Noob Question on Offshore Venture

[smokeonthewater]

I don't know everything and have done very little salt water boating but I'll say this... IF YOU were qualified, you wouldn't be asking if the boat was....

Make friends with someone experienced and toss him $100 towards gas for a chance to ride along every chance you get....

[Blue_Runner]

Been out regularly 45+ miles, furthest was 75 (won't do 80 again). Epirb, dual fixed mount radios, quality life preservers (kind that keep your head up out of the water when you're unconscious), a floating ditch bag with rope/carabiners/water/sunscreen/flares/handheld radio and of course marine towing insurance.

Always best if you have another boat with you. Someone said high pressure which gives more confidence for stable weather pattern and I agree with that. Still, anything can happen. If you have enough patience and fuel I feel the boat can handle more than I'm willing to handle in it.

That said, the time I went out 75 miles it was a nice day until it was time to head back. The wind picked up from the north which made for a slow ride. The main problem I had was fuel. I felt if I just tried to plow through it vs. planing off I would most certainly run out. So I kept it planed which made for a miserable ride for all aboard. I had the enclosure ON and was somehow taking buckets to the face THROUGH the front enclosure/windshield. About four hours worth of that......needless to say I was happy to get home!

[Pipe_Dream]

Originally Posted by Blue_Runner

Been out regularly 45+ miles, furthest was 75 (won't do 80 again). Epirb, dual fixed mount radios, quality life preservers (kind that keep your head up out of the water when you're unconscious), a floating ditch bag with rope/carabiners/water/sunscreen/flares/handheld radio and of course marine towing insurance.

Always best if you have another boat with you. Someone said high pressure which gives more confidence for stable weather pattern and I agree with that. Still, anything can happen. If you have enough patience and fuel I feel the boat can handle more than I'm willing to handle in it.

That said, the time I went out 75 miles it was a nice day until it was time to head back. The wind picked up from the north which made for a slow ride. The main problem I had was fuel. I felt if I just tried to plow through it vs. planing off I would most certainly run out. So I kept it planed which made for a miserable ride for all aboard. I had the enclosure ON and was somehow taking buckets to the face THROUGH the front enclosure/windshield. About four hours worth of that......needless to say I was happy to get home!

And that's why I don't venture offshore in the old Pipe Dream. Offshore for me is east which means I have to head west to get home, and nearly all our weather comes from the west. Especially the storms.

Now when I'm down in the Keys that's another matter entirely.

[ashokrags]

Originally Posted by Blue_Runner

Been out regularly 45+ miles, furthest was 75 (won't do 80 again). Epirb, dual fixed mount radios, quality life preservers (kind that keep your head up out of the water when you're unconscious), a floating ditch bag with rope/carabiners/water/sunscreen/flares/handheld radio and of course marine towing insurance.

Always best if you have another boat with you. Someone said high pressure which gives more confidence for stable weather pattern and I agree with that. Still, anything can happen. If you have enough patience and fuel I feel the boat can handle more than I'm willing to handle in it.

That said, the time I went out 75 miles it was a nice day until it was time to head back. The wind picked up from the north which made for a slow ride. The main problem I had was fuel. I felt if I just tried to plow through it vs. planing off I would most certainly run out. So I kept it planed which made for a miserable ride for all aboard. I had the enclosure ON and was somehow taking buckets to the face THROUGH the front enclosure/windshield. About four hours worth of that......needless to say I was happy to get home!

Thanks for sharing the experience. It’s is good to know that the boat can handle it that far offshore. I do not think I would venture that far out any time in the far future, but I would like to eventually become a bit more experienced in going offshore a little ways maybe 5-10 miles. Depending on how well the boat holds up I plan to have some more tools to help like radar etc first before I try. But I was just curious about how folks felt the boat did in open waters as most of the stuff I read about claims this is a bay boat.

[Destroyer]

Just pay attention to the local weather report. If there are small craft warnings out then it's time for rivers, lakes and (some) bays. But if the weather is calm and the waves are small this boat does very well in the open ocean. Like others have said, just keep a weather eye out and you'll do fine.

KEEP YOUR VHF RADIO ON AND TUNED TO ONE OF THE WEATHER CHANNELS ALL THE TIME.

[pjbrownva]

Originally Posted by bgreene

Been digging and planting in my yard haven't found the cash yet either :)

Oh yeah.... I buried some cash in *your* back yard too. Lemme know when you find it, and I'll give you half.

Originally Posted by ashokrags

No you didn't lose me.

Great to still have you around. I can't recommend trim tabs highly enough. The top two manufacturers are Bennett and Lenco. My impression is Lenco's strength is electric tabs and Bennett's strength is hydraulic.

I seems that for long term reliability, hydraulic is better -- salt water tends to destroy electrical things... so keeping your electric motor in a hydraulic pump far from the water is probably a better design than trying to have an electric motor sealed within the trim tab cylinder itself.

I'm thrilled with my Bennett M120 sport tabs.

I got the system with a full lighted digital display and also their "auto trim pro" ("ATP") feature that is kind of like cruise control for trim tabs.

atp1.jpg

Truth be told, I can't get the to work properly on my V20 without a fancy "NMEA 2000" network, In March 2020, Bennett redesigned the product to accept a GPS signal over an NMEA 2000 network, and -- reading between the lines -- I presume that redesigned was done because the old design must have had some issues.

I'm confident that once I hook up the system to the "NMEA 2000" connection from my new GPS, and initialize everything that it'll work just fine.... and the version that I got *does* have the change from March 2020.

