How to get sharper focus?

[mcbean7]

Hello all,
This is my first post here. I just got into photography recently so I have a lot to learn.
This pic was taken from a boat. I was on one knee trying to stabilize/balance myself. My question is...how can I get pics to be more in focus while in a boat or any other moving object?
Photo info:
Camera: Nikon D100
Lens: Nikkor 28-200mm (3.5-5.6D)
ISO: 200
focal length: 65mm
aperture: f/13
shutter speed: 1/500
Please be critical. Any input is appreciated.

[mikedugganphotography]

Sitting on a moving boat will automatically add some movement and blur to your photos. There are some gyro adapters that can be used with a tripod or mono pod but they are very expensive. So if you do not have a huge bank roll lets look at some things that might help. First decrease the aperture so that you can use a higher shutter speed. Was there a reason that you needed the aperture at f13? Even with the boat moving a tripod will give you a bit more stability. Give these a try and show us what you get.

[mcbean7]

Mike,
Thanks for your reply.
I have no idea why the aperture is that high. I am trying to shoot more in manual mode. Looking back at the EXIF info I see this pic was actually taken in program mode. I'll try to decrease the aperture and bump shutter speed up to see how it turns out. I'll report back as soon as I get new pics. Thanks.

[wamplers]

In addition to using a larger aperture, that shot was at ISO 200. If you had wanted to keep that aperture, you could have bumped the ISO to 400 and gotten 1/1000 or even 800 for 1/2000. I don't know how the ISO performance of your D100 is, but I wouldn't hesitate to use ISO 800 on my camera.

[Pen]

i would agree with what others have already said, unless you have a particular reason for the higher aperture, reduce it to probably like f/8, from what ive seen (and read) thats typically pretty much the ideal aperture to get the most sharpness from your lens, by doing just that you could get to like 1/1250, plus bump your iso another notch to 400 and you would be looking at like a 1/2000ish shutter speed, maybe like 1/2500 but i dont know if your camera has that....i dont know if my camera has that because im normally never over 1/1000

[Jim Fox]

Can't say much more than is already said. Never done any watersports, just basketball, track, soccer and some softball. I always try to shoot at f/2.8 unless I have a 1.4x or 2x Teleconverter on. If it were me shooting that, I think I would also be shooting in a portrait orientation and more zoomed.

[mcbean7]

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I'll try again with the lowest aperture allowed (at 50-65mm) and also at f/8 and will push for fastest shutter speed allowed. I used ISO 200 to keep noise down but I guess at ISO 400 noise should not be too bad, if noticable at all.
Water temps have dropped this past week. If I can get a brave soul to go to the lake this weekend I may have new pics to post.
Thanks again for the feedback and I'll post back as soon as I get new pics.