling revs. I can't go any slower, unless I take it in and out of gear, and that's not safe in Naptown.

What is really annoying is that the water taxis get a Mulligan on this- they go quite a bit faster and leave a significant wake, but the harbor patrol never bothers them. One of my friends runs one of the taxis, and he admits they get away with whatever they want...pretty much.

 

[Genesis]

My Detroits were set up for 575 at idle. CAN you set them slower? Yes, but IMHO its not a good idea. You DEFINITELY do not want to start having problems with them stalling when you go into gear, especially if you need to make a quick low-speed maneuver (e.g. going astern from ahead at low speed)

Now electronic diesels have all sorts of games they can play (like their "slow" mode that some Cummins engines have) but mechanical Detroits are a different matter. 550-575 is where I've always set them for idle, and what the boat runs when they're at that speed is what it runs......

 

[nor'easter]

I get mine to idle at 400 using low-idle on my DDEC system. I only use that for no wake zones and close quarters maneuvering, and get them back to normal idle asap. I have 32 by 47.5 5B wheels and tremendous thrust at idle if I don't use the low setting when docking and undocking. When slow trolling I only have 1 in gear at a time.

 

[J's Dream]

I seem to iritate some individuals when traveling on FL ICW going through Minimum Wake Zones. The definition, and I am paraprasing it, is boat must be completely off of plane and settled into the water the wake must not be big enough to cause damage to property or harm to others. I usualy knock it down to around 14 to 1600, gas engines on a 34c, this gives us about 6 to 8kts. yes there is a wake but it would appear to meet the definition of the law.

Anyhow what do you all think and what do you typicaly do.

Steve,

There are two wake classifications in Florida. IDLE SPEED, NO WAKE, and SLOW SPEED, MINIMUM WAKE.

Idle speed is defined as the slowest possible speed you can proceed while still maintaining control and steerage.

Slow speed is defined as the boat settled in the water with the bow pushing NO water (i.e. not plowing). Slow speed is very questionable as far as law enforcement goes, because the officer make the determination if you are plowing or not. 9 out of 10 times it'll be a kind warning unless you meet the guy who didn't get any last night.

DISCLAIMER:
I work for FWC, but I am not a law enforcement officer, nor am I attempting to interpret any law or impersonate any officer. This is simply to clarify to the forum what has been explained to me in the past while on the water with FWC's Law Enforcement Officers.

 

[67hat34c]

a good looking female in a bikini was another "red flag" to stop you.
If nothing else, he was honest..........[/QUOTE]

This is very true, My brother is an Orange County Deputy, works Marine Unit during summer and is dept Diver. He said they all stop boats with good looking girls, they give their boat a safety check. By the way he pushes the upper limits on the min wake zone, way more than I do, Gets that cop mentality going, He is the worst, cop with a 6 pack license.

 

[(Nobody You Know)]

Unfortunately there is not an exact science as to what constitutes "no wake". The only scientific fact that I can attest to is that in no way can you move an object through water with out making some kind of wake. Some years back while going through Astor on the St. John we were at about 1000 RPMs in a 26' SeaRay when the Sheriff stopped us and advised cruise with "no foam at the leading edge of the stem". Impossible! At another township (can't remember the name) they were using a radar gun!

Perhaps this is worthy of a whole new thread but I am convinced that no wake laws are very out dated. While respect for other folks in smaller boats should always stand, ever increasing development of private property on what was once ICW fairways is an intrusion to us boaters. Don't get me wrong. My boat like many others of the forum puts out a wake that you can surf board on. Basically, we slow down for everything and sometimes it's a pain especially when you just get the ship up on a good trim. I have two basic slow speeds: dead idle - good for small boaters nearby and marinas, etc., and anywhere between 1200 and 1600 RPMs, gives the impression of slowing down in places where life or property are in no way in jeapordy (satisfies a lot of people).

Admitidly we are not policed or harassed in the Carolinas as much as in you guys in Florida. But yet there are too many times when some jerk comes through our basin - usually in a Bayliner - at the precise speed delivering wakus maximilliae (and with a broken VHF), and in his mind he is traveling at a slow speed (we do not have state mandatory boater schooling).

A couple of years ago I wrote to the U.S.C.G. and to NOAA and inquired as to why "no wake zones" are not indicated on charts. I'll bet any day now they are gonna get back with me (yea). (I think I know the answer.)

Charlie, does it mean I'm getting old when my guests are sunning and the authorities don't stop to check my vessel?

 

[Avenger]

Gee, you mean New York actually did something right? All the "No Wake" zones that I'm familiar with specify 5 MPH. Nothing ambiguous about that, and yes, I've seen them using radar guns. "Minimum Wake" zones sound like nothing but a revenue enhancer.