Rafting up to bigger boats

[MacGyver]

Looking for help to maybe make this easier on me.....
We rafted up to a Catalina 30, and the ComPac 19 did pretty well I thought untill the waves came in..... It was like our boat was bucking away!
I ended up trying to stay on our boat for the fireworks, but got seasick really fast.
Got onto the Catalina, and got better but once I get sick, It is hard for me to get well.... I never threw up or anything, but sitting and waiting for the fireworks got me thinking...... what can I do to alleviate the boats crazy jerking?

Anyone have any ideas?
Anyone had issues like this?

We were on his anchor point, could us having a anchor out also have helped at all?
Or is it just a matter of weights fighting and ours is too small to contend.......

Thanks,
Mac
The only thing I have come up with is tie up so the waves hit his boat first......besides maybe some sort of rocker stopper.......

[Billy]

Good question, but "i think we are gonna need a bigger boat".
Smaller boats = bigger waves

Bigger boats = smaller waves

But I don't understand why rafting up would make the waves worse?

[CaptRon28]

The "raft" has to be able to swing around as needed because of wind or current, so the biggest boat with the best anchoring gear should be the only one with a hook out. All of the boats should be tied together fairly tight with at least 2 flat rafting or normal fenders protecting each pair. If possible, split the total weight evenly to both sides of the anchoring boat, with the larger boats more toward the center.  It sounds like power boat wakes were the problem - so pick an area with less wakes.

We've had 8 or more multihulls rafted together in the middle of very large and busy bays (Charlotte Harbor as an example), probably close to 200 feet wide, with the largest catamaran (about 45 feet long x 25 feet wide) as the center point. Considering our location, the raft-ups were remarkably smooth.

[skip1930]

And what's the problem? Please excuse my foot tracks.

Apply more fenders and lines and ground tackle when out-O-harbor. Make the largest boat the anchor for the group.
We luv's to do this bow in, like a star pattern, all the way around. and have breakfast together. One boat makes the bloody mary's, one the eggs, one the toast, one slices up the fruit, and one provides the coffee. Life is better than good!

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[Shawn]

The waves always seem worse when rafted as you and the boat you are rafted to are out of sync. One boat always seems to be going up the crest, the next is heading down the trough. It makes the apparent motion larger which may be what made you seasick.

I raft up with my fathers Bertram 26 on occasion, mainly for fireworks on July 4. Even with multiple fenders between us I tend to keep a foot on his deck to hold the boats more apart.

If there is any significant wave action we don't even try as he has far more free board then I do and without having really large fenders between us (which we don't have) the deck joints could hit. One thing we might try is tying off a bow line to his stern so we are in a line. Then use a tethered dingy to move between boats if desired. Not as social as side by side rafting but easier on the boats in the presence of waves and the boats are much closer together than if they were both anchored.

Shawn

[skip1930]

I like the three pound coffee can [pee can] on a bridle and sunk about two under the boat and tied off on the stern cleat.
Kind of like a shock absorber.

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