Help Please on how to ready a 16 ft Dateline Bikini (Sidewinder) For the open sea

[spybot]

Hi Guys Please can someone help me on how i can improve my boat so i can take her out over the sea (Estuary ) For 10 miles.
It can get a bit rough out there. I intend to take her from my home in Anstruther to North Berwick Scotland. See pic
As you can see i have add "a dolefin" is there anything else i can do to her to add stability. She is 16' with a jonhson 85 on her.
I have added twin fuel tanks to her and will trim her down for the crossing but is there anything else i can do to steady her????

 

[fhhuber]

Can't make it handle rough seas.

Actually trimming down too much doesn't do anything other than slow you down or make the boat more likely to dive into a wave and play submarine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68AOltMu768
Adjust speed to avoid plowing the nose into a wave.... A simple turn and someone's wake can do it to a BIGGER boat than you have. Sea swells and not being on top of things will swamp you fast.

What's the smoothest the water gets for that crossing?

There are times the local LAKE gets rough enough I wouldn't want to be in that size boat. You're talking about taking a lake boat in open sea.

I recommend you wear a life-jacket and have an EPIRB tied to it
Make sure your will is up to date and life insurance paid up.

 

[spybot]

Thanks for that. It gets slight to moderate on most days. i think i will just use her inshore rather than make the crossing. We have a major shipping route 8 miles out so i would have to pass that as well. But im sure inshore will be fine. always wear my life jacket NOT A Bouancy aid plus Always take my VHF handheld. SAFETY FIRST AT ALL TIMES. We only get ONE LIFE

 

[scoutabout]

Good decision. A couple of moderate sized waves taken the wrong way will roll right over boats of that size and much bigger.

A had a come-to-Jesus moment just like that 15 years ago in a boat I thought could handle the conditions in Georgian Bay and it was a terrible terrible feeling to realize just how insignificant we all are in the face of big water.

In my case I naively thought keeping the cover on the open bow was wave proofing enough. Watching the bow punch into a roller then having a couple hundred gallons of water roll on up over my flimsy cover and continue up the windshield into my face like I wasn't even there is not something I ever want to experience again.

I remember thinking, "huh...interesting how there's enough water here to look green through the windshield vs the lovely white spray I'm used to seeing fly up."

It filled the bilge and was up a good ways beyond the foor. One, maybe two more of those and my poor little 17ft SeaRay n me would be under. Thankfully it turned out to be only the one wave.

 

[spybot]

Yeah think i will stay in the lochs or if i go out on the sea it will be as close to land as possible. I really want to get a boat that would be capable of doing the crossing. I have the chance of getting a 17ft Bayliner Capri cuddy. Would that be more suited ???

 

[Chris1956]

The Bayliner would be better, but not by much.

 

[Heavy<313>]

So what would be the minimum you would be comfortable in? If you owned it for instance?

 

[southkogs]

So what would be the minimum you would be comfortable in? If you owned it for instance?

If you're asking the minimum size boat one of us would be comfortable making that trip in, you'll get varying answers. Seamanship is probably as critical as the craft when you're dealing in big water.

I've got some time out on big water, but I've not owned anything that I'd be comfortable making that trip with. For myself, I wouldn't do it on the boat the OP shows even on a calm day. Up around 24' in something with decent freeboard and good bow rake, and I'll take in on if weather's calm. That's the North Sea off to the East ... from what I understand that body of water can bite. I dunno' what I'd answer if the weather was marginal or going sour.

 

[spybot]

Yeah it does get a bit hairy out there. A few guys i know go over in 19 foot sail boats and 1 guy has a pirate 21 that does the crossing on a regular baisis

 

[CV16]

I boat on Lake Michigan that is a pretty big body of water. I have crossed (about 65 miles) in a 21' cuddy cabin. Open bow, I wouldn't even dream of trying it. I have had my 16' ski boat out 12 miles, but the lake was glass and I was just delivering fuel to a friend.

 

[thumpar]

I wouldn't want to try that in my boat and it is 20' 2" with a good amount of freeboard and pretty heavy. Your boat is probably pretty light so will get tossed around easily.

 

[wrvond]

I've been in the North Atlantic on a 224 foot long mine countermeasures ship and it was rough. We took on a lot of water. That's just about as small as I would go. Safe, for the most part; comfortable, not at all.

 

[Richmond2000]

look at Warrior boats from the UK in design compared to a lake / harbour boat
http://www.warriorboats.co.uk/

when I was 18 or so I used to take a Jacuzzi JET boat out on the Pacific ocean off the coast of Vancouver Island
and as A kit the Family boat was a 16 FOOT glass closed bow and we would go off shore with it also
BUT would pick the weather before launching AND in calm weather the Pacific IS smoother then LAKE winnipeg I now run on but during storms even a steel
11000 Tonne superferry is a rough ride