Small boats, Lake Michigan, your thoughts?

[Fishinmagician]

Ok ive been thinking about this for a long time and i have to ask.

Would you take a 14 foot Crestliner 70 hp ob out on lake michigan on a calm day?

I was raised on this lake all my life and i know there are days the water is like glass and there are days its not. I live 5 minutes from the marina and bite my tounge every time i go by it, but for now ive been keeping my butt safe on Indiana small lakes which is great but i really want to get out on the big boy and tube and ski. I dont need to go miles out, i just want to use the water thats in my back yard.

Ive heard horror stories and ive been out there on various boats and have to say on a nice calm day i can see spending alot of money on fuel for as much boating i would do.

what would you do? or what is your opinion.



heres my boat.


14' 1977 Crestliner Stinger
70 hp johnson

thanks all,

FM

 

[rndn]

Re: Small boats, Lake Michigan, your thoughts?

I fished and boated for years on Lake Ontario in a 14 foot aluminum boat with an 18hp Tohatsu outboard. This was long before GPS and cell phones. My brother and I would take a compass, head out due north untill we could not see the New York shoreline any longer, and then keep going for an additional 20 minutes. We would troll for Salmon for a few hours and then head back in with a cooler full of salmon and a few trout.
We had both boated for years and felt very safe. Would I do it again in such a small boat? With cell phones, GPS, and VHF, sure I would.
What is much more important than the size of the boat is your boating abilities. You can be very safe in a 14 footer yet unsafe in a 20 footer. Make sure you know how to properly handle a small boat if the waves start to kick up and by all means do not attempt it unless you have a good weather forecast.

 

[fishnut/2008go]

Re: Small boats, Lake Michigan, your thoughts?

You must be darned lucky,even though I don't beleive in luck. I was an E-4 petty officer and served 4 years in Navy from 1961 to 1965. Am currently retired w/14 yrs in social security covered work (after Navy) and 32 years Railroad work. I love fishing and am currently looking for a good salt water fishing boat preferably w cuddy cabin 18 to 22 feet.

 

[BMOLCHANY]

Re: Small boats, Lake Michigan, your thoughts?

Soundsd like an all new adventure. Be safe out there.

 

[rndn]

Re: Small boats, Lake Michigan, your thoughts?

You must be darned lucky,even though I don't beleive in luck. I was an E-4 petty officer and served 4 years in Navy from 1961 to 1965. Am currently retired w/14 yrs in social security covered work (after Navy) and 32 years Railroad work. I love fishing and am currently looking for a good salt water fishing boat preferably w cuddy cabin 18 to 22 feet.

I don't think luck had anything to do with it. My brother and I made sure we had a good weather forecast, that people knew our plans, and had the safety equipment on board. You don't need a 30 foot boat to be safe on Lake Ontario. As I stated in my first post you need to know how to boat and boat safely. My brother and I did this for 8 years without an issue. There were many days our plans were changed because of the weather. I may also point out that I have read about boats that were 26 feet in length sink on Lake Ontario because of very poor boating. They went out in rough seas and then they tried to troll with 4 foot waves. One wave went over their stern, shorted out the engine, and the next wave swamped the boat.

The original question was if people thought it could be safe to boat on Lake Michigan with a small aluminum boat. You don't need an huge boat to enjoy boating you just need to take additional precautions.

 

[Fishinmagician]

Re: Small boats, Lake Michigan, your thoughts?

I really appreciate the story about you and your brother, the good ole days , i remember trips like that with my grand father in the uper of michigan.

My plan was to launch from Portage Indiana (Where i live) head east to a power station area along the bank by Michigan City, there are a few inner(shallow) areas that i could use to beach it if it got too bad or if its nice its the perfect area to tube and ski. I keep an eye on the weather no matter where im at so thats a given,I have GPS ,cell phone and VHF so im covered there, i just know how fast on lake michigan the conditions can change.

thanks for the input, i will let you know how it goes after i bite the bullet and go for it.

Happy Boating.........


FM