I lived in the area in the 60’s and frequently visited the choke point. I was a tugboat captain in BC waters and have transited Dodds on various occasions.
Ya... perhaps wait a bit :) Looking out over the St Lawrence from old Montreal (at the moment) and I am looking at about a 5 knot flow. Its constant from the looks of it so ferries etc are just passing through as usual business. But no whirl pools and loads of room to move about.
Well I have a similar boat in size and speed and construction, and I have made my way through against almost a 7 knot tide, and my boat only does just over 7 knots. I can say it was an extremely slow passage. I honestly think it was the stabilizers that were the biggest problem. Could have been a wild ride even without, but probably could have done it. There's so many downtow undercurrents in there that I would think would be pulling down the planers on the ends of the poles. Glad they were okay
@@goosee91 No, you NEVER put your stabilizers in when you're in heavy tide...it can roll your boat. They also run a couple fathoms below the surface...you could hook bottom and roll her.
I'd love to know the story behind this adventure. Stab poles are for working through or in rolling sea states. Lots of swell, etc. Not running on basically flat water. Even with the current. Perhaps the skipper was testing the stability of the boat which from what we've seen is very good. Keep in mind the conditions these little trollers usually work in. Many boats just like this one venture out of west coast harbours into wild west coast conditions just to make a living. Fun to watch though.
As a former salmon troller I'd say the skipper didn't have the boat ballasted with ice, making it dangerously unstable for running heavy tide. Fact is, you lower your poles to improve stability...and nobody with a brain tests their boat's stability in heavy tide.
@@charlesharper2357 I bow to your experience. As I said, stab poles for chunky waters, crossing swells, etc. We don't know if this is a working boat or one of the many old trollers now in the hands of pleasure boaters. Nothing wrong with that but there is a learning curve. Many don't realize that these boats are designed to carry a load after a successful day of fishing. You fill up with ice on the way to the spot/s, which lowers centre of gravity in the hull, increasing stability. Once your holds are full of fish, stability again becomes an issue for the skipper as you have a slippery product combined with partly melted ice and if he/she was unable to fill the holds before time you have a moving cargo on the way back. As I said earlier, I couldn't figure out in my mind what was on the mind of another. There are no regulations requiring boat buyers to know diddly about the boat and how it should best be run and that goes double for old fishing boats. The liability and lack of insurance mean that many of them end up in the hands of young inexperienced hands, having been sold by anxious owners happy to get rid of what can become an expensive liability should it sink at the dock or anywhere for that matter. Insurance companies won't touch the old boats with a ten-foot pole. Many people without deep pockets own these boats and live on them too. The CCG are not terribly interested until something goes wrong. They will help an owner understand the process and advise them to keep a minimum amount of fuel and oil onboard including any hydraulic oil, just in case and perhaps invest in an oil containment boom. All of this to demonstrate a willingness to accept responsibility for your vessel. Often these folks and their boats are shunned in ports like lepers. If people really wanted to help they would find a way to help these boats safe in their harbours since shunning doesn't really work with young people. Perhaps very experienced folks could approach them with an offer to educate them and help them to keep their boats floating nicely, I'm sure every community has its share of retired fisherman for example. Anyway, I'm going to watch the video again as the whistling makes it all so funny. Cheers from Steveston, BC.
@@TomasAWalker53 It's a working boat...it has it's CFV numbers painted on and tag lines connected to it's gurdies...which would be illegal for sport fishing. There's nothing scarier than taking an unballasted heavy displacement boat boat through heavy tide...they roll easily. I've lost several friends who died when they rolled...3 in Active Pass, 2 in Seymour narrows.
@@charlesharper2357 I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your friends. In each case why did they risk the transit without ballast? I can't imagine a knowledgeable skipper/owner at the helm of this boat on that day and the antics and wild course changes he/she was making. I think they just have the poles down. Can't hurt. I think the only answer is the person operating this nice little troller is piss-drunk. lol.
