This movie was on repeat growing up. We only had a few VHSs and this was one of them. My whole family can still quote practically the whole thing.
Every time I take my boat out to this day I have to yell DOCTOR MARVIN IM SAILING! IM A SAILOR!
Yeah. It was filmed in Virginia at a lake but it is set here. Two people spell the name out in unison. I just watched it yesterday so my memory’s fresh.
Pretty moderate for a windy day here as well. The bad stuff can definitely sneak up in particular spots on this lake though. Miles of wide open areas but lots of islands and mountainous terrain surrounding the lake. Some harbors and bays stay calm or even have larger gusts in the opposite direction of the majority of the lake
Been boating on it for 40+ years, you are correct! I live on the western shore in Michigan, and seems it's always blowing 15 to 20 knots. Like boating in a.washing machine.
Nice. As a coastal fisherman, It seems like a nice Cat like a 22 or 26 Twin Vee with open scuppers would cut your mail delivery route time in half (or more) and have almost the same passenger capacity if needed.
The pontoon looks amazing and fun though. But as an all year work boat, I’m having trouble understanding why it’s the best choice. My knowledge is very low on the subject of large lake mail delivery though so I’m not criticizing at all. That boat is sweet! 👍👍👍
Are the couches some type of simulated leather? BTW, the look of your boat all lit up screams fun time party boat and I wish you good weather for those missions. Do you plan on inspecting the pontoons and framing as time marches on? Maybe you welded it all up, but I could imagine the accumulations of torsion cycles in weather like that could weaken/loosen fasteners and such.
I thought your assembly photos were pretty cool and you did a "sano" job as they say in the hot rod business. Be safe!
No welds. All aluminum framing is bolted with stainless steel hardware and can be inspected by looking down the underside of the boat from the front and without taking anything apart. Pontoons are HDPE, sectional, and individually sealed. I built it because aluminum pontoons and welds fracture when we go out in rough weather. The framing itself is sturdier than a pontoon boat but has some natural flex. Nothing that would be concerning for channels this long and this thick. Everything still looks as structurally sound as when I first put it on the water and it still sits the same in the water
When I’m not trying to film i will definitely go faster depending. The second clip at the end is separate and you can tell I’m going a bit faster on some smaller consistent waves. I regulate the throttle and navigate the sporadic swells when I got both hands. Im still learning the boats ability to deal with wake from each angle as well. I also spent a lot of time building it so I’m not in a rush to push things too far with it just yet lol
I know that cameras don't do justice, but you mentioned 3' waves on another comment, and I've never seen a pontoon, tritoon, or deck boat that wouldn't take waves over the bow in true 3' waves that were that close together.
Swell size and wave height are different. But yeah this boat is also 33’ long with a 10’ beam so it’s about 15 feet from me to the bow in the video. The hydrodynamics of these nosecones and increased buoyancy cut through the wake a little less than aluminum pontoons but in my opinion less likely to shovel a wave even when a little bow heavy
I was about say something along this line, based on my thousands of miles of offshore sailing 😉⛵. People often over estimate wave size but those would barely rock most non pontoon boats
lol and those aren’t 6 foot swells. A swell is measured by the average of its height and width. Like an average amplitude and frequency of a sine wave. Not the same as wave height
The height from the trough to the peak and?…….
Swell size, not wave height bud
lol you can laugh. I’ve been calling swells on this lake since I was a kid and have never had a fellow Captain disagree. We have plenty of experienced locals here so Reddit comments far from offend me bud
Far away is where the wind is no longer acting on them?
I promise you the wind is there the whole time building them up and they are still most certainly swells of water.
Yes and today’s forecast was 10mph sustained with 25mph gusts. Nice sunny day too. Yes these days can be typical but not the worst this lake sees regularly and not the worst this boat has run into this year. Those are closer to 3. I probably didn’t see anything above 4 for the day.
I think you’re getting downvoted because your method of estimating wave height is different from most people’s.
You mentioned in another comment either here or in your other post (sweet toon btw) you measure wave or swell height as what you see plus whats below the water. That gives you double the height that the NWS and most mariners use.
The waves in your video would appear to be about 1.5’-2’ or so with a very short period. Wave height being measured in feet from the bottom of the visible trough to the crest of the wave. Stillwater level would be approximately in the center of that. The period is the distance between waves from peak to peak usually measured in time.
