Trim & Speed in Heavier Chop
 

I've been playing around with this concept with our new R19.9, but haven't tested it thoroughly, so would love to hear others' opinions:
When boating in heavier chop (either wind-driven or caused by a lot of boat traffic in a smaller body of water), what are your preferences for speed and sterndrive trim to avoid hull slamming?

I've been told to stay at speed (cruising speed, not top end) and steer as closely to directly into the chop to have the hull cut through the waves. Conversely, I've also heard to cut speed to reduce slamming.

One idea that makes sense to me is to trim down the drive to keep more of the bow in the water to help cut through the wave, as opposed to keeping bow high and letting the waves slam into the mid-section of the hull.

What do you guys do to help cut down on hull slamming?

Thanks in advance,
Andy

Re: Trim & Speed in Heavier Chop
 

There are too many variables to give one answer that fits every situation. Sometimes I plow through them, other times I drive around them, and still others I ride up and down them. All depends on direction, size, consistency, wind, and where I'm trying to get to. There is no one hard fast rule that is always the thing to do when driving on rough water.

Do a google search on "boat driving waves tips" and you'll find a ton of articles explaining when to use which approach. Here's a couple quick hits that I found.
One
Two

More often than not, my passengers appreciate my quartering the waves rather than plowing through them or riding over them. It gives you more left/right roll, but it usually ends up being a smoother and drier ride. You just have to work your throttle a bit so you don't end up surfing down one and burying the bow into the next one.

Re: Trim & Speed in Heavier Chop
 

Thanks for the tips and the links, blockp. I'll give them a shot next time out this weekend.
Andy