- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
Taking 22 ft Center Console Offshore?
Posted on 11/15/22 at 6:10 am
Posted on 11/15/22 at 6:10 am
I have a 22ft Center Console bay boat (I tried to post a picture, not sure it it'll work.) I've been thinking about taking it offshore to the first set of rigs off the texas coast.
Does anyone with a boat this size also do this? I'm slightly nervous about it and would only take it out on a very flat/calm day. Any recommendations for do's and dont's taking a boat this size offshore?
Posted on 11/15/22 at 6:16 am to Yeahbuddy35
Right off the bat, can you? Yes. Should you? No
But I’ve seen people in similar or smaller boats. How far you talking? Can you see land from those rigs?
But I’ve seen people in similar or smaller boats. How far you talking? Can you see land from those rigs?
Posted on 11/15/22 at 6:17 am to Success
Yes you can still see land, i think theyre around 10-15 miles out.
Posted on 11/15/22 at 6:29 am to Yeahbuddy35
I do it pretty regularly in a 24' bay boat. Mine is about as good a single screw bay boat as you can get for doing it and we've gone pretty damn far in it a few times and had some really fun trips. There's days when the only factor is how much gas you have and you can go really far in a bass boat, but those are few and far between. The most important thing is getting experience out there before you bail 25 miles out on your own. It's not super dangerous if you have your head screwed on straight, you aren't 1000 miles out in the pacific or anything.
- the boat has to be as seaworthy as possible. Working bilge pumps, all safety equipment functional, good VHF radio, etc. The most important thing is that the engine is trustworthy and proven reliable. The farther away you get the more important this becomes.
- the captain has to be as seaworthy as possible. If you have no open water experience, bring someone who does and learn from them. Don't just go out there tying off to rigs with no previous experience doing it and don't run 40 miles out your first time.
- the weather has to be good. A 2' gulf storm chop in a bay boat is brutal. 4's is very dangerous. Dont let the purple stuff get between you and the trailer. There will be days when you fish very little or none and have to turn it around and make a speck fishing day out of it. It's damn hard to do when it isn't bad yet, you're where you want to be, put the money and effort into getting there. Gotta be willing to tell everyone to reel em up and try again another day.
- the boat has to be as seaworthy as possible. Working bilge pumps, all safety equipment functional, good VHF radio, etc. The most important thing is that the engine is trustworthy and proven reliable. The farther away you get the more important this becomes.
- the captain has to be as seaworthy as possible. If you have no open water experience, bring someone who does and learn from them. Don't just go out there tying off to rigs with no previous experience doing it and don't run 40 miles out your first time.
- the weather has to be good. A 2' gulf storm chop in a bay boat is brutal. 4's is very dangerous. Dont let the purple stuff get between you and the trailer. There will be days when you fish very little or none and have to turn it around and make a speck fishing day out of it. It's damn hard to do when it isn't bad yet, you're where you want to be, put the money and effort into getting there. Gotta be willing to tell everyone to reel em up and try again another day.
Posted on 11/15/22 at 6:33 am to Yeahbuddy35
quote:
, i think theyre around 10-15 miles out.
I can tell you from experience that the first time you're there, you'll be wanting to go to the 20 mile rigs after the first 5 minutes you go without a bite.
That's not very far at all, but remember that in open water that's still a 30 minute boat ride unless it's like glass. The weather can get shitty in 30 minutes. We had a jackup boat flip 5 miles out a few years ago in a pop up storm that got downright nasty in a hurry. You do not want to be in THAT shite in a bay boat.
Just be smart and be willing to bail and you'll be fine. Being willing to bail is the hardest part out of this.
Posted on 11/15/22 at 7:05 am to Yeahbuddy35
You absolutely can. But like everyone here said use extreme caution, make sure everything that can break won't break, be experienced in open water, be 100% aware of the weather conditions, if possible monitor the weather real time and quit at the first sign of a problem.
I have a 24ft skeeter bay boat and my first tripe to Chandeleur island (25 miles off shore from long Beach MS) was glass calm on the way out. But 2-4' coming in. I monitored the weather all week up until the moment we launched. There was supposed to be zero chance of rain, a 2-5mph north wind that was supposed to calm to zero mph at 6-7pm before ramping up to a 10-15mph south wind at 9-10pm. That didn't happen. At 2:45 pm the water was glass and had 10-20ft visibility straight down and no wind. At 3:00 pm there was a 5mph wind from the south with about a 6-8" chop. At 3:15 pm the wind was 10-15mph still coming from the south, with a 1ft chop. 3:30pm the I pilot was no longer staying in the water with waves splashing over the bow, the wind had jumped up to the 20-30mph range with 2-4' seas. At that point we were already packing everything in for the dookie arse ride back. We were only able to travel about 25 mph back bashing through the waves for an hour straight. The ride in was so rough, and getting worse, in fact that I bruised the bottoms of both feet and permanently hurt my back. We should've came it alot slower but it was getting bad out there. Heard the coastguard calling out to a capsized vessel on chnl 16, it got so bad.
