ocean worthy?

mrdrh99

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Feb 1, 2013
Messages
756
So.... Question was posed in another thread and got me thinking. Next time I'm in the salt water, I'm thinking about going on out of the inlet into the open water, but I was wanting some opinions. I have the Saturn 12ft mini cat, with a very dependable Johnson 14hp. I'm very comfortable in the boat and on flat water it has plenty of power, planing me out in just a couple seconds and cruising at 16-18mph. Now.... I don't mean way out in the ocean, I'm talking 1/4 - 1/2 mike off the beach..... No further out than the end of most fishing piers. And by no means am I even considering going out on nothing but the calmest of days (which I know can go downhill quick). Just wanting some opinions! Thanks
 

Chopperbill

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Mar 26, 2014
Messages
389
You guys that venture out in the ocean must have a couple of big ones! I even see a cruise ship and I get spooked.
 
G

Guest

Guest
Sinister and i go out 1/4 to 1/2 almost every trip. In one of my youtube videos you can see how far i am from the beach. We went out pretty far into open water one day and it got choppy very fast. In the inlet was very calm soon as we were about 1/2 to 1 mile out it was very choppy. I still plan on going into fully open water for those seabass
 
G

Guest

Guest
Some of the big boats looked at us with crazy eyes. We were jumping 3ft chop really fun on the way there but took a butt kicking on the way back
 

mrdrh99

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Feb 1, 2013
Messages
756
That's funny.... Yeah I get some funny looks from some people already, but a lot of the guys there in small Jon boats look jealous, they know how much more room I have in my boat.... Especially when I'm standing up fishing the grass line!
 

Barramundi NQ

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 3, 2014
Messages
342
At that range you can be fine, but getting caught out is a real concern in small and low powered boats. If you ever feel like it's time head back, always err on the side of caution. If you call it early you wont pay with your life for just an extra fish. Life jackets on if you're concerned and have a plan for if it goes belly up. Ive done what youre asking for years but in a 15 ft or bigger boat. If you fail to plan, , planning to fail
 

fbpooler

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Aug 13, 2011
Messages
334
The fallacy is thinking I can do x MPH, so I can get in in so many minutes if something goes wrong. Wrong - when it makes up, you cannot make speed and it makes up before you know it. We misjudged one day and had to eat 8 footers with breakers on top of them in a 20 footer. You do not want to do that with the typical 12 to 14 ft inflatable, as once one gets turned over, there are no handles on the bottom of it and the waves will do you in.

Incidentally, jumping waves is a good way to see it the boat floats upside down. Air gets under it on the jump and things happen fast after that. Having your motor enter the water while running gets pretty expensive fast as a minimum.

If you go out, make it a habit to reverse course periodically to see how the boat reacts to the seas. Quite often the difference between going with the seas and going against them can be dramatic. The face of the waves can get pretty steep.
 

mrdrh99

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Feb 1, 2013
Messages
756
Good advice... Thanks The comment relating to mph was just meaning to imply that I don't think my outboard is underpowered for what I want to do.... I know HP isn't a direct correlation to speed.... I have to answer that same question everyday at work with torque instead of HP.
 

Peter_C

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jun 7, 2009
Messages
193
Much of it is what are YOUR ocean conditions like? I boat on the ocean most of the time in a 14 footer. The only time I ever had to really slow down to swimming speed was in the San Francisco Bay to the currrent going out and the strong wind coming in. We moved at just off idle, and even then we took a couuple of waves over the bow. Not a big deal, except there were six of us and my friend in the bow got soaked. I stayed dry at the tiller though :) If it was just me onboard I could have hammered through there. Being prepared is the single most important thing. Lifejacket on, Storm Whistle attached to you, along with a DSC equiped, floating, VHF radio attached to YOU. If the radio is in the boat and it flips it doesn't do you much good. Exposure protection is needed if the water is cold. Usually we are diving so we have drysuits on. Pick your days carefully. We were out on the Pacific Ocean and drove out of the San Francisco Bay 20 miles North and back without any swell or wind to speak of. Very rare day but also simply spectacular. My friend had his 10ft boat with a 9.9hp, that day and burned half the fuel I did, but wore the same size of smile as I had on. I have been offshore a couple of miles to go whale watching, and were rewarded with lots of whales, and a mother and calf that came pretty close to us as we were drifting. Learn to check the swell forecasts and weather forecasts for the area you are boating. Most radios have a weather channel for marine forecasts. I have multiple places I check the forecasts, including surf forecasts and the NOAA website.
 

fbpooler

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Aug 13, 2011
Messages
334
Local conditions is why we restrict our inflatables to Florida and not Georgia waters. It can change in a matter of a few minutes here with tide change or change of wind direction. Also, we have no calm inlets, so it can be fine offshore and more than you can handle on the way back through the inlet. Nothing like coming in from offshore and having the inlets covered with what looks like cotton bolls.