@@TomasAWalker53 Most trollers use ice for ballast...a boat that size would need a couple of tons. There's virtually no place to get ice in the Gulf now that all the fishing camps are closed down. It's also a matter of cost...most people won't spend $200 for a few tons of ballast if they're not going fishing. Most of the time you can get away with it...if you don't push your luck in heavy tide. Like this guy did.
Interesting... looks like he was trying to play the backwaters to get through the narrows, but the current caught his bow and turned him away from the channel. Dodd is hard to navigate with it's reef and dogleg at the best of times.
A couple observations. - This was not a heavy flood, I doubt it's over 4 knots. - What you saw there was not "playing the backwaters". He plowed right up the middle, lost it, weaved around and ended up in an eddy, but on the wrong side of the narrows. - The correct side of the narrows (the left in this camera view) has a smooth safe eddy that brings you to the boils at the edge of the tongue of smooth mid-channel water farther up current than he ever managed to get. - Once through the boil, you're in a wider piece of smooth water, and just have to wrestle the bow up in a hurry and then just plod slowly up the smooth, turbulence-free channel. - The problems here seemed to be plowing up through the turbulent center of the entrance, getting on the wrong side of the narrows, and an inability to turn upstream. I've done this place many, many times in a slow boat, and I am at a loss to explain why he couldn't turn left at about 2:05. Perhaps under-powered? These boats usually have a decent sized rudder, and should turn easily. Or maybe they were just playing?
To sneak up using the reverse current is one very stupid idea. That is how people die and boats sink. I have done it many times but with much experience and a quality vessel, but never exceed your vessel’s capacity nor your ability.
Tide is the vertical movement of water, current is the horizontal movement. These guys are not really very intelligent, why fight the current, chill out and wait for slack water.
I lived in the area in the 60’s and frequently visited the choke point. I was a tugboat captain in BC waters and have transited Dodds on various occasions.
That is a beautiful boat!
Ya... perhaps wait a bit :) Looking out over the St Lawrence from old Montreal (at the moment) and I am looking at about a 5 knot flow. Its constant from the looks of it so ferries etc are just passing through as usual business. But no whirl pools and loads of room to move about.
Well I have a similar boat in size and speed and construction, and I have made my way through against almost a 7 knot tide, and my boat only does just over 7 knots. I can say it was an extremely slow passage. I honestly think it was the stabilizers that were the biggest problem. Could have been a wild ride even without, but probably could have done it. There's so many downtow undercurrents in there that I would think would be pulling down the planers on the ends of the poles. Glad they were okay
Are the planers in the water? I just looks like the poles are down....
Angus Straight oh good point. You may be right.
A fine looking gentleman yea, If the dolphins were in it would not roll that much, plus you would see a wake behind them when the boat really rolls.
@@goosee91
No, you NEVER put your stabilizers in when you're in heavy tide...it can roll your boat.
They also run a couple fathoms below the surface...you could hook bottom and roll her.
I'd love to know the story behind this adventure. Stab poles are for working through or in rolling sea states. Lots of swell, etc. Not running on basically flat water. Even with the current. Perhaps the skipper was testing the stability of the boat which from what we've seen is very good. Keep in mind the conditions these little trollers usually work in. Many boats just like this one venture out of west coast harbours into wild west coast conditions just to make a living. Fun to watch though.
As a former salmon troller I'd say the skipper didn't have the boat ballasted with ice, making it dangerously unstable for running heavy tide.
Fact is, you lower your poles to improve stability...and nobody with a brain tests their boat's stability in heavy tide.