The moral of the story is this, shite can get bad really fricking quick offshore. And if you don't have a boat that can handle at least 3-5' seas without water hitting the deck you should be so over prepared you feel insane anytime you venture offshore.
Here's the boat.
I have a 24ft skeeter bay boat and my first tripe to Chandeleur island (25 miles off shore from long Beach MS) was glass calm on the way out. But 2-4' coming in. I monitored the weather all week up until the moment we launched. There was supposed to be zero chance of rain, a 2-5mph north wind that was supposed to calm to zero mph at 6-7pm before ramping up to a 10-15mph south wind at 9-10pm. That didn't happen. At 2:45 pm the water was glass and had 10-20ft visibility straight down and no wind. At 3:00 pm there was a 5mph wind from the south with about a 6-8" chop. At 3:15 pm the wind was 10-15mph still coming from the south, with a 1ft chop. 3:30pm the I pilot was no longer staying in the water with waves splashing over the bow, the wind had jumped up to the 20-30mph range with 2-4' seas. At that point we were already packing everything in for the dookie arse ride back. We were only able to travel about 25 mph back bashing through the waves for an hour straight. The ride in was so rough, and getting worse, in fact that I bruised the bottoms of both feet and permanently hurt my back. We should've came it alot slower but it was getting bad out there. Heard the coastguard calling out to a capsized vessel on chnl 16, it got so bad.
The moral of the story is this, shite can get bad really fricking quick offshore. And if you don't have a boat that can handle at least 3-5' seas without water hitting the deck you should be so over prepared you feel insane anytime you venture offshore.
Here's the boat.
This post was edited on 11/15/22 at 9:51 am
Posted on 11/15/22 at 7:08 am to Yeahbuddy35
Pick your weather wisely
Posted on 11/15/22 at 8:21 am to Yeahbuddy35
We take a single engine 21’ Triton 80 miles off of the MS coast…on good days. I know tons of folks take 24’ bay boats snapper fishing, but they absolutely know what they’re doing.
Posted on 11/15/22 at 8:24 am to Hurricane2020
Hell, I thought we were going to sink a 22’ bow rider coming back from Cat. If we would have lost power I’m sure we would have. That’s started out a sunny, very nice day.
Posted on 11/15/22 at 8:42 am to Yeahbuddy35
quote:
I have a 22ft Center Console bay boat
Not all 22ft "bay boats" are in the same category when talking about ability to operate in less than desirable sea state.
What do you have? How old is the motor?
Posted on 11/15/22 at 9:25 am to Yeahbuddy35
quote:
Yes you can still see land, i think theyre around 10-15 miles out.
Certainly use caution and know what you're doing (always the case, right), but this is not very far.
ETA: I have no idea what the water/conditions are often like in your area.
This post was edited on 11/15/22 at 9:26 am
Posted on 11/15/22 at 9:31 am to Saskwatch
Its a Triton 2008 Hull, with a 2019 150 Mercury. It takes waves pretty good but I'm not sure if I've been in 4-5' seas before.
Posted on 11/15/22 at 9:42 am to Yeahbuddy35
quote:
Its a Triton 2008 Hull, with a 2019 150 Mercury
Triton LTS? Those are pretty good heavy bay boats. Should be fine.
Do you have the regular 4stroke or the ProXS? It won't make any difference in capability to run offshore but am interested in feed back as I've started poking around the net researching Merc. 150-175hp for a repower.
Posted on 11/15/22 at 9:54 am to JDPndahizzy
Yeah that LTS series is one of the bay boats you can definitely run the snot in
Posted on 11/15/22 at 10:13 am to Saskwatch
I've ran a 15 ft. Whaler to the Bahamas from Miami.
Pick your days and an EPIRB is a really nice thing to have.
It's not the size of the boat , it's the Sea conditions
Pick your days and an EPIRB is a really nice thing to have.
It's not the size of the boat , it's the Sea conditions
Posted on 11/15/22 at 10:32 am to Saskwatch
Yeah Triton LTS.
I have the Mercury Pro XS. Its been great so far, fuel efficient, very quiet. The only time it wouldnt start is when there was a loose grounding connection under the cowling, not sure how that happened. I've heard mercurys in general are finicky when it comes to electrical issues.
I have the Mercury Pro XS. Its been great so far, fuel efficient, very quiet. The only time it wouldnt start is when there was a loose grounding connection under the cowling, not sure how that happened. I've heard mercurys in general are finicky when it comes to electrical issues.
Posted on 11/15/22 at 10:41 am to Yeahbuddy35
Sure you can.
I've been out there in an aluminum flat.
That said, it's all fun and games until you find yourself out there in 4-5 footers...
I've been out there in an aluminum flat.
That said, it's all fun and games until you find yourself out there in 4-5 footers...
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News