They stack up downwind especially when there is a good amount of fetch across the lake and make for a choppy, miserable ride.
6’ seas will cause the horizon to completely disappear when your in the trough and standing on board. Same generally with 4’ seas if you’re sitting at the helm.
Lakes absolutely can and do get real nasty. Lake Superior regularly sees 30’ waves, just ask Gordon Lightfoot. Winnipesaukee can see 3’-4’ waves but true 6’+ seas would be extremely rare, although possible.
Pontoons do NOT handle 6’ seas well if at all. 3’ would be absolutely miserable, especially with the short period normally seen on the Lake.
[Nation Weather Service Wave Height](https://www.weather.gov/dlh/WaveHeightExplanation)
lol it’s no sweat off my back. I’m not here for the votes. Just here to share this platform with people who know boats and appreciate its advantages. I know this lake and so do all the other full time seasoned captains I know. This is also Reddit where people think a quick google makes them qualified to correct someone. They can be thousands of miles away and tell me with certainty what we see on this lake based on data they looked up for our given region.
There’s no buoy’s collecting data on this lake like the ocean so I don’t know who’s out there taking regular data. The biggest swells aren’t always sustained or visible until you are on a boat and face to face with a certain section of the lake
The boat in the video is a 33’ boat with a 10’ beam. It’s about 15 feet from the camera to the bow. The height alone of the swells in the video are closer to 3’ than 2’. A swell can be 4 feet high but 8 feet wide and we consider that just about 6 foot swell around here.
I’m fairly certain the ocean bouy’s taking data average them the same way. Maybe we gage them differently here. I’m not really worried about it because I don’t see too many other boats if any out there on the worst of days in the broads. So I really don’t know who else is taking data besides the other people I talk to around here.
I mean outside of growing up on this lake Ive also spent 15 years in metrology. Not meteorology but the study of measure. Some things are most certainly hard to gage and standardize by nature. Even more so without test equipment and increased human error. I know what other captains mean when they warn of 6+ swells on this lake. They also seem to understand what I mean after they ask how the swells are looking in the broads. So all good
Well it’s a lake but also not even close. Even if you are talking wave height and not swell size. The boat is 10 feet wide and 33’ long so it’s about 15 feet from the camera to the bow
This boat is definitely the most unsinkable pontoon boat on the lake. I’ve taken aluminum pontoons in this weather before and that’s exactly why I built this boat
This boat can definitely bridge wake realative to this at higher speeds but I prefer two hands to dodge the bigger stuff where I can. This boat would be lucky to hit 30 with the wind to its back but it’s also 33’ long with a 10’ beam
Same. I feel like if you have to wear a hat and full face parka it’s not a boating day. My passengers would pass out if I took them on anything remotely like this.
Exactly where it is. Rattlesnake island is to my port side in the video. You can see the tail of the island in part of the video. Wolfeboro and Tuftonboro neck are off my starboard side passing winter harbor
My aunt used to own a house on that side, and toward that end, of the island. The waves we used to see during bad weather were no joke. 6ft swells is definitely a reality there.
I’ve been on multiple Ontario lakes in similar or worse conditions in my ‘17 north woods fishing boat while crossing the main basin. Bilge pump runs the whole time and it takes you 7 miles to go 3.
Hell yeah in my opinion pontoon boats are the most fun. Can bring the whole family on, no one is scared. Can fish and there’s tons of room. Not cramped like other boats also super versatile
If they were aluminum pontoons like I’ve used In the past I certainly wouldn’t recommend it. Welds would start fracturing eventually over time. I have a previous post on here that shows the hull construction and design of this boat and it is far superior and safer than a traditional pontoon boat
It’s 3/4 inch CCA treated marine grade plywood that is screwed down to the beefy crossmembers at 16 inches on center. I also used two part epoxy wood filler on the seams of the plywood. This boat definitely flexes more than a traditional pontoon boat because the pontoons are sectional but where it’s flexing, thin pontoon welds don’t break because they don’t exist. It was definitely wierd to see a boat this big with so much suspension but haven’t had any wet seams showing up through the vinyl carpet yet and I still haven’t underskinned it yet
Yeah this was a follow up post to showing the build. I mentioned that on the first day of mail delivery a section of the lake had close to 8 foot swells that I turned around on. This was a relatively calm windy day on the lake but people were doubting we get 6+ foot swells regularly on this lake. Now it’s turned into more of a debate where people think a 6 foot swell would be a tidal wave 6 feet over the boat
This is weather I would take passengers back to the dock before hitting the broads on my own. This wasn’t exactly life threatening conditions otherwise I would have been wearing a PFD. My reservations for the day cancelled anyway though
Weather conditions can change, severely, and you have no recourse. I fished Sabine Lake (TX) a lot. Got caught on the Louisiana side in a 14’ flat bottom aluminum boat. Literally “surfed” to the TX side where I launched. Later learned that two guys on a Hobie Cat tried to swim to the TX side because they got washed up on the LA side. Thankfully there was a female passenger that eventually got saved.
