Boat too Small?

[Cal195]

I have a 17' Sea Ray Seville...1987. I was wondering if this boat is too small to put in the Chesapeake Bay to be safe? New to boating ang would like to expand from the river. Thanks for your help.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Boat too Small?

Not too small. You will want to go on low wind days and be careful of wakes when you're out there. I just had my 18' aluminum (which is surely a harsher ride than your Sea Ray) on the bay on Sunday. You will need charts and need to navigate carefully as much of the upper bay is quite shallow. Are you on Facebook? If so, definitely check this page out http://www.facebook.com/groups/chesapeakeboating/

 

[Cal195]

Re: Boat too Small?

Thanks so much for the info....I will check out fb. I am going to give it a try.

 

[acarter92]

Re: Boat too Small?

I have a 17ft alluminum and was up two sundays ago, no problems. Just use some common sense and you'll be fine.

Austin

 

[nlain]

Re: Boat too Small?

I had a 17' SeaRay Seville that I ran in the sound here. 2 to 4 foot seas and I would go look and most days going slow with the bow high I would go and come with no more than getting wet from the spray. I did stuff the bow once, I can tell you it is not fun watching a 12' wide strip of water coming in over the bow, it popped back up and all was well. You can do it just do it on the low wind and low seas days. I don't know about where you are but here I can go out in perfectly glass smooth water and have a washing machine chop on the way back, probably worse where you are.

 

[LoweSuperior]

Re: Boat too Small?

I've run my 14' aluminum in the Intercoastal Waterway around South Padre . . . just have to dodge the freighters at night and be aware of the tides.

 

[Godfirst]

Re: Boat too Small?

These experience captains on this forums would say experience is most important then maybe a quality sound boat design for its engineered purpose.

 

[coastalrichard]

Re: Boat too Small?

I have a 17' Sea Ray Seville...1987. I was wondering if this boat is too small to put in the Chesapeake Bay to be safe? New to boating ang would like to expand from the river. Thanks for your help.

Always carry my smartphone with three important links: NOAA Marine Forecast, local radar and local tides. Good Luck.

 

[freelancer]

Re: Boat too Small?

In my experience, the Upper Chesapeake is a little more sheltered and you can zip around pretty easily. Get past the 50/301 crossing and you’re dealing with bigger water.

Interested in knowing if that model is a bowrider, I looked up the boat and saw several configurations but I think they were mostly larger than 17'.

In my opinion, there's definitely a place for you on the bay, it just depends on what you want to do on your outing.

Finally, keep the safety and comfort of your passengers and crew in mind, heck I don't mind fishing in the rain and a swell but my wife and kids would rather stay at the dock under those conditions.