Price-wise, I found that Hodges Marine offered a *much* better price than many other sellers.
atp2.jpg

So if it's in the budget, and it appeals to you, I'd say get that system...

I also bought a lowrance NMEA network starter kit for $90. It's not that complicated... but you do have to learn a bit, and get the right stuff if you don't already have it.

Originally Posted by Blue_Runner

PJBrownva I had that happen once where the fuel line disconnected from the motor. The only difference is I WAS going out of Hatteras inlet in my V21. I

Ouch! Lesson learned. I have the parts, and *will* be replacing the connector and fuel hoses... since the hoses are old and dried and could also fail. I'll have to see if a new connector is enough, or if there is some way to put on a small zip tie for extra piece-of-mind. I never even thought about a fuel hose connector coming off... but I learned that if it happens at the wrong time... and if you aren't trained to check the connector fairly promptly, you could have problems. I'm glad you and the V20 are still around to tell the tale. Some inlets and/or channels can be pretty bad.... and I've heard that the one by Hatteras fits that description. I haven't gone in an out of Ocean City, MD yet, but I think that can be bad at times too. I know I have more to learn, but I *will* be giving it a try. If there are boats at the launch that seem experienced, I might ask one of the captains for a few tips and/or if they would keep an eye on me and can we go out together.... also, if it looks bad or I'm uncomfortable, I'll just skip, or hang out for an hour or more and see if the conditions change. In time I'm sure that I'll learn more, including which tides are best, which aren't, etc.

Originally Posted by Blue_Runner

Been out regularly 45+ miles, furthest was 75 (won't do 80 again). Epirb, dual fixed mount radios, quality life preservers (kind that keep your head up out of the water when you're unconscious), a floating ditch bag with rope/carabiners/water/sunscreen/flares/handheld radio and of course marine towing insurance.

... If you have enough patience and fuel I feel the boat can handle more than I'm willing to handle in it.

So I kept it planed which made for a miserable ride for all aboard. I had the enclosure ON and was somehow taking buckets to the face THROUGH the front enclosure/windshield. About four hours worth of that......needless to say I was happy to get home!

Wow! Great advice, and equipment info. I get about 4 MPG, so my range-to-empty is about 240 miles... that should give me up to 80 miles using the rule of thirds... but I don't plan to ever be 80 miles off shore! I have full enclosures too... but I guess as you point out, sometimes they help but aren't enough. I've never seen anyone wearing goggles -- like ski googles or something, but I wonder if I should keep 'em on the boat -- seriously. Not that I *plan* to need them, but maybe if I ever do, I'll be happy to have them. I'm definitely hoping to do some true blue water adventures eventually, but I will build up to it, and probably go with a buddy boat.

Question -- someone mentioned the keys being calmer than up north.
In general, in your area, would you say that the ocean and off shore is comparable to the ocean off long island or off cape-cod, or does it tend to be calmer where you are. I know you can't OVER GENERALIZE -- for example, near Cape Cod their are places near Nantucket or the Monomoy shoals that are known for being especially rough -- so I don't plan to go there... or off ocean city (I think) there is an area called the "rips" that has good fishing, but can also be rough... while I don't know where they are... I don't plan to go there any time soon... I'm not experienced enough. But I am wondering, for those who say that they go 40 or 50 miles off shore without concern, are you in a part of the ocean that tends to be more calm than the North Atlantic. I'd hate to go off shore in my areas, based off of experiences from people who boat in generally calmer waters.

Originally Posted by Pipe_Dream

And that's why I don't venture offshore in the old Pipe Dream. Offshore for me is east which means I have to head west to get home, and nearly all our weather comes from the west. Especially the storms.

Now when I'm down in the Keys that's another matter entirely.

I've heard that the keys tend to be calmer... debunking my prior belief that if the CIA used this hull as part of the bay of pigs invasion to shuttle frogmen 90 miles from the keys to the Cuba... if it was good enough for them, then it's good enough for me! Just recently, someone told me that the keys tend to be much calmer, as is the trip to cuba from their. I'll confess, I have no knowledge, so I'm just trying to learn.

Originally Posted by ashokrags

Thanks for sharing the experience. It’s is good to know that the boat can handle it that far offshore. ...

I would like to eventually become a bit more experienced in going offshore a little ways maybe 5-10 miles.

5 to 10 miles should be fine. That's not really a big concern... with the disclaimer that even 1 mile can be dangerous if the captain and boat aren't prepared, you don't have the right equipment in good condition, the conditions are or turn really bad, or you don't know what you're doing. But, disclaimer aside, if you practice good seamanship and everything that it entails... then you should be fine.

I just recently learned the value of a check list. Seriously. Pilots use them for planes... they are required. I took a trip out of town... towed the boat 4 hours and booked 3 days at a camp ground. I dropped the boat in the water, and the engine wouldn't crank. I tried my backup battery... no luck. I went to my external booster / jumper pack, an somehow it had gotten wet and was toast. My friend lent me a battery he had... no luck. I put the boat back on the trailer and fished on his boat. The starter motor was gummed up... I"m good now, but lesson learned. I will make and always use a written checklist. I should have check the battery charge levels. Bumped the engine, just to see that she engaged and cranked, verified that my booster pack was good and at 100%, etc before I even left town pulling the boat.

Sooo many issues can be avoided by having a pilot-like routine that you follow.


Well.... I hit my 30,000 word limit for today. So I'll let someone else respond!

Cheers!

-Philip