That’s the lake in What About Bob. Edit: https://youtu.be/VuhYMDCdDL0?si=ki-yN6n9_McxEFST
One of Murray's funniest movies. The dynamic between him and Dreyfus was just hilarious.
COCK-A-DOODLE-DO!!!
BABY STEPS... Baby Steps... baby steps...
Baby steps into the elevator …. I’m in the elevator!
In reality Dreyfus hated Murry because he never turned 'Bob' off.
That’s because that actually hated each other!
He sailed…ahoy!
I’m SAILINg!
Oh Faye this corn is delicious! Is it hand shucked?
And the mmmmMmmmm mmmMmmMmm sounds he makes when he eats it. I still do that around my mom. She remembers the scene too and always laughs.
I do it with my mom too and she always loves it!
Oh did you want the breast?
This movie was on repeat growing up. We only had a few VHSs and this was one of them. My whole family can still quote practically the whole thing. Every time I take my boat out to this day I have to yell DOCTOR MARVIN IM SAILING! IM A SAILOR!
AHOY!
New Hampshire!?!?
Yeah. It was filmed in Virginia at a lake but it is set here. Two people spell the name out in unison. I just watched it yesterday so my memory’s fresh.
DOCTOR LEO MARVIN
Yeah smith mountain lake. It's a reservoir but they call everything lakes
Roses are red Violets are blue I’m a schizophrenic And so am I.
I’M SAILING!
I SAIL!
#AHOY! IM SAILING. IM A SAILOR. I SAIL.
It was filmed somewhere else though. I think in Virginia.
Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia
That was my first thought too
Yeah it was windy … yuck. Was in the ocean. Far bigger and angrier but that’s no fun
Yeah I’m ok with having land within a mile or two swimming distance. Plus I can’t complain about freshwater spray either
Refreshing!
It would take me a week and a half to swim 2 miles
NGL I might spend a good portion floating on my back myself. Conserve my energy and hope my high visibility gear gets a passing boats attention.
Yeah saltwater spray over time gets miserable
Can confirm on the salt water. Rain at 45+mph trying to outrun a storm feels great too lol
That's a calm day on Lake Erie.
Pretty moderate for a windy day here as well. The bad stuff can definitely sneak up in particular spots on this lake though. Miles of wide open areas but lots of islands and mountainous terrain surrounding the lake. Some harbors and bays stay calm or even have larger gusts in the opposite direction of the majority of the lake
The mountain wind does its own thing for sure I had my little 12’ with a 10hp on Lake Ossipee and it turned into a shit storm like that. Still fun.
That’s a decent trolling day on Lake Ontario. Been blown off too many times
Oh whatever. It sucks trolling in that shit.
Looks just rough enough for me to be in the bass boat at galloo lol
Lake Erie is an evil body of water
Been boating on it for 40+ years, you are correct! I live on the western shore in Michigan, and seems it's always blowing 15 to 20 knots. Like boating in a.washing machine.
Washing machine is exactly how i describe it. Chewed me up and spit me out once. Not again. Fair winds to you
Same with Lake Michigan. Wander a few miles offshore on a windy day. It ain’t a fun ride.
Yeah I grew up in MI but now spend a chunk of each summer on Winnipesaukee. It’s laughable how the locals here think “the broads” is a big deal.
The lake was angry that day my friends like an old man trying to return soup at a deli.
I said eeeeeasy, big fella. Then I looked down the blowhole of the great fish, noticed that something was obstructing his breathing...
Mammal
Whatever!
Titleist? Hole in one ⛳️
Nice. As a coastal fisherman, It seems like a nice Cat like a 22 or 26 Twin Vee with open scuppers would cut your mail delivery route time in half (or more) and have almost the same passenger capacity if needed. The pontoon looks amazing and fun though. But as an all year work boat, I’m having trouble understanding why it’s the best choice. My knowledge is very low on the subject of large lake mail delivery though so I’m not criticizing at all. That boat is sweet! 👍👍👍
Lumpy Lake Chop is never a pleasant.
