Did a 4 day trip in September 2023 to North Molokai from Oahu, then around Lanai, South Molokai and back to Oahu. Just my gf and the doggos.
First time I’ve felt really uncomfortable on the boat. We had great conditions the whole trip but the tradewinds were stronger than expected that final day. We stayed in Hale O Lono Harbor for an extra night hoping to catch an early morning lull as we worked down swell back to Oahu. Ended up being glassy at first and we had a good cruise of about 20 knots until we got to about 5 miles from Makapu’u. Winds picked up and the channel got pretty gnarly for us here. Big, steep, following seas that were unorganized and unpredictable. Not as rough as my first crossing the other way (earlier in this thread), but the downhill was not fun.
The boat broached a few times pretty hard to the side, I just couldn’t keep up with the swell and was being overtaken by them. Trimmed up didn’t do much, besides making it harder to keep speed. The bow still dug in a few times triggering some sketchy moments. Now I know why local boats with Radon style hulls (Force, Hoku, Radon), are so popular as they perform much better down swell than most traditional hull designs, especially when they are 6’+ and steep. I think the current near South East Oahu just stands the swell right up.
Haven’t made the trip since then, but eyeing another later this summer. Just did 500 hour maintenance, things are still running smoothly.