If you have to come in on the backside of a wave, you need enough power not to fall back into a trough or broach. A boat can run at a pretty good speed in calm water and not have the power to handle bad seas.

That same 14 footer with six aboard would get you drowned in this area.

We were in a 17 foot boat with 85 HP coming in once, and it took over one half throttle to make way. You could see schools of fish horizontally in the waves.

That safety gear is mandatory equipment in my book.
 

mrdrh99

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Feb 1, 2013
Messages
756
So I have been talking in a local north Carolina forum on this subject also.... Do you know anything about how you're area compares to the cape fear area of NC?
 

Peter_C

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jun 7, 2009
Messages
193
That same 14 footer with six aboard would get you drowned in this area.
You do realize I live in California on the Pacific Ocean right? The San Francisco Bay is known as some of the toughest sailing around. What you wouldn't find is me out on a bad day with 34ft swells and 60kt winds, as I do check the tide charts, the forecast, and know enough about the sea to watch from shore.

So I have been talking in a local north Carolina forum on this subject also.... Do you know anything about how you're area compares to the cape fear area of NC?

Well we have hold the Maverick's BIG Wave Surf Competition ;) I have been out on a RIB to Grey Hound Rock, just north of Maverick's, and been in the largest surf I have ever seen. That was a near death experience getting caught by a rogue wave set, while we were doing research for a wrongful death suit.

FWIW inflatable are pretty incredible what they can put up with. Watch a Zap Cat race to see them power thru the surf zones and launch off of waves. Even a small inflatable bobs around like a stable cork. Watch this video for reference.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6gMDlTTN6A
 

fbpooler

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Aug 13, 2011
Messages
334
Cannot give you any help with that area, but can give you an uneducated guideline. How close to shore is the deep ocean waters and what are the inlets like?

Here we run 10 or more miles out to get to 40 ft of water and we are subjected to fast tides. As the flow comes in and out through the sounds, it is moving rapidly. That fast water combined with wind in relatively shallow water increases the size and steepness of waves. In deeper water, such as around the Keys, you get open ocean waves and swell. Either place can be bad, but the deep water has a tendency to be much calmer unless there is the remains of storms to deal with. We deal with 2 ft good to 4 ft bad on a very frequent basis with little space between the waves. 4 to 6 ft waves and the big boys have to watch it and 6 to 8 footers keeps the large fishing boats tied up at the docks.

Learn what the waters actually are like in the inlet you plan to use and talk to other boaters. If it looks doable, take small increments in the length of your trip distances until you get a feel for what to expect.

If you look at a map or chart, you will find Georgia is like the pouch in a catchers mitt. That funnels waves in and out in an erratic fashion with many rips and sandbars to contend with.
 

alanfox55

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Nov 17, 2011
Messages
476
You do realize I live in California on the Pacific Ocean right? The San Francisco Bay is known as some of the toughest sailing around. What you wouldn't find is me out on a bad day with 34ft swells and 60kt winds, as I do check the tide charts, the forecast, and know enough about the sea to watch from shore.



Well we have hold the Maverick's BIG Wave Surf Competition ;) I have been out on a RIB to Grey Hound Rock, just north of Maverick's, and been in the largest surf I have ever seen. That was a near death experience getting caught by a rogue wave set, while we were doing research for a wrongful death suit.

FWIW inflatable are pretty incredible what they can put up with. Watch a Zap Cat race to see them power thru the surf zones and launch off of waves. Even a small inflatable bobs around like a stable cork. Watch this video for reference.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6gMDlTTN6A

Rough seas for sure but the boarding dummy should've been able to clime aboard on the first try!
 

fbpooler

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Aug 13, 2011
Messages
334
If you think your local waters are the same as all waters, you are kidding yourself. The OP is doing the right thing in asking questions and attempting to get an idea of what he might be getting into going offshore in his area. An ocean swell is completely different than steep closely spaced waves. And does anyone actually believe that high surf zones are a fit place to launch for a day of boating? Confused seas are always to be avoided.
 
Top