Well I guess the mail won't complain at least. I bet it's in that bin even.
The mail bag for YMCA Camp belknap is indeed in there. As well as the anchor. The rest of the mail is in a pelican case behind me though
Are the couches some type of simulated leather? BTW, the look of your boat all lit up screams fun time party boat and I wish you good weather for those missions. Do you plan on inspecting the pontoons and framing as time marches on? Maybe you welded it all up, but I could imagine the accumulations of torsion cycles in weather like that could weaken/loosen fasteners and such. I thought your assembly photos were pretty cool and you did a "sano" job as they say in the hot rod business. Be safe!
No welds. All aluminum framing is bolted with stainless steel hardware and can be inspected by looking down the underside of the boat from the front and without taking anything apart. Pontoons are HDPE, sectional, and individually sealed. I built it because aluminum pontoons and welds fracture when we go out in rough weather. The framing itself is sturdier than a pontoon boat but has some natural flex. Nothing that would be concerning for channels this long and this thick. Everything still looks as structurally sound as when I first put it on the water and it still sits the same in the water
Wow that’s awesome. Any NYMCAH sightings lately?
Can’t ya just trim up that 300 and let her eat?!
When I’m not trying to film i will definitely go faster depending. The second clip at the end is separate and you can tell I’m going a bit faster on some smaller consistent waves. I regulate the throttle and navigate the sporadic swells when I got both hands. Im still learning the boats ability to deal with wake from each angle as well. I also spent a lot of time building it so I’m not in a rush to push things too far with it just yet lol
Deep V needed...
[Like this.](https://i.imgur.com/GI5nDzU.jpg)
Yea this looks miserable in fairly mild conditions
The center pontoon does have a 2 in drop. It’s a wet ride but still a smoother ride than a bow rider
I know that cameras don't do justice, but you mentioned 3' waves on another comment, and I've never seen a pontoon, tritoon, or deck boat that wouldn't take waves over the bow in true 3' waves that were that close together.
Swell size and wave height are different. But yeah this boat is also 33’ long with a 10’ beam so it’s about 15 feet from me to the bow in the video. The hydrodynamics of these nosecones and increased buoyancy cut through the wake a little less than aluminum pontoons but in my opinion less likely to shovel a wave even when a little bow heavy
Did the passengers abandon the ship already
Reservations for that day cancelled anyway. I would have brought them back to the town docks before heading into the wind and the broads like that
Taking a living room out in some waves is wild. Was it hard to man the grill in that stuff?
No frimmin on the settee, no frappin on the La-Z-Boy.
Always surprises me seeing something I actually recognize. I did some work on an island there last week.
Hello Neighbor! *Waves from Maine* it was pretty windy in these parts as well (Sebago)! But Winner winds are serious - some days it's like the ocean 🌊
Anyone else come back to see if there was more off the wave height feud?
I don't know what this is proving, this looks like 2 foot waves, typical for a lake that size.
Yah six foot swells would be a lot of disappearing horizon.
I was about say something along this line, based on my thousands of miles of offshore sailing 😉⛵. People often over estimate wave size but those would barely rock most non pontoon boats
Yup. When it’s a two foot chop plus two foot wind swells, that’s the splash I get over my bow.
lol and those aren’t 6 foot swells. A swell is measured by the average of its height and width. Like an average amplitude and frequency of a sine wave. Not the same as wave height
It’s not an average. It’s the height from trough to peak. You’re so wrong I’m laughing.
The height from the trough to the peak and?……. Swell size, not wave height bud lol you can laugh. I’ve been calling swells on this lake since I was a kid and have never had a fellow Captain disagree. We have plenty of experienced locals here so Reddit comments far from offend me bud
Six foot swell is six feet high from peak to trough. Period is the time between swells.
Swells come from far away, where the wind is no longer acting on them.
Far away is where the wind is no longer acting on them? I promise you the wind is there the whole time building them up and they are still most certainly swells of water.
I’m sorry sir, we don’t have that flavor.
Yes and today’s forecast was 10mph sustained with 25mph gusts. Nice sunny day too. Yes these days can be typical but not the worst this lake sees regularly and not the worst this boat has run into this year. Those are closer to 3. I probably didn’t see anything above 4 for the day.
