My husband and I just upgraded from a 17 foot Ranger to Nitro Z-9. Although my husband has always driven our boats, I'm new to the game. I absolutely love to bass fish but being a passenger has its limits for me. I'm recovering from neck and lower back injuries from last year (got rear ended in my truck not once but twice), anyway, we upgraded for a better boat for 2 reasons. 1 - The most obvious, who wouldn't upgrade from an '86 Ranger to a '15 Nitro Z-9? 2 - A bigger boat should ride better in lakes for my pain issues. My question is with our Z-9, is it better to ride the waves or cut into them? I don't care about getting wet or sprayed, I care about slamming down on a wave and feeling like my spine just snapped in two.

My husband and I just upgraded from a 17 foot Ranger to Nitro Z-9. Although my husband has always driven our boats, I'm new to the game. I absolutely love to bass fish but being a passenger has its limits for me. I'm recovering from neck and lower back injuries from last year (got rear ended in my truck not once but twice), anyway, we upgraded for a better boat for 2 reasons. 1 - The most obvious, who wouldn't upgrade from an '86 Ranger to a '15 Nitro Z-9? 2 - A bigger boat should ride better in lakes for my pain issues. My question is with our Z-9, is it better to ride the waves or cut into them? I don't care about getting wet or sprayed, I care about slamming down on a wave and feeling like my spine just snapped in two.

Most of the boat brands now have better performing hulls than "back then", including Ranger.

 

The 20'9" Z-9 will be a  big improvement in all water types.

 

The 300 series Rangers and similar hull designs are the worse riding hulls I have ever been in.

Your question is not an easy one to answer due to the variables involved and nearly every situation is different, however generally speaking quartering the waves is the smoothest ride and one of the most wet.....

In a chop, try trimming the bow down.  That way, the V at the forefoot of the keel will slice through the waves.  If the bow is carried too high, the boat will ride on the bottom toward the stern and will tend to slap and pound.

 

 

Quartering the waves as mentioned above is a good option.  So, if you are driving the boat make sure your husbands side is into the oncoming waves.  You'll have a smoother, and, dryer ride.

 

You'll have to try various settings to see how it affects the ride and handling.  With practice, making trim and speed adjustments will become second nature.  Always exercise caution.  Do not push it beyond your ability to safely control the boat.

When I took my florida boaters lisence course, they suggested to take waves at a 45° angle. I do pretty much that except I'll swing away from the wake at first to get the less intense wake and then cut into them. My boat is not even a close comparison to a Nitro Z-9 so take it with a grain of salt.

Thanks guys! We were on Table Rock Lake in MO and the waves were at least 5-6 ft swells. It was crazy and painful. lol I did a lot better by your suggestions of cutting into a wave at a 45 degree angle. I also tried to create a rhythm of surfing on a wave in the main channel. That helped too so I didn't have to come off plane.

Wayne P. I completely agree with you about the 300 series Rangers! Oh my,yes,you sure do take a beating with those hulls. Worse ever. lol

That must have been some kind of wind storm to make waves that large on Table Rock.

It was 4th of July weekend. So not so much of a wind storm just a LOT of boats cruising. It certainly wasn't a fishermen's lake last week, that's for sure! Ha!

No bass boat is going to ride well in rough water. That's why off shore boats are deep V. All you can do is use the throttle to keep the bow up and try to match speed with them.

Thanks Crappiebasser. Well, in comparison of a 300 series '86 Ranger and a '15 Nitro, the Nitro was a much better ride despite the very rough water. Of course, it was a better ride once I got the knack of it.

Thanks Crappiebasser. Well, in comparison of a 300 series '86 Ranger and a '15 Nitro, the Nitro was a much better ride despite the very rough water. Of course, it was a better ride once I got the knack of it.

You are kind of comparing apples to oranges there. You can take the same 2 hull designs and have a 17' version vs a 20 1/2' version and the bigger one is ALWAYS going to handle bigger water better. Not saying hull designs haven't improved over the years because they certainly have, but if you compared yours to a '15 Z-6 you'd find that a lot of the ride quality comes from the size of the bigger boat. 

You are kind of comparing apples to oranges there. You can take the same 2 hull designs and have a 17' version vs a 20 1/2' version and the bigger one is ALWAYS going to handle bigger water better. Not saying hull designs haven't improved over the years because they certainly have, but if you compared yours to a '15 Z-6 you'd find that a lot of the ride quality comes from the size of the bigger boat.

Exactly my point! Please see the full topic. Thanks for posting.

Exactly my point! Please see the full topic. Thanks for posting.

I had read the full topic. That may be your point, but it reads more like your throwing out a blanket statement towards all the 300 series Rangers when your experience is only with a 17 footer. If you're just trying to say a bigger boat rides better, that's common knowledge.