Matt Trulio recently interviewed Tres Martin, the founder of the Performance Boat School and renowned driving instructor, reviewing some safety tips in relation to the ever-popular question… How fast is too fast when it comes to performance boating? Check out a portion of the article below, or read it in full here.
How fast is too fast?
Martin broke his answers into three categories. Here’s what he had to say.
For the boat: “Some boats can’t go fast without handling problems because of design or hydrodynamic issues. I have run big boats that didn’t handle well at high speed, and small boats that ran really well at high speed. For a lot of boats out there right now, 150 mph is too fast.”
For the conditions: “What I tell people in boat school is that there is never a ‘perfect’ day to run your boat to its limit. Unless you get up and on the water at 6 a.m., there is always going to be someone else on the waterway, and even getting out there early is no guarantee. You need to be aware of the water conditions, including the traffic at all times, but it’s especially important when you’re running fast. If you’re running 150 mph and you hit one rogue wake from a yacht, it could be catastrophic. Are you leaving enough area around you for the speed you’re running? Are you constantly scanning the area around for potential hazards such as yachts creating wakes? Have you been watching your GPS or reading charts for potential shallow areas ahead? It’s all part of assessing conditions, and they often dictate how fast is too fast.”