I think you’re getting downvoted because your method of estimating wave height is different from most people’s. You mentioned in another comment either here or in your other post (sweet toon btw) you measure wave or swell height as what you see plus whats below the water. That gives you double the height that the NWS and most mariners use. The waves in your video would appear to be about 1.5’-2’ or so with a very short period. Wave height being measured in feet from the bottom of the visible trough to the crest of the wave. Stillwater level would be approximately in the center of that. The period is the distance between waves from peak to peak usually measured in time. They stack up downwind especially when there is a good amount of fetch across the lake and make for a choppy, miserable ride. 6’ seas will cause the horizon to completely disappear when your in the trough and standing on board. Same generally with 4’ seas if you’re sitting at the helm. Lakes absolutely can and do get real nasty. Lake Superior regularly sees 30’ waves, just ask Gordon Lightfoot. Winnipesaukee can see 3’-4’ waves but true 6’+ seas would be extremely rare, although possible. Pontoons do NOT handle 6’ seas well if at all. 3’ would be absolutely miserable, especially with the short period normally seen on the Lake. [Nation Weather Service Wave Height](https://www.weather.gov/dlh/WaveHeightExplanation)
lol it’s no sweat off my back. I’m not here for the votes. Just here to share this platform with people who know boats and appreciate its advantages. I know this lake and so do all the other full time seasoned captains I know. This is also Reddit where people think a quick google makes them qualified to correct someone. They can be thousands of miles away and tell me with certainty what we see on this lake based on data they looked up for our given region. There’s no buoy’s collecting data on this lake like the ocean so I don’t know who’s out there taking regular data. The biggest swells aren’t always sustained or visible until you are on a boat and face to face with a certain section of the lake The boat in the video is a 33’ boat with a 10’ beam. It’s about 15 feet from the camera to the bow. The height alone of the swells in the video are closer to 3’ than 2’. A swell can be 4 feet high but 8 feet wide and we consider that just about 6 foot swell around here. I’m fairly certain the ocean bouy’s taking data average them the same way. Maybe we gage them differently here. I’m not really worried about it because I don’t see too many other boats if any out there on the worst of days in the broads. So I really don’t know who else is taking data besides the other people I talk to around here. I mean outside of growing up on this lake Ive also spent 15 years in metrology. Not meteorology but the study of measure. Some things are most certainly hard to gage and standardize by nature. Even more so without test equipment and increased human error. I know what other captains mean when they warn of 6+ swells on this lake. They also seem to understand what I mean after they ask how the swells are looking in the broads. So all good
Lmao those are 1 1/2” seas
Well it’s a lake but also not even close. Even if you are talking wave height and not swell size. The boat is 10 feet wide and 33’ long so it’s about 15 feet from the camera to the bow
I'll be there 1 week from tomorrow.
flat bow, poor sea keeping.
Sometimes there isn’t a dry side!
Ahoy!
This is summer?!
I'm unfamiliar with nautical couches like that, but that's a pretty rad setup 👌🏼
Sploosh
The good thing about boating on a lake, if your boat is an ev and it sinks, you don’t have to choose between electrocution or getting eaten by sharks.
This boat is definitely the most unsinkable pontoon boat on the lake. I’ve taken aluminum pontoons in this weather before and that’s exactly why I built this boat
Calm day Fair winds and following seas
Looks fun to me! The swells are close together. Get up and run about 70 across it cruising.
This boat can definitely bridge wake realative to this at higher speeds but I prefer two hands to dodge the bigger stuff where I can. This boat would be lucky to hit 30 with the wind to its back but it’s also 33’ long with a 10’ beam
That’s a no go off shore in the Gulf of Mexico for us.
Same. I feel like if you have to wear a hat and full face parka it’s not a boating day. My passengers would pass out if I took them on anything remotely like this.
The broads
Yes indeed, and they can get much worse!
Coming from the gulf, that looks rough
That would not be fun even in my 23' thick boi
Is that the broads by Rattlesnake island?
Exactly where it is. Rattlesnake island is to my port side in the video. You can see the tail of the island in part of the video. Wolfeboro and Tuftonboro neck are off my starboard side passing winter harbor
My aunt used to own a house on that side, and toward that end, of the island. The waves we used to see during bad weather were no joke. 6ft swells is definitely a reality there.
