how far and where

[dblok4eva]

hey guys i have a 1975 15` chrysler tri hull with a 65hp mercury i like to fish in the great bay in nj how far can i go out i dont think ican go out in open waters can i? i wanna go out as far as i can i wanna catch anything i can **** if i could id go tuna fishing with it lol

 

[reelfishin]

Re: how far and where

I have a buddy with a 17' trihull that goes way out anytime he can, and the boat in my eyes is living on borrowed time. In my opinion, he's just been lucky.
I'd say don't go out farther than you feel safe, or farther than you can safely run for cover if the weather gets bad. It can get pretty nasty pretty quick in big water. I used to have a 17' trihull which I ran out a good ways, but got caught out in some nasty weather a few times where I was more than bit concerned. Things like freeboard and motor reliability are a major concern with a small boat. What if the seas turned bad and your 10 miles out, how long would it take you to get back into safer water? How nasty will the inlet passage be?
I've had a few trips through a few pretty rough inlets in good weather that questioned whether a trihull belonged there or not.

For the most part, a trihull is best at home in calm water for both ride and stability reasons. Most don't have the bow height or freeboard to handle big water, and aren't designed to handle it if things turned ugly.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: how far and where

Ahhh! You do know that the Coast Guard charges you for the helicopter, don't you?

I had a friend that went out miles in a 17 foot Whaler. He traded up to a 25 footer. Tell you something?

I circumnavigated manhattan Island, N.Y. in a 15 footer. As long as it is calm and there is no traffic it's OK. I also took my 15 footer up the Hudson to Canada. Weather blew in on Lake Champlain and scared the livin' bejesus out of me.

BUT: with a 15 footer in the Atlantic? The swells are bigger than your boat. As a matter of fact, the fish are bigger --LOL. And, as I understand, running some of the inlets to get back can be really dicey in a small boat. It is a good bet that you will take on some water over the bow. The other major problem you will encounter is following seas. Even though the boat has a 20 inch transom, it is narrow and sits low in the water. Following seas will most certainly wash into the splashwell and possibly into the boat. Be absolutely certain you have an operating bilge pump--the bigger, the better.

If you have the guts to venture out, the limiting factor will be your fuel. You can only carry so much in a small boat. ALWAYS use the rule of three: 1/3 fuel out, 1/3 fuel return, and 1/3 reserve. And buy and use a GPS. Every direction looks the same out there.

For the most part, unless the weather is excellent, stay in Barnegat Bay.