@@charlesharper2357 I bow to your experience. As I said, stab poles for chunky waters, crossing swells, etc. We don't know if this is a working boat or one of the many old trollers now in the hands of pleasure boaters. Nothing wrong with that but there is a learning curve. Many don't realize that these boats are designed to carry a load after a successful day of fishing. You fill up with ice on the way to the spot/s, which lowers centre of gravity in the hull, increasing stability. Once your holds are full of fish, stability again becomes an issue for the skipper as you have a slippery product combined with partly melted ice and if he/she was unable to fill the holds before time you have a moving cargo on the way back. As I said earlier, I couldn't figure out in my mind what was on the mind of another. There are no regulations requiring boat buyers to know diddly about the boat and how it should best be run and that goes double for old fishing boats. The liability and lack of insurance mean that many of them end up in the hands of young inexperienced hands, having been sold by anxious owners happy to get rid of what can become an expensive liability should it sink at the dock or anywhere for that matter. Insurance companies won't touch the old boats with a ten-foot pole. Many people without deep pockets own these boats and live on them too. The CCG are not terribly interested until something goes wrong. They will help an owner understand the process and advise them to keep a minimum amount of fuel and oil onboard including any hydraulic oil, just in case and perhaps invest in an oil containment boom. All of this to demonstrate a willingness to accept responsibility for your vessel. Often these folks and their boats are shunned in ports like lepers. If people really wanted to help they would find a way to help these boats safe in their harbours since shunning doesn't really work with young people. Perhaps very experienced folks could approach them with an offer to educate them and help them to keep their boats floating nicely, I'm sure every community has its share of retired fisherman for example. Anyway, I'm going to watch the video again as the whistling makes it all so funny. Cheers from Steveston, BC.
@@TomasAWalker53
It's a working boat...it has it's CFV numbers painted on and tag lines connected to it's gurdies...which would be illegal for sport fishing.
There's nothing scarier than taking an unballasted heavy displacement boat boat through heavy tide...they roll easily. I've lost several friends who died when they rolled...3 in Active Pass, 2 in Seymour narrows.
@@charlesharper2357 I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your friends. In each case why did they risk the transit without ballast? I can't imagine a knowledgeable skipper/owner at the helm of this boat on that day and the antics and wild course changes he/she was making. I think they just have the poles down. Can't hurt. I think the only answer is the person operating this nice little troller is piss-drunk. lol.
@@TomasAWalker53
Most trollers use ice for ballast...a boat that size would need a couple of tons.
There's virtually no place to get ice in the Gulf now that all the fishing camps are closed down.
It's also a matter of cost...most people won't spend $200 for a few tons of ballast if they're not going fishing.
Most of the time you can get away with it...if you don't push your luck in heavy tide.
Like this guy did.
Interesting... looks like he was trying to play the backwaters to get through the narrows, but the current caught his bow and turned him away from the channel.
Dodd is hard to navigate with it's reef and dogleg at the best of times.
A couple observations.
- This was not a heavy flood, I doubt it's over 4 knots.
- What you saw there was not "playing the backwaters". He plowed right up the middle, lost it, weaved around and ended up in an eddy, but on the wrong side of the narrows.
- The correct side of the narrows (the left in this camera view) has a smooth safe eddy that brings you to the boils at the edge of the tongue of smooth mid-channel water farther up current than he ever managed to get.
- Once through the boil, you're in a wider piece of smooth water, and just have to wrestle the bow up in a hurry and then just plod slowly up the smooth, turbulence-free channel.
- The problems here seemed to be plowing up through the turbulent center of the entrance, getting on the wrong side of the narrows, and an inability to turn upstream.
I've done this place many, many times in a slow boat, and I am at a loss to explain why he couldn't turn left at about 2:05. Perhaps under-powered? These boats usually have a decent sized rudder, and should turn easily.
Or maybe they were just playing?
Ha ha oops! 🤭⚓️❤️
To sneak up using the reverse current is one very stupid idea. That is how people die and boats sink. I have done it many times but with much experience and a quality vessel, but never exceed your vessel’s capacity nor your ability.
It wouldn't be like this if the guy slapped a C18 in the old girl.
dodging in the dodd's
Floppy boat
Hilarious.
Tide is the vertical movement of water, current is the horizontal movement. These guys are not really very intelligent, why fight the current, chill out and wait for slack water.
Title should be "Against the current" Tides rise and fall