Barnegat Inlet 22' Boat

[Gerry Zagorski]

Originally Posted by Capt. Frank

Yup. FASTER Moving water under the boat's hull will keep it from rolling over for the most part.

Lucky.

Yep good point Frank... And if your boat is not moving faster then the water underneath it, you have no rudder control/steering.

That's the same reason why when approaching narrow areas like a bridge opening at no wake speeds, you should give the boat with the current behind them the right of way.

[Capt. Debbie]

Another fine point. Speed over bottom, and speed thru water can be very different especially in strong currents.

In fact the state police teach you "minimum headway speed" not "no wake". Running against a 5-6 knot current and only making 2 knots over the bottom is 7-8 knots thru the water. That will produce a wake just to make 2 knot forward progress

Originally Posted by Gerry Zagorski

Yep good point Frank... And if your boat is not moving faster then the water underneath it, you have no rudder control/steering.

That's the same reason why when approaching narrow areas like a bridge opening at no wake speeds, you should give the boat with the current behind them the right of way.

[MrAC1980]

Similar to what Scott said, you'll be fine. Just hug the north jetty and make sure you don't cut the tower! Those underwater rocks extend to the tip of the north tower. And avoid the south bar that extends out past the south jetty. The rollers build up quick. If you ever want to fish south, go out and around it until you feel comfortable cutting over it. I run a 21 and have never had a problem.

[Mako1]

I run BI all the time, also when I owned smaller boats. You'll be fine, just pick your days and stay away when the wind is from the NE or E. As already mentioned, hug the north jetty until you come to the tower.