Chop

[willk]

Another thread got me wondering...

What do YOU call "choppy"? Or a "bit fresh"?

Answers with seastate/wind force/photo/whatever pls.

[Maximus]

A Sharp sided meter (ish..and up) Chop caused by any mixture of wind and Tide ....,I would consider Choppy
A 'Bit. Fresh' would be considerably Bigger!
And Usually involve some Spume.

[Mollers]

Offshore wind generated without swell.

A 'bit fresh' would be giving a ribnetter's wife's bum a cheeky tweek.

[stevedonna]

Going out for a quick pint dear go home two hours later

Atmosphere a bit choppy

Ask what's up and it gets a bit fresh

[Nos4r2]

Waves with short wavelength and steep faces that make you wish for a gumshield=choppy.Dependent on the boat size, could be a large range. Past that, it's f'n rough.

A bit fresh is usually typical Brit understatement.

[The Gurnard]

I have found that photographs never really capture chop well. For some reason the waves don’t stand out to well ?

My definition of chop is when its too rough for me to go in my own boat so I go by public boat.

An example of what Im rambling about is the day I went to Eigg. There was too chop for me so I decided to go on the Shearwater...the blue hulled boat in this photo.



Being fortunate enough to be first on board... I had the choice of seating. As an experience boatman of chop ...I chose the seat just under its rear canopy. The non boating public clambered over each other for the back seats as it was a nice fresh, warm sunny day... presumably so they could enjoy the views on the crossing.



That was a sign to get my camera ready as it was predictable what the chop would do. Once clear of the shelter of the skerries.... the chop came straight over the roof of the Shearwater... and landed on the unsuspecting tourists. The rear deck emptied in seconds as everyone swan for the shelter under the canopy.



Does this illustrate what I mean about photographs not showing the chop well ?
It still looks calm on the sea.

Of course... I do agree... one man’s chop... may be another man’s dinner ...

[matt h]

A sea state that gives maximus heomeroids!

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by matt h

A sea state that gives maximus heomeroids!

That...does not exist!!
......Although I've seen You Sh#te yer self a few times!

[John Kennett]

Originally Posted by Nos4r2

A bit fresh is usually typical Brit understatement.

I think it's the next level down from "sporting"

[JamesF]

I think of swell as waves you can watch and keep track of for a few seconds, and chop as everything else.

Or in other words, I might consider altering power or course for swell, but chop disappears before you can react.

"A bit fresh" is when you get back, have a shower and still keep finding salt in places you didn't realise you had.

[tonymac]

Originally Posted by stevedonna

Going out for a quick pint dear go home two hours later

Atmosphere a bit choppy

Ask what's up and it gets a bit fresh

Spot on Steve!!

[lukewhiting]

Choppy for me!

[willk]

Originally Posted by The Gurnard

one man’s chop... may be another man’s...

....Fish

[Exe treme]

Wavelength shorter than the hull and breaking at the top.

[uncle al]

How about saying its lumpy? That covers all sea/water states. Thats what the R.N.L.I. people used to tell me.

[BogMonster]

"Chop" is when the wave height is less than the beam of the boat
"A bit fresh" is when the wave height is somewhere between the beam and the length
More than the length is "distinctly brisk"

[9D280]

Chop = "short sharp waves" - May be smal lenough to straddle with enough speed, therefore not that uncomfortable, may also be big enough to make it a ***** of a run.

A bit fresh ? - a standard day on the Clyde! I would use that as another tounge in cheek way of saying it's a bit breezy....

"lumpy" - is what I would call that random stuff where wind vs 2 tidal flows meet. I normally see it off the bottom end of Bute at certain states of the tide Same effect at the MoK. I guess any location where 2 big tides meet on a windy day will do it,

[jyasaki]

Swell is wave action induced by long term wind contact with the water. Generally has a fairly well defined pattern (though the organization may be screwed up by opposing swell patterns.)

Chop is wave action generated by short term wind contact; has very little organization (i.e. the "peaks" tend to come and go quickly with no defined "line"), and is generally a very short period (distance between peaks.)

Waves are when the swell (or chop I suppose) starts cresting.

As to what constitutes "choppy", I think the discussion is heading towards "what makes it too big to be comfortable", which is kind of subjective.


jky

[jambo]

THis may help straight fro Wiki,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
A swell, in the context of an ocean, sea or lake, is a series of mechanical waves that propagate along the interface between water and air and so they are often referred to as surface gravity waves. These series of surface gravity waves are not generated by the immediate local wind, instead by distant weather systems, where wind blows for a duration of time over a fetch of water. This is the primary definition of a swell as opposed to a locally generated wind wave, which is still under the influence of the mechanisms that created it e.g. Wind blowing over a puddle. More generally, a swell consists wind-generated waves that are not—or are hardly—affected by the local wind at that time. Swell waves often have a long wavelength but this varies due to the size, strength and duration of the weather system responsible for the swell and the size of the water body e.g. wavelengths are rarely more than 150 m in the Mediterranean. Swell wavelength, also, varies from event to event. Occasionally, swells which are longer than 700 m occur as a result of the most severe storms. Swells have a narrower range of frequencies and directions than locally generated wind waves, because swell waves have dispersed from their generation area, have disipated and therefore lost an amount of randomness, taking on a more defined shape and direction.
Funny enough they dont have a reference to chop!!

[Bigtalljv]

While I think the physical measurements of chop will vary I think to most boaters it's a short period wave that makes a boat uncomfortable to in. The size and period which make it uncomfortable are going to vary by boat. For me I'm hoping that my big zodiac handles what was chop in my old boat without notice.