Staying dry on windy days

[Snakebit95]

Curious to know how the higher end boats perform on windy days. I currently have an XP16, and have been relatively happy with it except on windy days. Any wind blowing  over 15mph gets me wet when moving between fishing spots and sometimes from waves breaking on front of the boat while fishing. I usually don't mind getting a little wet, but now that the cold has moved in, it's not very tolerable. I am considering upgrading to a larger and faster boat, and want to make sure the new boat keeps me dryer as well. I'm looking at 18 and 19 footers to gain extra storage and overall moving around space. It gets cramped in a 16 with 2 people and all the gear. Thanks in advance!!

[Mike Cork]

First let me say that a cross wind of 15 plus on a large lake is going to get you wet in any boat. My boat is 21 foot and when fishing a lake the size of Toledo Bend [63 miles long] I have to be extremely careful cutting sideways across it on windy days to prevent getting wet. Mistime a wave and you're soaked.

It you're on a body of water that you can always drive into the wind, you'll be much better off. Or if the wind can only get a mile or two of wave building.

Yes with a larger boat you can expect to stay drier, but it all depends on wind direction, distance of waves, and driving skills. I can make the driest riding boat on the market seem like one step short of a swimming pool.

[Snakebit95]

Thanks for the reply. I have a couple of friends that have glass boats, and I have fished and ridden in them under similar conditions and have stayed dry. I was interested in knowing how much the hull design had to do with this, and if the higher end xpress boats had a hull design that provided dryer conditions.  My XP16 is an entry level boat, so I expect it to have a narrow hull, and maybe not optimal for keeping dry. I know that any boat can get you wet with poor driving decisions. That's a known on my part. But when I'm simply fishing from the deck and I'm getting wet from windy wave action from the now of the boat, I think there should be better ways to minimize getting wet. I like fishing year-round, so simply avoiding the cold weather months is not really an option for me. I want to make sure my next boat is a keeper. Thanks again for your feedback.

[Mike Cork]

I'm not extremely familiar with the hull designs of the express rigs (I think that's what an XP is?).

That said we have several guys on our tournament circuits fishing out of Express rigs that are 19 foot and one that is 20 foot. You couldn't pry those guys out of their boats, they love them. They get the benefits of a larger boat but the tow weight is so much less. They also get the horsepower benefits, as they are able to run large motors like the glass rigs.

The only complaint they have is the wind will blow the boat around a little, but they don't complain about getting wet. I think the biggest thing for your situation is the length, this also means it's narrower too. A slightly larger rig is going to give you better protection in all aspects.

[Snakebit95]

Thanks Mike. My thoughts have been the same, but wanted to hear it from some owners as well.

[fishingram24]

Have an X17 and don't recall getting wet when running in 15 mph wind. As Mike said, any boat can wet you and you will get blown around a bit because tin boats don't sit quite as deep and are lighter but that's also a few of the reasons to buy one in the first place. I have owned aluminum for over 30 years and have had boats that would soak you in choppy conditions but never in an Xpress with a hyper lift hull.