zurk
Well-Known Member
And chartplotters. Dont skimp on your chartplotters!And batteries. Lots and lots of batteries!
Confessions of a sportfishing wannabe
- Thread starter smp747
- Start date
Squire
Well-Known Member
I would respectfully suggest that 25 knots is already stay home weather never mind 35 knots or more. Making the run from the south end of Texada to Nanaimo last summer in 22 knot North-West winds in my 24 foot boat was pretty damned uncomfortable. Did I survive? Of course, but there was no room for error or even a moment of lapsed concentration.
For me boating is supposed to be fun so pushing the limits of my boat and/or myself simply doesnāt qualify.
I appreciate all the great feedback. I used to backcountry snowmobile and I was always the guy that was the most prepared. Gear, avalanche training, tools, extra clothes etc. I guess its the fact that now I'm older with my family on board that makes me more concerned.
I'm not nervous, everyone starts somewhere. I get that.. I just want to be the most prepared I can be and if I have any failures- I want to "fail safe"
Its not so much the docking part, although I'm sure ill hang my head low starting out, but learning to understand and respect the open water- wind, weather, tides etc.
I'll definitely leverage those I know and the resources provided to set myself up. Thank you all for your advice!
I'm not nervous, everyone starts somewhere. I get that.. I just want to be the most prepared I can be and if I have any failures- I want to "fail safe"
Its not so much the docking part, although I'm sure ill hang my head low starting out, but learning to understand and respect the open water- wind, weather, tides etc.
I'll definitely leverage those I know and the resources provided to set myself up. Thank you all for your advice!
BC Coast Pilot
Well-Known Member
Thinking a few moves ahead is key, sounds like you're already doing that. Fenders, ropes ready etc.
Remember to move helm first, then apply propulsion for best effect, bump in and out of gear with correct helm see how she responds. Go slow.....low stress. Enjoy.
BC Coast Pilot
Well-Known Member
Unless you don't know, then ask and work it out together. Referred to on a vessel as Bridge Resource Management or BRM.
Your crew is your most valuable resource.
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Fetch (distance across water that the wind can blow) and wind direction (related) are really the main determinants of wave height, and safety and comfort in little boats. Sometimes at high tide - one can sneak inside shoals or islands and stay out of the worst of it. Another option is to NOT take it square in the bow, but alternatively zig and zag on safe and comfortable courses - avoiding the worst effects into the swell. Slightly lifting the outboard also raises the bow, but can make it harder to see ahead of you for logs. Again, zigging and zagging helps there too. Most have enuff common sense to slow down as everyone has control of speed (revs), but also tiller (direction) and trimming of their boat (bow). Some forget those last 2 when they panic.
and on the tie-up let go - mooring posts - lines are your best friends - esp. when alone. Could be a whole other thread on this alone. How to tie-up and let-go in wind and how to tie-up for long-term safety and piece of mind.
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If one has the opportunity to say no - one can pick and choose to boat on only the enjoyable days. But for many the sea is the normal highway irrespective of those who instead see it as leisure. On the North Coast - SE 35kts is the only break in the weather often for weeks in October/November when 45 gusting 65 is the norm for many days in a row. Many in remote communities do not have the luxury of waiting weeks for enjoyable weather and their realities are very different wrt boats and weather. The term "enjoyable" is also subjective.
For me it is instead about safety. Sometimes it is admittedly not safe enuff. Other times it is merely uncomfortable for a small period of time/area throughout he longer journey. The older one gets tho - the tougher that rough seas/waves gets on the knees and back.
And one should use all of ones skill sets on the water - including reducing risk and improving comfort and safety - always.
For me it is instead about safety. Sometimes it is admittedly not safe enuff. Other times it is merely uncomfortable for a small period of time/area throughout he longer journey. The older one gets tho - the tougher that rough seas/waves gets on the knees and back.
And one should use all of ones skill sets on the water - including reducing risk and improving comfort and safety - always.
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Squire
Well-Known Member
I get your point that having a choice when you can get out is a luxury some donāt have. Before I retired just two years ago the wind seemed to always pick up on the weekends and die down during the work days. A client told me tongue in cheek that Iād get bored when I retired because I couldnāt go fishing every day. I replied that was true but I would then be able to go fishing any day.
I grew up boating and consider myself competent enough to come out the other side of some rough stretches of water. I donāt know if itās wisdom or just fatigue but I would rather enjoy than endure my time on the water now.
Agreed on all points, Squire. I think there is a big difference between knowingly starting a trip knowing there will be adverse conditions for a period of that trip and taking any and all precautions to mitigate those risks and increase comfort verses blindly getting oneself into a dangerous condition because an inexperienced boat operator didn't realize those risks and plan for them and maybe even panicking and not making safe choices when encountering those conditions.