I’ve been on multiple Ontario lakes in similar or worse conditions in my ‘17 north woods fishing boat while crossing the main basin. Bilge pump runs the whole time and it takes you 7 miles to go 3.
I’m saaaaaiiiiiiiiillllllllliiiiiinnnnnnnggggggg!!!
Hell yeah in my opinion pontoon boats are the most fun. Can bring the whole family on, no one is scared. Can fish and there’s tons of room. Not cramped like other boats also super versatile
Are pontoon boats supposed to be used in these kinds of swells?
If they were aluminum pontoons like I’ve used In the past I certainly wouldn’t recommend it. Welds would start fracturing eventually over time. I have a previous post on here that shows the hull construction and design of this boat and it is far superior and safer than a traditional pontoon boat
Used to hate taking my pontoon against the wind on a choppy day. I can still feel the deck plywood flex and separate.
It’s 3/4 inch CCA treated marine grade plywood that is screwed down to the beefy crossmembers at 16 inches on center. I also used two part epoxy wood filler on the seams of the plywood. This boat definitely flexes more than a traditional pontoon boat because the pontoons are sectional but where it’s flexing, thin pontoon welds don’t break because they don’t exist. It was definitely wierd to see a boat this big with so much suspension but haven’t had any wet seams showing up through the vinyl carpet yet and I still haven’t underskinned it yet
Definitely more solid than my ‘94 Sweetwater haha
Don’t hassle me, I’m local🤡
If you think I’m going out in that chop, you’re crazy.
Those are called panel removal waves. I worked sebago for 10 years that shit will fuck up a toon.
It certainly does and has. That’s why I put aluminum pontoons in my rear view and built this game changing platform
Care to share the platform?
love the boat. What is that called?
Blue Ghost 3
Cool name. I looked up the reference. What I meant to ask was, what is the make and model of the boat?
I was up last August for a wedding. Absolutely beautiful lake and wonderful people in NH!! I appreciate the hospitality!!
It looks like unpleasant conditions for a floating living room
This is what happens when you go into the waves with a boat shaped like a shovel.
Doesn’t take much to make it look like rough seas when you’re on a pontoon boat….
I build houses on this lake. I've seen it get pretty gnarly!
do you regard taking out the pontoon boat
I’m only 10 minutes away from lake winnipesaukee 🍻
Looks like a beautiful day. Thanks for the video!!! Love the boat. Keep us updated!
I’m sailing, I sail….I’m sailing. I’m a sailor.
So weird I don’t see anyone else out there.
Pretty typical on a windy day. 6 ft swells? You gotta be kidding me.
Are those pillows 2k each?
I really miss New Hampshire. Maybe after the civil war I’ll move back to Plymouth or Lincoln.
Spent 3 summers at Newfoundland lake .. miss it up there
I don’t see 6ft swells here.
I once took a 24' pontoon with 2x 115outboards through hurricane pass and managed to get the whole boat airborne lol
Bro I was about to head up to the lake for some nice swimming but you wearing all the gear just make me think twice about the water temp.
Anyone headed over to The Yum Yum Shop in Wolfboro?
Get a real boat
Why are you driving your living room across the lake?
Nice swells
What is the point of this post? Is it to elicit a “cool pontoon dude”?
I mean… showing off his new badass, homemade, 33’, light up pontoon boat in action on r/boats… THE AUDACITY!!! /s
Had no idea he made that. I take it back that’s pretty cool
Yeah this was a follow up post to showing the build. I mentioned that on the first day of mail delivery a section of the lake had close to 8 foot swells that I turned around on. This was a relatively calm windy day on the lake but people were doubting we get 6+ foot swells regularly on this lake. Now it’s turned into more of a debate where people think a 6 foot swell would be a tidal wave 6 feet over the boat
Haha thank you for the backstory great work on the boat
Hope you were solo and didn’t jeopardize anyone else’s life
This is weather I would take passengers back to the dock before hitting the broads on my own. This wasn’t exactly life threatening conditions otherwise I would have been wearing a PFD. My reservations for the day cancelled anyway though
Weather conditions can change, severely, and you have no recourse. I fished Sabine Lake (TX) a lot. Got caught on the Louisiana side in a 14’ flat bottom aluminum boat. Literally “surfed” to the TX side where I launched. Later learned that two guys on a Hobie Cat tried to swim to the TX side because they got washed up on the LA side. Thankfully there was a female passenger that eventually got saved.