I think smp747 who started this thread is firmly in the 1st category looking for additional info and support and knowledge transfer - which is the responsible approach and I commend him for that.
I think smp747 who started this thread is firmly in the 1st category looking for additional info and support and knowledge transfer - which is the responsible approach and I commend him for that.
Wondermur
Crew Member
I did a course when i started boating and have learned quite a bit in 15 years. No expert tho and now that I have read all this advice I feel quite nervous to go out on the water! 
Good advice tho, just so much of it.
If you have an experienced friend that you trust for the first outing that would be good.
Good advice tho, just so much of it. If you have an experienced friend that you trust for the first outing that would be good.
Capt. Jack
Member
Thats OK, I've got a 1982 harbercraft classic 12 with 6 hp zuki.Great thread, keep the advice coming. I am in same boat (pun intended) as OP, except I am out of Nanaimo and working with an even smaller vessel - 14' aluminum with 25hp tiller steer. For now, anyway.
Had it for a year and a half. My poor old back can't handle lifting
12 ft John boat on and off the jeep anymore. Winching a boat on a trailer
Seems alot easier.
I'm doing the same thing, taking little steps, what kind of wind does she like and more importantly not like, what's her top speed? What kind of fuel milage will she get? Just me and with my fishing partner. All these things I want to know before I go to west van area for the pinkies.
Sharphooks
Well-Known Member
Just when you think youāve got boating figured out.....
Despite having 40+ years of boating under my belt I still managed to get a 30 foot boat stuck on the beach yesterday.
How? I anchored in 20 feet of water which is my normal anchoring depth but I threw out too much scope ( I was leaving the boat unattended so for some reason I thought a lot of scope was a good idea.....NOT! )
I used 3:1 scope just to be safe (50 feet of chain + 10 feet nylon line) ā-I should have used 2:1 scope because if I had surveyed my surroundings and taken into consideration the dropping tide (it was heading into a minus 3 at low slack) I definitely would have been cured of using 3:1 scope.
I came back 5 hours later and she was high and dry on the beach.....the 3:1 scope had basically turned into 7:1 scope with the dropping tide and the boat drifted into the shallows and stuck . With thanks to the bearded Dude up above in the sky I had the good sense to raise up the twin Suzuki outboards before leaving the boat āāif I hadnāt ....well.... I donāt want to go there if theyād been in lowered position
I knew Iād have to wait out the tide change so I used that opportunity to scrape barnacles off my transducers and miscellaneous vegetable growth off the outboard bracket...
I then got creative: I inflated my raft, rowed over to the anchor, hauled it into the raft then rowed out to deeper water and dropped it. With a bit of tide change I then used the electric winch to haul me off the beach
Lesson learned on scope: thereās such a thing as using too much for the prevailing conditions
Despite having 40+ years of boating under my belt I still managed to get a 30 foot boat stuck on the beach yesterday.
How? I anchored in 20 feet of water which is my normal anchoring depth but I threw out too much scope ( I was leaving the boat unattended so for some reason I thought a lot of scope was a good idea.....NOT! )
I used 3:1 scope just to be safe (50 feet of chain + 10 feet nylon line) ā-I should have used 2:1 scope because if I had surveyed my surroundings and taken into consideration the dropping tide (it was heading into a minus 3 at low slack) I definitely would have been cured of using 3:1 scope.
I came back 5 hours later and she was high and dry on the beach.....the 3:1 scope had basically turned into 7:1 scope with the dropping tide and the boat drifted into the shallows and stuck . With thanks to the bearded Dude up above in the sky I had the good sense to raise up the twin Suzuki outboards before leaving the boat āāif I hadnāt ....well.... I donāt want to go there if theyād been in lowered position
I knew Iād have to wait out the tide change so I used that opportunity to scrape barnacles off my transducers and miscellaneous vegetable growth off the outboard bracket...
I then got creative: I inflated my raft, rowed over to the anchor, hauled it into the raft then rowed out to deeper water and dropped it. With a bit of tide change I then used the electric winch to haul me off the beach
Lesson learned on scope: thereās such a thing as using too much for the prevailing conditions
Helluva story though! I take it no meaningful damage to speak of?
Sharphooks
Well-Known Member
The trims tabs on the boat that went onto the āhardā the other day have an auto function that powers the tabs into āupā position when powering off the ignition ....I dislike the sound of that safety option and have read of some guys who disable it on their boats but I sure was glad that both tabs were in āupā position
While scraping barnacles off my transducers a cargo ship went by and the boat was hit broadside by a train of four foot waves which keeled the boat over almost to the gunnelsāāif the tabs had been in ādownā position that incident probably would have broken them off the hull
Short storyā three transom mounted transducers and the pair of trim tabs lived to fight another day ...... and I got a lesson in not being quite so cavalier about the amount of scope to throw into my rode when leaving a boat unattended on a falling tide
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